Review of Thumbing It

[Milisandia]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Thumbing It" by David Done.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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In my younger days, I had been known to hitch a ride now and then and pick up hitchhikers. I even had a friend that had a giant cardboard thumb. Thumbing It by David Done made me smile. I decided to read the book.

Set in 1967, Thumbing It is about two recent graduates from high school. They will both be going to college in the fall, mostly to avoid the draft. They decide to take a trip during their summer vacation from California where they live, to New York City. They are going to hitchhike across the country. Luke is only seventeen. He gets a note from his mother so he will not be picked up as a runaway. Chuck is already 18. On the way, they learn things about themselves and the country.

I enjoyed being reminded about the things that happened in 1967, both the good and the bad. There was the Monterey Pop Festival and hippies in San Francisco. There were 160 race riots in the country that summer and Luke and Chuck ran into one of them. The people that picked them up were mostly nice, but there were some undesirables just like everywhere. 1967 was the “Summer of Love” and the boys were finding themselves.

There were a few things in the story that I did not care for. I did not see a reason for the nickname he gave Chuck and I found it offensive. I also did not like the amount of pimple squeezing. There was a scene with a young girl being left off at a police station that made me uncomfortable. But my main concern was the number of typographical and grammatical errors. It was distracting.

This story needs to be re-edited. Because of that, I would rate this story 3 out of 5. The story was interesting and I enjoyed reading what the teens went through on their road trip.

The idea of hitchhiking across the country currently seems very bad. Back in the late 60s and early 70s, it was normal for people of a certain age. I drove from Colorado to Ohio and picked up two hitchhikers in Kansas on their way to New York. I could identify personally with Luke and Chuck, up to a point. I think other people that were in their teens in the 60s would also enjoy it. You would need to have an open mind to read this. There are instances of sexual encounters both heterosexual and homosexual, pot smoking, and criticism of the Bible and Christianity.

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Thumbing It
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