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Hippie Boy Receives Rave Review From Kirkus!!!
I’m excited about this review that just came in from Kirkus Reviews and wanted to share it with you all.
HIPPIE BOY
A Girl’s Story
Author: Ingrid Ricks
Publisher:Berkley
Pages: 304
Price ( Paperback ): $15.00
Publication Date: January 7, 2014
ISBN ( Paperback ): 978-0-425-27400-2
Category: NonfictionA memoirist’s account of growing up in a devout yet completely dysfunctional Mormon home.
When Ricks’ (Focus, 2012) mother married fellow Mormon Earl, a twice-divorced mechanic with a sketchy past, the author knew that things would never be the same. Cruel and controlling, Earl lived off his new wife and abused her children with impunity. The one bright spot in Ricks’ life was her affectionate but at times unreliable salesman father Jerry, whose “need to be free ” she both understood and envied. She was his favorite, the daughter he called “Hippie Boy” for her long, tangled hair; he was her hero, the man with “the golden tongue…[who] could talk his way in or out of anything.” Before Earl’s arrival, she was able to travel with Jerry from time to time to escape the oppressive environment her “religious fruitcake” mother had created at home. But afterward, those trips became a bone of contention between Ricks and Earl, who used his church-granted authority as head of household and “direct line to God” to deliberately thwart his stepdaughter’s efforts to be with her father. Ricks still managed to circumvent Earl’s tyrannical rules and spent summers working with Jerry on the road, washing up in gas-station bathrooms, sleeping in cars and living on fast food. When police arrested her father for suspected embezzlement, Ricks suddenly realized the dangerously fragile nature of Jerry’s bold but often reckless existence. Her hero was a charming sham; the only person who could save her from unhappiness was herself.
In clear, graceful prose and in a voice that is refreshingly authentic, Ricks tells an uplifting story of heartbreak, hope and self-salvation.
Tags: Hippie Boy, Hippie Boy New York Times Bestseller, Ingrid Ricks, Kirkus Review Hippie Boy
Great review Ingrid! Congratulations! I’m glad they liked it as much as I did.
There is a VW bug that is ‘for sale’ on Kitsap Way, down the street from my house. I drive by it daily and always think of you. Although it’s a cream color with blue and burgundy striping, it reminds me, each time, of the car your dad FINALLY gave you. I think of the freedom and independence it represented in your life.
It leads me to wonder if you still have it, if nothing else but for the sentimental value. I guess it’s because I still have my first car. The sentimental value it has for me, exceeds any amount of money anyone would pay for it. It is part of some of the best days of my life. And of course, my “walking days.”
Looking forward to meeting you!! 🙂
Thanks, Lori. NO…I WISH WISH WISH I still had it. I did what my dad warned me NOT EVER to do…I failed to check the oil regularly and it ended up running completely out of oil and ruining the engine (that was after I had it for five years). I wish I would have kept it anyway..but I needed another car so my (cool) stepdad at the time traded it in for me. One of my big regrets. I hope to meet you soon. xoxo
Ingrid, I’m so happy for you! Your journey, writing and life, has been truly inspiring. I hope you will continue to receive rave reviews for this and your other work. xoxoxo
Thanks, Laura. Best – Ingrid
Thanks, Amanda. You inspire me, too!!!