Skylar is sooo ready to leave her tiny home town of Creek View and start college in San Francisco. All that lies between her and her dream is the three months of summer. Skylar doesn’t calculate that three months is more than enough to shake her determination to leave Creek View. It begins when Skylar’s mother is fired from her crummy job at Taco Bell, and doesn’t seem interested in finding a new one. Then there’s Josh Mitchell, a Marine who has just returned home to Creek View after being gravely injured in Afghanistan. Why can’t Skylar stop thinking about him? As they work together at the funky Paradise Motel, they seem to be moving towards friendship and maybe more.
The novel is full of songs, but the one that strikes most deeply is “Hotel California.” A hippie couple is playing it in one of the motel rooms as Josh and Skylar dance together in the pouring rain. Josh sings along during the lines:
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget.
The song was written and recorded by the Eagles in 1977. Don Henley’s voice is wistful and weary as he describes a place that pulls you in until it’s impossible to leave. It won the Grammy Record of the Year award in 1977. The recording also includes a wicked guitar fest featuring Don Fender (12 string) and Joe Walsh (awesome) at the end of the vocals.
http://youtu.be/_p4JbbcfmX8
-Diane Colson, currently reading Lock In by John Scalzi.