Reliving a time and place in history

by Paula Austin
(Aiken, SC)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Soda Springs. It brought back memories of the times we were in during the civil rights days of the 60s, but I hadn’t focused on the Hispanic side of the fight for civil rights.

The characters are vivid and the atmosphere of a small town surrounded by potato, alfalfa, lettuce and barley farms presents a compelling sense of place. I felt like I was there as Rick Sanders struggled with keeping his fields irrigated (the old fashioned way using siphon tubes).

I also relived the feeling of young love and discovery. The “steamy” scenes make the book a fun read!

But most important, Soda Springs makes you “think” about the human issues that defined the 60s and, unfortunately, are still present today in some respects.