Bad Tickets [Mass Market Paperback]

Kathleen O'Dell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

She's left her good Catholic girl ways behind . . . mostly. It is 1967, the Summer of Love, and Mary Margaret Hallinan has that itchy, squirmy feeling that there must be something more out there for her. Her new best friend, the glamorous Jane, says that boys are the ticket to a spectacular future. Her ex-best friend Elizabeth is sure she's going to hell. "Say yes!" commands Jane, and Mary Margaret has tried to follow her c'mon-it'll-be-fabulous friend into the psychedelic swirl. But can she fit any of her old self to this new life she's trying on?

This is it, this is gonna be the summer. Mary Margaret Hallinan, former good Catholic girl, is clutching her ticket.

Friendship, faith, family, feminism, and1960s counterculture all contribute to the heartfelt, thoughtful pages of Bad Tickets.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—It's almost summer in 1967 in Oregon, and Mary Margaret Hallinan, age 16, eagerly anticipates the end of the school year. The formerly good Catholic girl has changed since Jane Stephens arrived at Sacred Heart Academy after trying to run away with a boy. Mary Margaret strives to avoid her mother's unhappy life (five children, a miserable husband, and piles of laundry) and goes against her better instincts to follow Jane's overly confident lead. Their escapades move beyond escaping school at lunch and into smoking pot at the home of some college boys. Jane encourages Mary Margaret to find a "good ticket" among the guys at The Rainbow House. Anxious to find her own ticket, Jane is blind to the truth that the guy she wants doesn't want her, while Mary Margaret finally ignores Jane's opinion and makes her move on Mitchell, her longtime crush from school. With a style reminiscent of Deb Caletti and Sarah Dessen, O'Dell shows readers how Mary Margaret learns some truths about herself, her mother, her former best friend, Jane, and what it means to have a good ticket. Older teens will enjoy and relate to this humorous and engaging story with just a bit of spirituality.—Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Mary Margaret Hallinan is a good Catholic girl until she meets Jane. Jane is a risk-taker, someone who instructs Mary Margaret to say yes to life. In this case, yes means heading into Portland to partake of the hippie lifestyle, complete with plenty of marijuana. With insight and humor, O'Dell gives the good-girl-bad-girl story new depth. Everything is done well. The 1967 setting is freshly evoked, even as it shows that time hasn't changed the way friendships twist and turn. Equally interesting is O'Dell's take on romance. Mary Margaret finally turns her longtime crush, Mitch, into a boyfriend, though Jane thinks Mitch is a "bad ticket," someone who will lead Mary Margaret nowhere. Mary Margaret knows a lot about going nowhere. Her mother married her genial father when she became pregnant, and now, five children later, she fights with her daughter and tries to make the best of her diaper-filled life. Thanks in part to Jane's helping her see life differently, but mostly because of own her strength of character, Mary Margaret is able to shape her romance with Mitch into a relationship of equals. The schoolgirl in the mini skirt on the cover may attract readers, but the picture doesn't do justice to the strong female characters inside. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440239672
• ISBN-13: 978-0440239673
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.7 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,556,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Living and Learning, May 22, 2007

By 

Jillwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Tickets (Hardcover)

I got this book for my niece, but I had to sneak and read it myself first. I enjoyed it immensely - the well-crafted, funny, and spot-on descriptions of life in the 1960s, the unsparing details of the sometimes rough teen years, the bittersweet lessons learned, Mary Margaret's unbreakable connection with her cast aside childhood friend Elizabeth, and the solid core of an independent young woman we see being shaped. I love that this book doesn't stray into sentimentality when it easily could have. Two thumbs up, and I can't wait to read more from Kathleen O'Dell.

5.0 out of 5 stars FABULOUS BOOK!!, June 15, 2007

By 

Svena "student musician and artist" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Tickets (Hardcover)

I loved this book and could not put it down. It's all about what happened to girls in the 60's and how they had such limited choices to make, even though they were on the verge of so many wonderful changes. I could really relate to the characters. They sound just like me and my friends, and I loved all the summer of love adventures. Fun, heart-aching, and beautiful writing.

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 24, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bad Tickets (Hardcover)

Mary Margaret Hallinan is not sure of much but she is sure of one thing: she does not want to end up like her mother.

Her mother (who Mary Margaret thinks is slightly mental) has four children and spends her days being very unhappy, ironing shirts for her father -- who has clearly turned out to be a bad ticket. At least that's what Mary Margaret's new best friend Jane would call him.

Jane is fun, fearless, and adventurous. Everything that Mary Margaret is not. Mary Margaret is trying to leave her good girl Catholic ways behind her (well, maybe not completely) and get on track to a fabulous future.

Set in 1967, the Summer of Love, it's the perfect time for Mary Margaret to do a little soul searching. With Jane by her side, Mary Margaret meets all kinds of people (cute boys!) and has some awesome yet dangerous adventures. By the end of the summer she has found one of the hardest things to find -- herself.

BAD TICKETS was awesome and I suggest it to anyone who is a fan of the 60's. It will leave you changed somehow and thinking about what life and love are really all about.

Reviewed by: Michaela Pallante aka "Mickey"