I love the voice that DeFreitas uses to write with, reflecting youth and the times. In this tale of eco-terrorism set near a small liberal college in Arizona, she raises questions of just when such criminal activity should actually be called for (if ever), without pontificating or answering herself. In the sketches she draws, she critiques the liberal college students and their sometimes-affluent parents just as much as she critiques the real estate developers and the conservative townfolk, so the book is balanced. She touches on the deep divisions between ‘red’ and ‘blue’ in America, as well as issues such as student loan debt. I loved seeing woman’s perspective on sex and male behavior, but thought the book got more tangled up in relationships than it should have. There is intelligence and humor in the way she expresses herself conversationally in the inner thoughts of her characters. I considered a slightly higher rating, but I thought the book lost momentum in the second half, and fizzled a bit towards the end. Maybe that’s the whole point though – how one ‘big event’ never solves anything, that it’s a constant struggle, and so hard to carry on the struggle against powerful forces, especially when one’s life after college naturally tends to move one on to practical matters, and the real world.

Quotes:
On America:
“’The hell with California,’ said an old man in a bolo, slamming his fist into the bar. Half of the room cheered. The other half seemed to suddenly find some point of interest in their cell phones.”

On sex:
“A dry breeze swept in through the windows with the smell of immolated sap, lifting the curtains. They lay there together atop the sheets for a moment under the wind’s caress. Which seemed far more sensual than anything that had just occurred between them.”

On terrorism:
“’Does a sane man blow up a dam? Or set fire to another man’s property?’
Does a sane man serve a corrupt state? she wanted to ask him. Does a sane man destroy lives for a living?” ( )

Hot Season reminded me of all the positive idealism present in the grassroots activists I've met over the years. This hit me on the nostalgia button big time, as I've lived in a fairly progressive/hippie-type college town for the last 10 years and actually met my husband in a housing cooperative. I appreciated all the little details about that similar community in this book.

Full disclosure-I grew up with Susan, so I definitely connected with this on a fairly personal level. That being said, I loved this book. The descriptions of the Southwest are incredibly evocative-I've never felt compelled to see more of that country and Susan's story made me yearn for it. ( )