A poignant tale of friendship, aging, and activism. A heartfelt and thought provoking story that delves into the enduring bonds of friendship and the challenges of growing older. I enjoyed reading of the six college friends and their lives over the decades.
Many thanks to Vine Leaves Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wrinkled Rebels is an insightful and thought-provoking exploration of activism among older adults. Through a compelling mix of personal stories, historical context, and sociological analysis, Olson sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of seniors who fight for social justice and change. The book highlights the resilience and determination of older individuals who defy stereotypes, showing that activism doesn't have an age limit.

Olson’s writing is both engaging and informative, making complex issues accessible while honoring the rich life experiences of her subjects. The author’s deep research and nuanced understanding of aging and activism are evident throughout, as she deftly balances heartwarming personal anecdotes with critical discussions on ageism, social inequality, and political movements.

Readers will come away with a newfound appreciation for the vitality and impact of older generations in shaping society. *Wrinkled Rebels* is an inspiring and empowering read, perfect for anyone interested in social justice, aging, or the power of community action.

As appealing as the premise was, I struggled to get through this story. I unfortunately had to DNF at 30%. I think the story would have benefitted from an edit, with a faster pacing to kick things off. The heavy back log of character histories was difficult to connect with, and as such I found the characters flats, and perhaps adding some early teasers of what’s to come, could generate a better overall idea. The flashbacks we did get just weren’t selling it.

I appreciate receiving this advanced copy, so thank you to Laura Katz Olson, NetGalley and Vine Leaves Press.

Laura Katz Olson, Wrinkled Rebels, Vine Leaves Press, July 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I loved reading this absorbing account of the young women and men who developed their political ideas and responses while at university. Now in their eighties they are to meet again, and the youthful narratives provide the background to that meeting. Each character’s activities are a detailed account of the ideas, movements, agreements and disagreements, challenges faced, and successes won by individuals and groups. These detailed accounts provide a thorough history of the period in a narrative I found engrossing because of the detail and thoroughness with which the period was covered.

However, I have reservations about the success with which the narrative provides an engaging story about their activities. Rather than introducing her material using fictional strategies that draw the reader into the narrative, Katz Olson ‘s account uses fictional characters in an account that seems to rely more heavily on non-fictional devices. The information becomes more important than the characters’ feelings and stories about their activities. They are interesting enough, but the real strength is the information that is imparted.
The story begins with an invitation to Deanna, who hobbles to take her mail, including the purple envelope into her Victorian home with a splendid rose garden. Deanna is a former athlete, but there is little evidence of her past in this depiction of her present. Deanna and Russell’s story of their youthful ambitions, political activities, and thwarted relationship is recounted. Russell also receives a purple envelope, opened by his wife, the contents detailed.

The letters are from Rebecca, her partner having died, she has organised the reunion. The invitation suggests a reunion of the six former friends for a weekend together, excluding anyone other than the group whose political activism was central to their lives. Maliaka, whose career as a lawyer has ended with her aging is unsure about attending; Kieth whose life expectancy is shortened by Parkinsons, his revolutionary musical days largely over is keen to attend but concerned about his frailty. Max is in the early stages of dementia and resentful of the patronising attitudes surrounding him. He has been secretive about his political past and the invitation will enforce his return to the United States from Canada. Rebecca has retained her political activism until her retirement at eighty.

The narrative’s movement between the vulnerabilities of old age and the activism of the politically motivated young, highlight the vulnerabilities of both youth and age. The characters’ gradual openness to acknowledging that the limitations of old age need not that fully control their present is an effective reflection on age and possibilities. The detailed history of the political environment in which the six first met and worked together is also a valuable resource. Although I would have preferred more engaging characterisation this is a significant reflection on aging and an important political past.

Goddamn gilfs.
Gotta love 'em.
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
<3 <3 <3 <3 <3
<3 <3 <3 <3
<3 <3 <3
<3 <3
<3

I struggled with this novel and stalled at about 40% read. The premise of a group of friends as they enter old age and revisit their friendships as young activists was interesting but meeting the characters later in life meant a lot of catching up on the past in long descriptions that were productive but felt like everyone was treated from a distance and without feeling. Everything felt stiff. Dealing with characters of different races and during challenging political times in interesting material but in several places the characters felt like tropes bordering on stereotypes and the descriptions felt too careful (e.g. describing the African American experience). A lot of the language also felt very trite - I cringed at the comparison of an orphan "after mommy and daddy are gone," as one example. I think I would have appreciated another round of editing that emphasized where readers were meant to feel something vs just understand a fact. I needed more of a connection to the characters and less attempting to recap such a tremendous amount of history.

I was intrigued by the description of this book, Wrinkled Rebels, by Laura Katz Olson, which is due to be published later this month. A book about 80-year-olds looking back on their lives was intriguing to me – and when you throw in a social justice lens, well . . . I was hooked!

The characters were well-drawn and authentic, and the situations were interesting and compelling. I enjoyed reading a book featuring characters in their 80s. The book felt very much more like a memoir than a piece of fiction to me.

Thank you to Vine Leaves Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on July 23, 2024.

There were things I really enjoyed about this novel. When I first started reading it, I was on the subway on my way to work at a public high school right across the street from City College, where the six characters in the book met and spent their youth protesting. This was ironic, given recent protests at the school.
The novel felt very authentic; I have no doubt that the author did a great deal of research into what happened during this time period and accurately represented what CCNY was like during this time period and how the campus looks (I was a student there in 1980-1984). The characters felt very realistic as well.
I loved the premise, especially since I am getting older and the undercurrent of what getting older feels like internally and externally is prominent.
However, this feels more like a collective memoir than a novel. This is fine, but it is not exactly what I expected. It makes me wonder if the author has more than one book in her because this feels like something that comes from her life (I could be wrong).
There was not really a plot per se, unless the reader considers the question of whether these six friends who went on to have different lives after college could find common ground when they come together as older folk to be a plot. I am not going to give away the ending but the conclusion, had one really been fleshed out, could have provided a plot but it wasn't. Perhaps the author was afraid that tying up the ends would have felt a bit too neat, and it might have but I think it would have been more satisfying. As it was, it made the thin plot more amorphous. I think I also would have preferred that more of the book occur in the present than in the past.
Thanks to NetGalley and Vine Leaves Press for this advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review. This review will also appear on the blog, The Book Review Crew.

I truly enjoyed this story and could relate to each of these characters as they grow up and become friends during the sixties. This was a time of country upheaval, protests, sit-in and war.
Now- these friends get together and they have suddenly grown old.
How fast it happened. How do things change and yet some things never really change.
There is love, friendship, care, remembrance and fear within these pages!
I loved it! I have lived a lot of it and I remember!
Anyone who wants to learn or remember the sixties should definitely open this novel and sit.

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Vine Leaves Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

A novel of lifelong friendship of six students that met in college and cemented their bond through political activism in the 60’s-70’s. Now 80 years old and having lived separate and very different lives with little contact between them, they come together for an extended weekend to see if their earlier close bonds can be rekindled. Told through six POV starting with their college years, early adult life and now where they find themselves at 80. Due to my age (75), I thoroughly enjoyed this novel because it reminded me of the political issues we faced back in the day…and the issues we continue to face today….and the issues we face as we age. This may not be a book for everyone due to its political slant but I found it very interesting with recognizable characters. I want to thank NetGalley and Vine Leaves Press for the ARC.

Thank you to Vine Leaves Press and NetGalley for an advance reader’s copy of this book.

As a slightly younger constituent of the 80 year olds in Wrinkled Rebels, I appreciate both the history lessons of 1960’s social justice efforts, and the utopian possibility at the book’s end.

The novel brings together six friends who became a “family” when starting City College (New York) in 1963. Three men and three women, one Black, coming from a range of religious and socio-economic homes, they bond around the Civil Rights Movement. They remain very close for over a decade, before going their own ways, but still staying in touch. As they are turning 80, one of them arranges a reunion for the first time in 50 years, and all attend it.

Their lives cover a range of meaningful roles: there is a civil rights lawyer, a gynecologist who specializes in safe abortions, an academic who explores social change, an architect who designs people-centered public buildings, an environmental activist and a union organizer.
At first it seems the characters may be more ideas and issues than individuals: as youth, among them they experience racism, abortion, infertility, lesbianism, sexual liberation, draft dodging, women’s consciousness raising, the folk music world, communal living, social work among the poor, and adoption success and failure; as elders there is widowhood, divorce, purpose after retirement, and age-related illness: incipient dementia, Parkinson’s, severe arthritis, and heart attacks.

Fortunately, the writing is strong and clear, and each member of the group emerges as a complicated and interesting individual, with well-drawn experiences and emotions. Finally, their commitment to social justice and to each other leads to the promise of more of both in their late years.
Despite being a rather idealized group, their experiences and struggles seem authentic, and well-worth sharing with the many others who now make up this first baby-boomer elderly generation.

What a wonderful book. Beautifully written, an immersive story travelling back and forth in time about a group of colleague friends. I loved the richest of the contemporary stories of the characters in their eighties. A must read and look forward to more from this author. Thank you to # netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.