Never Going Back by Antonia Banyard (Thistledown), suggests that baby boomers who went “back to the land,” smoked pot and eschewed conventionality didn’t do their kids any favours, except maybe to give them an appreciation of the spectacular natural beauty of the area around Nelson, British Columbia.

Not all of Banyard’s main characters are children of hippies, but they’ve all been deeply affected by the death, when they were teenagers, of their friend Kristy. Ten years later, when they return to Nelson for her memorial service, they discover that everyone has been keeping secrets about the events surrounding her death.

Add to that some sexual tension, some existential angst and an impending birth, and you’ve got an interesting tale from a generation that grew up surrounded by what has become known as an “alternative lifestyle,” but are just as hung up as their parents and grandparents were.