Storytelling runs in Carla Malden’s veins. She began her career in the film industry, having inherited a love of the craft from her Oscar-winning father. In co-writing his autobiography, When Do I Start?, Malden rediscovered her passion for prose and began writing fiction. Her latest novel, Playback, is a standalone sequel to Shine Until Tomorrow, continuing protagonist Mari’s time-traveling escapes in 1960s San Francisco. Here’s everything you need to know before the book hits shelves on August 12!
Trigger Warning: Playback contains brief depictions of anxiety (generalized anxiety disorder), as well as brief mentions of body image and ableist language. Please exercise personal care while reading.
Synopsis
Seventeen years ago, 17-year-old Mari Caldwell time-traveled to 1967 San Francisco during the Summer of Love and spent a few precious but bizarre days with heartthrob musician Jimmy Westwood and his rock band, Neon Dream. Now, that idealistic version of herself feels so far away. Recently divorced and stuck in an unfulfilling career, 34-year-old present-day Mari only relives those magical memories in the bedtime stories she tells to her daughter, Joni. Perhaps that week she spent in the ‘60s was some sort of fever dream. Mari has nearly convinced herself it never happened at all. That is, until it happens again.
Without warning, Mari finds herself back in 1967, a few months after she met Neon Dream the first time around. On the outside, she’s the same 17-year-old girl Jimmy and the band remember her as. But on the inside, 34-year-old Mari is more conflicted about where she belongs than ever. Reunited with her first love, her romantic rival, and the band that changed her life, Mari faces a devastating decision between two time periods. With both her past and her future on the line, can she finally learn to live in the present?
An Impassioned Tribute to the ‘60s
As I head down Haight, I feel lighter, like the past seventeen years have lifted off my body. A riot of color sweeps me along. Clothing, murals, liquid-lettered posters. Photo chemicals still sting my nostrils, but I breathe easier as sweeter aromas waft through the air: weed and incense—patchouli and sandalwood, jasmine and cedar. Protesters chant a backbeat for the spontaneous music festival of the street—guitar and flute, harmonica and tambourine—while strains of folk and rock blend with the sonic hallucinations of psychedelia streaming from record stores and head shops. Music pours down from apartments above. I look up. A curtain of colored beads clinks in one of the windows.
— Carla Malden, Playback
Carla Malden’s Playback celebrates an iconic era in cultural and musical history. In this portal to the 1960s, Malden pays homage to beloved hallmarks of the decade: VW vans, hippies clad in tie-dye, 25-cent diner hamburgers, and, of course, rock and roll legends like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. Her vivid descriptions of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district circa 1967 transport readers to the Summer of Love alongside Mari, cultivating nostalgia for a period defined by the ideals of peace and goodwill. If you’re in the mood for an immersive historical adventure set in the ‘60s SF music scene, this book belongs on your TBR.
A Dreamy Time-Travel Romance
He radiates the kind of heat that comes with being on the cusp—the cusp of adulthood, the cusp of success, the cusp of the rest of your life. He’s so lucky.
So am I. I’m getting a do-over.
— Carla Malden, Playback
When Mari first stumbled into the 1960s in Shine Until Tomorrow and fell for Jimmy Westwood, she’d halfway convinced herself the whole ordeal was a grand hallucination. But when it happens a second time, she can’t deny the truth: She really has been transported back to 1967. This isn’t Mari’s first time-travel experience, but now, the stakes are much higher than before. In the present day, she leaves behind the center of her world: her four-year-old daughter, Joni. Can she reconcile the love she has for Joni and Jimmy, despite them belonging to separate centuries? Or will she be forced to make a heart-shattering choice between two of the greatest loves of her life?
A Testament to the Unifying Power of Music
‘We’ve all got to figure out the best way each of us can change the world,’ says Bodhi.
‘One heart at a time,’ I say, quoting Jimmy. He smiles at me—a shared secret.
‘Or one mind,’ says Bodhi.
— Carla Malden, Playback
Music can change the world. That’s one of Playback’s central messages, continually echoed by idealist musician Jimmy Westwood, the frontman of up-and-coming rock band Neon Dream. Though he’s thrilled with the band’s overnight success following their breakout single, Jimmy isn’t interested in the money, fame, or popularity that stardom brings. To him, music is about one thing: bringing people together. One heart at a time — that’s all it takes to change the world. And as Jimmy sets out to prove, few things unite people more than the love of a great song.
An Urgent Call To Live in the Present
‘I want to be committed to here and now,’ I say. ‘To this place and time.’
‘Then don’t just want to be,’ he says. ‘Be committed.’
— Carla Malden, Playback
At the start of Playback, Mari Caldwell is obsessed with the past. In the 17 years since she first time-traveled to 1967, those few days she spent falling in love with Jimmy have occupied a not-insignificant part of her mind. So when she’s granted a second chance to live out their romance, she’s willing to risk everything — even her future — to see it through. But the choice between past and future is complicated and consequential for more than just Mari. In this struggle between two different versions of herself, she realizes that living in the past isn’t living at all. So much joy awaits her in the present. To seize it, she must leave yesterday in the rearview and welcome everything the here and now has to offer.
Final Thoughts
Playback by Carla Malden explores the pitfalls of clinging to the past rather than living in the present, urging readers to embrace the ineludible changes that come with growth. Through the lens of a time-defying trip to 1960s San Francisco, it exemplifies themes of love, grief, and human connection. Perfect for anyone who adores unconventional love stories imbued with inspiring life lessons, this novel is one that music and book lovers alike won’t want to miss.
You’ll love Playback if you enjoyed these books:
- Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Every Hour until Then by Gabrielle Meyer
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
- Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
- The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
Bookstr’s Playback Dream Cast:
- Juno Temple as present-day Mari Caldwell, a newly divorced mother and photographer
- Peyton List as young Mari Caldwell, a teenager in love with an up-and-coming rock star
- Jordan Fisher as Jimmy Westwood, a singer-songwriter on the rise
- Alexa Demie as Nina Cavendish, Mari’s romantic rival
If you want to add Playback to your TBR, you can preorder it on Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Amazon. Thank you to Rare Bird Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Click here to read our review of Gabrielle Meyer’s Every Hour until Then!
To browse more books like this, check out Bookstr’s Artistic Coupling: The Wonderful World of Music and Books shelf on Bookshop!
