Book Review: The Silver Squad

Reviewed by S.A. Evans

Between road tripping and vigilantism, these septuagenarians are doing everything but slowing down.

The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles answers the questions I don’t hear many people ask. Can 70-year-olds pull off the goth look? Can anyone be too old to be a vigilante for human and animal rights? Do people actually like SPAM? For Barry and Beth, two new residents of a senior living center, they learn that those answers are firmly “yes,” “no,” and “yes.” 

Once high school sweethearts, Barry and Beth reunite at the Blue Loon Village. Together, they refuse to let life pass them by.

The duo, along with Barry’s gecko named Gertrude, team up to form what they’ll later be known as the Silver Squad. Their job: to get justice for those in need. The story sets the tone right away with lines such as, “If [Barry] wanted to talk to a human, Marilyn’s ashes, in an urn on the coffee table, would suffice.” Barry being a curmudgeon and Beth being bubbly and free-spirited means there’s no telling what these two will get up to during their travels. 

We begin in Minnesota. Blue Loon Village just opened and is brimming with residents settling into the next phase of their lives. Barry’s daughter sets him up here following the death of his wife. Not really caring for his new surroundings, he gets through the first few days or so with the company of Gertrude, a 5-year-old gecko who is always up to sit on Barry’s shoulder for a one-sided chat. 

One day, Beth meets Barry at the cafeteria and we learn that Beth’s sister encouraged her to live at the Blue Loon Village following a bout of depression and divorce. The two strike up a conversation, and it seems like no time has passed between them. Both are renewed with energy when Beth proposes that they change the world, “How alive are you if you have no plans for the future and aren’t doing something to give your life purpose?” 

With neither having any plans, they form the Silver Squad. They easily acquire a getaway vehicle for their travels and get to work, leaving the old-fashioned vision of retirement behind them. The duo encounters a lot along the way including, but not limited to: getting revenge on terrible people, going on the run from the abusive side of the law, and becoming local celebrities. 

The characters and their funny banter are definitely the best parts of this book. The dynamic between Beth and Barry realistic; I can totally buy them being a couple as teenagers and getting drawn back together even after many years apart. Who wouldn’t root for them when Barry gives Beth lines like, “Rather than someone on the staff stuffing you into a body bag, it’s far more likely that my heart will skip too many beats from looking at you, and I’ll go into cardiac arrest.” 

Their respective personalities remain consistent throughout everything. They aren’t presented one way before they leave Blue Loon Village and become different people once they’re on the road; his grumpiness and her sunshine-ness is inherent and affects their behavior regularly. They are a blast to follow. 

Even Gertrude, who has no lines, comes with a lot of personality. I’m convinced no one can resist a cute, little gecko. Jenny, the third (honorary) member of the Silver Squad, is amazing too. She’s about half the age of Beth and Barry and a sort of daughter figure to the duo—a perfect addition for a rekindling couple years down the line.  While there is a lot of action in this book, there are plenty of quiet moments that keep you balanced and make you care about what happens to these people.

As a Black woman, I did run into a couple of racially uncomfortable moments along the way, and some readers could feel the same, like when Jenny and Beth are followed in New Orleans and when a secondary, non-Black character uses a certain word.

In general, The Silver Squad: Rebels With Wrinkles is a fun road trip story about finding purpose and meaning as you grow older. The emotional tie to that purpose is heartwarming and gives cause to the progression of the plot. The book definitely has Bonnie and Clyde vibes, if Bonnie and Clyde were crusaders for good, loved SPAM, and had to take frequent restroom trips and naps. 

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