Smith's Vietnam-era road trip tells the tense, violent and cathartic story of teenage brothers Jonah and Simon, 16 and 14, on the run after their mother abandons them in their New Mexico home. Their older brother, Matt, plans to desert the army, and the brothers all attempt to meet in Arizona. En route, the boys are given a lift by Mitch and Lilly, on the run from Texas. Lilly is pregnant, and Mitch, whose friendly appearance masks a serious psychosis, is taking her somewhere to have an abortion. By the time Jonah becomes aware of the danger Mitch poses, the boys are already trapped in the car with him, and Jonah's developing relationship with Lilly only fuels Mitch's anger. Smith (Ghost Medicine) paints a picture of a bleak time, with Matt's letters from Vietnam highlighting the depressing and frightening lives soldiers led even as the folks back home faced equally uncertain futures. There are moments of bleak, nasty violence, but they rarely appear gratuitous, instead underlining the despair Jonah and Simon feel, and offering something they must transcend. Ages 13–up. (Oct.)
In the Path of Falling Objects
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
Andrew SmithUnabridged — 10 hours, 34 minutes
In the Path of Falling Objects
Narrated by Mike Chamberlain
Andrew SmithUnabridged — 10 hours, 34 minutes
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Overview
The man is crazy. The girl is desperate. This violent ride is only just beginning. And it will leave the brothers taking cover from hard truths about loyalty, love, and survival that crash into their lives.
One more thing: The brothers have a gun. They're going to need it.
Editorial Reviews
Gr 9 Up—Falling Objects is a mystical, lyrical, sometimes violent, and ultimately hopeful story of what it means to be a brother. The novel begins with a look back at a murder and quickly moves forward to northern New Mexico and brothers Jonah, 16, and Simon, 14, a dead horse at their feet, a gun in Jonah's backpack, parents nowhere to be found. From the first squashed scorpion, readers feel the heat and hopelessness of the boys' situation. Jonah's most precious possessions are letters from their older brother, who is slowly succumbing to despair in Vietnam. The boys hitch a ride with Mitch, an unstable killer; Lilly, who likes to make Mitch jealous; and a literal tin man who rides in the backseat. Parts of the book are spare and poetic; parts are gritty and grim. Several characters are dead by the last chapter. Despite it all, there is a feeling of closure, as it seems that the brothers could make a new start with a young man they meet, Dalton, and his nontraditional family. For teens looking for something to sink their teeth into, Smith offers a challenging read. Powerful imagery and symbolism are threaded throughout the narrative along with Bible references, a map that Jonah is drawing, a meteorite that Simon takes along as a talisman, and references to gravity and its relentless pull. The intensity will suit serious readers who don't mind a little blood and gore.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX
Abandoned by their mother, out of food and even water, 16-year-old Jonah and his brother, Simon, two years younger, embark on a brutal but mesmerizing road trip that steers an unswerving course toward tragedy. Traveling from their Southwest desert home toward the Arizona prison their father will soon be leaving, they're picked up by Mitch, a murderous psychopath, and Lilly, 16, pregnant and following the path of least resistance. Mitch's car, a swank classic Lincoln, becomes the scene for much of the action, as Jonah and Simon both fall for Lilly, their poorly concealed interest enraging their unstable traveling companion. Mitch's plan to kill the brothers evolves at a leisurely pace, and horror mounts as Simon falls under his spell. Jonah safeguards letters from eldest brother Matthew, serving in Vietnam, that graphically document a different horror, with multiple killings officially sanctioned but no less brutal. His parallel story, drug- and violence-laced, is slowly revealed. The cold-blooded murders Mitch commits on whim and Matthew's war experiences steer this thriller toward the upper end of the range; older teens will be riveted. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)
Falling Objects is a mystical, lyrical, sometimes violent, and ultimately hopeful story of what it means to be a brother. …For teens looking for something to sink their teeth into, Smith offers a challenging read. Powerful imagery and symbolism are threaded throughout the narrative along with Bible references, a map that Jonah is drawing, a meteorite that Simon takes along as a talisman, and references to gravity and its relentless pull. The intensity will suit serious readers who don't mind a little blood and gore.” —School Library Journal
“...16-year-old Jonah and his brother, Simon, two years younger, embark on a brutal but mesmerizing road trip that steers an unswerving course toward tragedy. …[O]lder teens will be riveted.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Smith's Vietnam-era road trip tells the tense, violent and cathartic story of teenage brothers Jonah and Simon, 16 and 14, on the run after their mother abandons them in their New Mexico home.” —Publishers Weekly
“A relentless, bleak thriller that nails the claustrophobic sense of being totally out of control, and moving fast.” —Booklist
“The setting is vivid, the plot (including a thrilling showdown) is suspenseful, and the characters are complex and intriguing, particularly in their interactions with one another. It's a wilderness survival adventure wherein the characters have to survive each other as much as the harsh, unforgiving landscape.” —Horn Book
Mike Chamberlain introduces Jonah's narration with a resigned tone. The 16-year-old has been abandoned by his mother with no food or money. His older brother's letters from Vietnam let Jonah know he must be responsible for his younger brother, Simon. When the teenaged boys decide to hitchhike across the Southwest desert to find their father in an Arizona prison, Chamberlain's narration becomes dramatic as soon as Mitch and Lilly pick them up. Stress between the brothers builds as they compete for Lilly's flirtatious attention. And tension mounts with Chamberlain's portrayal of Mitch, a murdering psychopath. At first, Mitch is prickly, but soon he turns menacing and then scary. Chamberlain expresses the boys' reactions as they move from annoyance to fear, and, finally, to determination to survive. S.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940169494365 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 09/22/2009 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
Read an Excerpt
The car was a 1940 Lincoln Cabriolet, black and white with broad white-walled tires. Its top was down, and, as it neared, crunching and kicking back the dirt of the road, I saw a man at the wheel and a pretty yellow-haired girl sitting in the front, and there was also what appeared to be a third person sitting bolt-upright in the back seat.
It was as out-of-place in that desert as a sailboat would have been, and it was the kind of car you knew had to carry stories with it, but I had no intention of finding out what those stories told.
“Let’s start walking,” I said. “Just don’t even look at them.”
“We should ask them for a ride.”
“No.” I looked at Simon, then put my head down like I didn’t even know or care about that car coming up alongside us. I began walking forward, just looking at the ground, listening to our feet, the scattering sounds of tires on the gravel and dirt of the road.
I warned Simon again, “Don’t even look at them.”
So I just concentrated on not paying that car any attention. I could hear Simon following along, scooting his feet in the rocks and dirt. And it wasn’t until later, until it was too late for both of us, that I found out Simon was sticking a thumb out to beg a ride.
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