Stolen Car

by Patrick Jones

Overview

Danielle is drawn to Reid, the quintessential "bad boy." Even though she should learn from her mother's poor taste in men, she can't seem to shake her strong feelings for him. As she gets caught up in Reid's lifestyle, Danielle turns a blind eye to his lies, and is soon in way over her head. But her BFF Ashley is determined not to let Danielle become the road kill on Reid's joy ride through life. Once she forces Dani to see through Reid's deception, they take off on a revenge-injected road trip that starts with a stolen car and ends with some harsh truths. Patrick Jones takes readers for a ride in this dynamic story about good friends, bad boys, and fast cars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802723833
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	04/10/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

PATRICK JONES received lifetime achievement awards from both the American Library Association and the Catholic Library Association for his work motivating young people to read. He is also the author of many teen novels, including The Tear Collector, Stolen Car, and Things Change. Patrick was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
www.connectingya.com
PATRICK JONES received lifetime achievement awards from both the American Library Association and the Catholic Library Association for his work motivating young people to read. He is also the author of many teen novels, including The Tear Collector, Stolen Car, and Things Change. Patrick was born and raised in Flint, Michigan, and currently lives in Minnesota. www.connectingya.com

Editorial Reviews

Gr 9 Up

Danielle, 15, wants to be loved-not the way the Dad-wannabes love her single mom, not the way her ever-reliable friend Evan loves her, but really loved, the way she deserves. So when her old crush Reid expresses an interest in her, she falls hard for the much older boy. To be with him, she routinely ditches and lies to Evan and BFF Ashley, who steadfastly stand by with admonitions and advice. When Danielle finally sees through Reid's lies and realizes that he has been unfaithful, she and Ashley steal his cherished car and hit the road. Danielle's relationships are mostly realistic, if overly dramatic, and the premise of getting swept up in a bad boy's charms is believable. However, the dialogue-driven narrative is sometimes clumsy, major characters often serve as doormats to be pushed aside, and references to teen culture are self-conscious and stuffy. Although the fact that Ashley's life is not as happy as she pretends is repeatedly hinted at, the details of her past are confessed too late to make any thematic use of them, despite their relevance to Danielle's situation. This book has the potential to be an engrossing story but gets dragged down by the weak characters and a ham-handed delivery.-Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA

School Library Journal