Hardcover, 223 pages
Release Date: January 7, 2020Published by: Crown Books for Young Readers
Read from: January 18-20, 2020Stand-aloneSource: LibraryTW: “Kidnapping”, DeathFor fans of: Road Trips, MG, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Close Family Relationships
From New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a middle grade road-trip story through American race relations past and present perfect for fans of Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds.
How to Go on an Unplanned Road Trip with Your Grandma:
* Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED.
* Fasten Your Seatbelt: G’ma’s never conventional, so this trip won’t be either.
* Use the Green Book: G’ma’s most treasured possession. It holds, history, memories, and most important, the way home.
What Not to Bring:
* A Cell Phone: Avoid contact with Dad at all costs. Even when G’ma starts acting stranger than usual.
Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, take a trip with New York Times bestselling Nic Stone and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover the world hasn’t always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren’t always what they seem–his G’ma included.
*MY THOUGHTS*
As someone who LOVES Nic Stone’s YA novels, I was really interested in how she would handle MG. And its no surprise to anyone that it was amazing. Definitely one of my favorites of hers after Dear Martin.
“Scoob runs a thumb over the brassy latch. What is what’s inside isn’t all that exciting? It’ll suin the whole thing. Scoob would never admit it to anyone, but there are books he’s never finished because he liked imagining all the things that could happen. Knowing what does happen woulf take the fun out of it.“pg. 26
Scoob has had it with his dad. So, when a chance for a road trip with his G’ma comes up, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes. But what he doesn’t know is where they’re going or why. But its either this or continue to listen to his dad about all that he’s doing wrong. But what he doesn’t know is his G’ma has an entire plan that he knows nothing about.
“Do you like fighting? ‘ Scoob’s jaw clenches. ‘No ma’am.’ […] ‘So, people don’t have to enjoy the wrong they’re doing to do it?“pg. 85
The very best thing about this book was the plot. And that’s saying something about someone who doesn’t like history. Now this book is contemporary, but this book is still filled with historical facts. All things that kids need to know about. I was especially impressed on how Stone incorporated the Green Book! And all the small facts and the foreshadowing of everything that happened was SO. GOOD. It ended with something I did not see coming, but once I read it, Stone’s new tattoo she got made so much sense. This book had me on the edge of my seat and it was awesome.
“I was an angry young woman. […] people were so awful to one another, especially while folks to blacks- and the stealing[…] well it was my way of getting back at the world. […] Felt good to do bad.“pg. 193
The characters were also awesome. I loved Scoob, but I had to keep reminding myself this was MG and not YA because some of the things he was worried about or allowed himself to do was not smart. But it made sense for this age group. G’ma was super cute and I loved her. And although she had some really bad ideas, she had a good motive. As for Scoob’s parents, I wish she had told us what happened to his mom, and if G’ma told her secrets to his dad, but those are the only issues I had.
“They got seventeen more days.“pg. 211
And because this was a MG novel, there was a few illustrations drawn throughout the novel. I liked them for the most part, but some of them were out there. The small drawings like the stacks of money and the treasure box were ok, but the larger pictures were a little weird to me. The heads were really large and the bodies really small. But according to others, this isn’t an issue with anyone else.
Just like with Nic Stone’s other novels, I really liked this one. Make sure you don’t miss this one. The plot twists at the end will suprise you, but will also leaving you cheering for them anyways.
Overall, I give this
