Review – The Car by Gary Paulsen (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 192 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: November 1, 2006
ISBN-13: 978-0152058272
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed from Mom
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Neglected by his parents, fourteen-year-old Terry Anders is used to taking care of things on his own. He even manages to assemble a car kit by himself. When the car is finished, Terry sets off from Cleveland to Portland in search of an uncle he barely remembers. Along the way, he is joined by a wise Vietnam vet who turns his journey into an adventure in learning.”

I got this book from my mom, who was cleaning out her books. This was a very quick read and ended up being okay. I think it would appeal most to middle grade/YA boys.

This is about a 14 year old boy who parents leave him. He ends up building a car from a car kit and decides to head West on an adventure. On the way he meets some old vets and they end up showing him some old time sites that drive home what it means to be an American.

Overall it was a well written story and was easy to read. It ends right in the middle of things and didn’t have much resolution. Still it was decent and I think middle grade to YA boys would probably enjoy it.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Goodreads Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge