Rules of the Road

Rating:
Summary: A well written book that most girls 10+ can relate to
Review: This was a wonderful book about a challenging, but well explained topic. It's nice to know that not all girls have a perfect life. It's about a tall, 16 year old girl who has to deal with an alcoholic father, a stressful job, and just plain growing up. This book really hit home, and I could relate to all of it very easily. I would recommend this to all girls 10 to 17.

Rating:
Summary: Every female from the age of 10 should read this book!
Review: I'm an adult/female who reviews dozens of middle grade and young adult books as part of my job. I haven't been this enthusiastic about a book since "The Agony of Alice." I laughed out loud and had tears in my eyes..all within a few pages! Joan Bauer touches upon the traditional teenage concerns...feeling awkward & ugly at times and being an outsider at school. Everyone, no matter what age they are now, will relate to Jenna's feelings. But, more importantly, the relationship between Jenna, the "smart" 17 year-old, and Mrs. Gladstone, the ageless 73 year-old, will convince you that there are are no age limits on friendship.

Rating:
Summary: The best book yet
Review: When this book starts off, Jeanna is working at Gladstone shoe store. Her father who is a drunk comes in and makes Jeanna upset, that she thought she lost her job. When Miss Gladstone decides that Jeanna is the perfect person to be her driver, to go down to Dallas Texas. She thinks leaving is the best way to get away from her alcoholic father for the entire summer. Jeanna and Miss Gladstone has many adventures along the way to Dallas. I am not going tell the ending but if you are person that like "Squashed" and "Thwonk" then you will like this one.

Rating:
Summary: A book that's worth it
Review: I could relate to this book. It taught me that some things that hurt the most can keep you strong. by the end i was crying, but this book helped me a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Rules of the Road review
Review: The book "Rules of the Road" by Joan Bauer is a book for everyone. You see heartache, laughter, and disappointment through the eyes of this young women, Jenna Boller. Jenna is a wonderful shoe salesperson. Jenna's job is more then just selling shoes it's connecting with people and helping them. After working in this one shoe store for quite a while she gets forced into the trip of her lifetime. Spending most of her summer driving the owner of the store to Texas, this means leaving everything and everyone who she knows and loves. Can Jenna make it through? You will have to read and find out. I have not enjoyed and book for a while as much as I enjoyed "Rules of the Road." I laughed at all the jokes that Jenna cracked about the situations that she was in, and I cried when she counldn't get out of them. When you read the book you really feel like you are going through everything that Jenna goes through right along with her. I was pulled into this book right away. After you read "Rules of the Road" you will have a different view on life seeing how brave and wonderful Jenna is. I recommend this book to anyone that loves to take a great book and really live it.

Rating:
Summary: Good book for teenage girls
Review: Annotation: The "Rules of The Road" is about a girl named Jenna who had a passion for selling shoes. She is only a young girl in high school, but she has a job that she goes to after school. It's a time when she can get away from everything, and she is doing what she does best. Jenna's life changed when her manager asks her to be her driver on this road trip she is going on. Jenna agrees, but she has no idea what she has gotten herself into.

Author Bio: Joan was born on July 12, 1951. She grew up in River Forest, Illinois, where she found a passion for making people laugh, and letting people make her laugh. While she was in her twenties, she had a successful career in sales and advertising with the Chicago Tribune, McGraw-Hill, and Parade Magazine. She had gotten in a car accident which injured her neck and back very bad, and that is when she wrote her first adult novel Squashed. The humor in that story kept her going. She now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, and daughter who is away at college.

Evaluation: The "Rules of The Road" was one of my favorite books I read in the second marking period of College Reading. I thought that the book showed young girls how to stand up for themselves. And not even just young girls, all women who want to be in control of something, and be successful in something. The book is about an older wiser woman who is teaching young teenage Jenna how to get along in the world. She teaches her how to talk to different people, and how to get what she wants. She also teaches her that when you want something bad enough there is nothing that can stop you from getting to that point. There will be bumps in the road as you go along, but in the end if you work hard enough, and you are determined, you are most likely to get to the point you want to be at. This book also is about Jenna's relationship with the father, and how she deals with his sickness. He is an alcoholic and he is ruining the family. Jenna builds up the courage to tell her dad what she really feels. Her father doesn't really respond the way that she would have liked, but in the end she feels better because she had finally gotten all that she wanted to say, off of her chest.


Rating:
Summary: Anna's review
Review: Rules of the Road is book about a teenage girl finding her place in life. Jenna is a tall, lanky girl, who works at a shoe store named Gladstone's. Mrs. Madeline Gladstone, the owner, is threatened by her money-hungry son, Elden, who wants to take over the buisness. Mrs. Gladstone, needs someone to drive her to Texas, to stop him, and keep her company. After observing her work, Jenna is the perfect candidate to drive her. Once Jenna accepts Mrs. Gladstone's generous offer, and becomes her personal driver, things start falling apart at home. Jenna's father is an alcoholic, and has made Jenna and her family live through hard times with him before the divorce. Jenna needs to get away from problems at home, and a road trip to Texas is the perfect exit. The journey's experience teaches Jenna, and the reader determination, courage, and friendship. This book didn't only make me laugh out loud, and make me never put it down, but it taught me that friendship has no age limits. Jenna and Mrs. Gladstone are the perfect example of that. I think this book would appeal to anyone who likes sarcastic humor, continuous plot, and characters they can relate to.

Rating:
Summary: Clinton @ Richview Middle School @ Clks. Tenn.
Review: Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't put down? A story so engrossing, you forget about the world around you and enter into the world of the protagonist? Well I have. It's called Rules of the Road, written by Joan Bauer. With its extremely descriptive details this novel makes you feel like you're in the story. A good example of this would be when Jenna is making a grilled cheese sandwich for Mrs. Gladstone and herself. She describes it and your mouth waters as she puts the olive oil on the oat bread and adds tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and Canadian bacon. When she puts it in the hot frying pan you can hear the sizzling of the sandwiches and the aroma that fills the huge Texas house. Jenna Broller, a sixteen year old girl, just got her driver's license. She works at a Gladstone's Shoe Store in Chicago. Jenna loves her job and is very good at selling shoes. She had only been driving for a couple of months when she was confronted by Mrs. Gladstone, company creator and owner of Gladstone's Shoe Store. Mrs. Gladstone purposed a driving opportunity for Jenna. Jenna was to drive her to Texas, but stop at many of the Gladstone Shoe Stores on the way. One main conflict of this novel is person vs. person. Jenna's father left when her parents got a divorce over his alcoholism. When he returns he always causes trouble for his family. Jenna wants to help her father but can't confront him in the beginning.

The novel Rules of the Road is a wonderfully written story. I could relate to the character in some ways and at the end of the book I felt very attached to Jenna like I knew her. I admired Jenna, because she was a very determined lady who wouldn't give up till she did what she had to do. The story also had very descriptive words. For example Bauer, the writer, picked the perfect words, like the words are puzzle pieces and she only chose the ones that fit perfectly. One minor flaw was that in the beginning the characters kind of repeat themselves and Bauer keeps telling us about how Jenna loves to sell shoes and she so great at it. This only happens in the beginning of the story. The rest of it was marvelously written. The book was great.