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Summary: TRUST ME... THIS IS THE COOLEST READ!
Review: This is such a good book! Last year Joan Bauer visited our school. I bought a copy of Backwater and was tempted to read more of her books. A friend of mine recommended Rules Of The Road. I decided to try it out. Now it's my FAVORITE book! It is really funny and everyone will like it!
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Summary: Respect your elders!
Review: If you are more of an adult novel reader because you find teen novels a bit... easy, then this is the perfect book to read. It has the perfect amount of maturity without sounding too grown up or too kiddy-ish. A lot of teen novels are about the character finding out who they are and having adventures while they're at it. This read depicts just that, but the author, Joan Bauer (who has quickly become my favorite teen novelist), adds her own style and flair to the writing. Rules of the Road is a feel-good novel with many funny lines and snappy remarks, thanks to Joan Bauer's amazingly wonderful writing.
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Summary: Road Trip Reading
Review: The basic plot may sound dumb (Shoe Salesgirl and Old Lady Tour Country?s Shoe Stores to Save Old Fashioned Values) but there are a lot of other things under the surface. Jenna has just gotten her license and is happy to take this trip with Mrs. Gladstone because her absentee, alcoholic father is back in town. Jenna also has a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer?s so Jenna has to help her hold on to her memories for as long as possible. Like many children of alcoholics, Jenna feels that she has to protect everyone, so this trip away from home gives Jenna time to focus on her. Like most teenagers, Jenna has a lot of opinions that most adults tend to ignore, so this trip also gives her a chance to be heard. I loved how Jenna developed over the story and came to trust herself more. The ending wraps up the shoe store story line a little too perfectly, but beyond that I loved this book! It would be great poolside reading. Have a good summer.
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Summary: EHhhhHh....Thought it'd be better
Review: This book is about how this girl Jenna is experiencing famiily problems-her dad being an alcoholic and her grandma dying, her mom needing her...but she wants to get away from this when she's offered to drive the owner of Gladstone's shoe company to Texas to fight her son's view on how to run Gladstones. 1st of all I didn't like the ending much, and when i finished the last page I wasn't like WOW, this book was great. I wouldn't recommend it ever, but its not terrible, its got thought put into writing it. Some parts are funny, very dramatic too.
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Summary: Rules of the road apply to life too.
Review: Jenna is a tall girl who can't play basketball and has a crush on a boy who doesn't know she exists. But can she sell shoes! Like her heroine in "Hope Was Here", Bauer creates a teenager who actually enjoys her job and is good at it. Her talent causes her crotchety old boss, Mrs. Gladstone, to whisk her away from the store and place her behind the wheel of her enormous Cadillac. As the two wind their way from Illinois to Texas, they inspect each Gladstone store where, "We're Not Just Selling Shoes, We're Selling Quality." Jenna spies on the salespeople and races to serve ignored customers, blowing on her initialed shoehorn after each sale. It's a race against time to stop the sale of the chain by Mrs. Gladstone's evil son, "The Rat", to a discount shoe warehouse. As Jenna learns the rules of the road, she also learns about life from Alice, a former shoe model, and Harry, the best salesman around. Over the summer, Jenna grows into a young woman with confidence and the courage to confront her alcoholic father back home in Chicago. A touching and funny coming-of-age novel.
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Summary: Disappointed
Review: I'm going to go against the grain and say that I was displeased with this book. There were characters introduced that deserved much more attention than they were given (Faith and the manager of the Chicago Gladstone's Shoes). As in "Hope Was Here" I had trouble figuring out who Bauer was writing for- teenagers, children or librarians that liked books about the way they'd like teenagers to be and not how they really are. This book had its moments- all the adult characters were interesting and fun. Jenna is not the cliche YA character- she's positive, a non-drug user and doesn't have a boyfriend.
The plot had potential as well however, at times it was very weak. I also didn't like the fact that everyone in the retail industry with the exception of Mrs. Gladstone and Jenna are made to look like evil-doers who enjoy disappointing people or just don't care. Bauer obviously needed to do more research into the heartless corporate world and it looks like she did before writing "Hope Was Here." I'm still trying to figure out why this was chosen for a book award.
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Summary: Rules of the Road
Review: In the eventful fiction book: Rules of the Road, Jenna Boller is offered the oppurtunity of her life time to go cross country and get paid, a dream come true. But it gets better when she finds out she will be driving a great looking car. Jenna is a sixteen year old girl who is one of the best at what she does. She works in a local shoe store, in Chicago, that is part of a huge chain. There she uses her great skills to sell the best shoes. Joan Bauer develops Jenna as a character so well that by the end of the book you can predict what outfit Jenna will wear. The author does a great job in using imagery to put the reader in the place of Jenna. Jenna is a girl who knows what she wants and is not going to let anyone stop her. If anyone trys she will bulldoze them right over like they were nothing. This makes for the perfect personality for the cross country trip. The oppurtuntiy that the founder of the whole Gladstone's shoe chain asked Jenna to be her driver couldn't have come at a better time. As Jenna drives Mrs. Gladstone across the states, she learns a lot about life and the rules that come along with it. She has plenty of time to think over problems in her life, and many hours to get to know Mrs. Gladstone at a new level. As the miles roll under her wheels she finds a way to confront her father about his obvious alcohol addiction. Jenna is introduced to Harry Bender who becomes a father figure within one week of knowing him. Harry gives Jenna advise that seems to lift all her problems. It is exciting to find out how Jenna uses her strong voice to fix everything wrong in her life. Joan Bauer writes a well known novel which was a winner of the 1998 Angeles Times Book Prize. I would recommend this book if you enjoy reading characters discover who they really are inside.
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Summary: She is on her own
Review: I believe that Rules of the Road is a wonderful read, because it can really give you lessons about life. I think the sassy good shoe selling main character is trying to put her life together. Having to deal her father's problem with bottle when he comes into town unexpectly at her job. I believe when her boss at the shoe store gave her opportunity to export shoes across the country in her car. The main character took the trip just to get away from her problems at home. But I believe she got more of the experience than a free trip. I believe it wasn't just a trip to drop off shoes but a life experience that will last lifetime. And life experience that many people do not get a chance to enjoy, expect though books. So if you want to follow one person trip around the United States, this is the read for you.
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Summary: Bookchick loved it!
Review: After reading Hope Was Here, I had to get my hands on another book by Joan Bauer. She does an incredible job of writing books that kids can really relate to. Kids with parents who are alcoholics, grandparents who are suffering from alzheimer's disease, kids dealing with sibling rivalry, etc. I teach reading to 6th graders, and I have shared both Hope Was Here and Rules of the Road with my classes. I just finished Squashed at 11:30 last night and can't wait to share it with my students as well.
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Summary: Rules of the Road
Review: The book Rules of the Road is a pretty good book. It tells you in the book how to over come certian problems. In the story her dad is a drunk and he is a problem that is always coming up.In the story she over comes her problems while on the road to and from texas.It tells you howshe helps people find the right kind of shoes for them.you will probbably like this book if you like fighting for what is right,learn how to pick out shoes, and if a person is trying to sell u some thing that u really need...
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