The Car

by Gary Paulsen

Overview

A 14-year-old boy takes a road trip in search of family—and discovers adventure—in this YA novel by the Newbery Award-winning author.

At fourteen, Terry Anders finds himself abandoned by both of his parents. Left alone in their home, he has nothing but an empty refrigerator and his father’s unfinished Blakely Bearcat kit car—abandoned just like Terry. And that gives him an idea.

After getting the car road-ready, Terry takes it out to the highway and heads west. Leaving Cleveland behind, his plan is to track down an uncle he once met who lives somewhere in Oregon. But along the way, Terry makes friends, sees parts of his country he never knew about, and learns a thing or two about life, survival, and himself.

“Terry Anders is a 1990s Huck Finn…this provocative novel introduces and explores some interesting philosophies of life while stressing the value of learning from experience.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544836723
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	06/11/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	163,714
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
File size:	446 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

<P>GARY PAULSEN (1939 - 2021) wrote nearly two hundred books for young people, including the Newbery Honor Books Hatchet, Dogsong, and The Winter Room. </P>

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This provocative novel introduces and explores some interesting philosophies of life while stressing the value of learning from experience."—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

In a starred review, PW praised the Newbery Honor author for ``his ability to create flesh-and-blood characters'' in this story about a 14-year-old who sets out on a road trip and meets up with a Vietnam vet. Ages 12-up. Another Paulsen title, Dancing Carl, is being released simultaneously by Aladdin; $3.95 ISBN 0-689-80410-5. Ages 9-12. (Oct.) q

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Abandoned by both his parents, 14-year-old Terry Anders decides to assemble the pieces of a car kit--a Blakely Bearcat--and take off on his own. Then he meets Waylon Jackson, a 45-year-old Vietnam veteran who has spent most of the past 20 years trucking around the U.S., and the two decide to join forces. Their cross-country odyssey has great impact on Terry: They visit an old man who recites history as if he were a participant, dine at a religious commune, and tour the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn. Waylon is a well-developed, if somewhat enigmatic, character, given to violent and sometimes unpredictable outbreaks of temper. Flashback memories interspersed between early chapters reveal that a traumatic incident in Vietnam has left him mentally unstable, and references to government checks suggest some kind of permanent disability. Although the trip works well as a metaphor for Terry's journey toward maturity, not all the story's elements are as well developed. Terry's parents seem to exist mostly as a convenient plot device rather than a source of real conflict, and Waylon's homosexuality is mentioned but never explored. Despite these flaws, "The Car" is a well-written, thoughtful coming-of-age novel.

Kay Weisman

"This provocative novel introduces and explores some interesting philosophies of life while stressing the value of learning from experience."—Publishers Weekly
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From the Publisher