Search This Blog








2022 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (5)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (2)
- Massachusetts (4)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (7)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (2)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (4)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
Antarctica (1)
Australia (2)
Egypt (2)
England (12)
Greece (1)
Italy (1)
Nepal (1)
Romania (1)
Scotland (3)
Sweden (1)
Wales (1)








The 52 Book Club's Reading Challenge 2022

2022 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

Wednesday, December 30, 2020
MG Road Trip Novel Warm, Entertaining, and Illuminating
6:04 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
William "Scoob" Lamar is on house arrest after an incident at school for which he was wrongfully blamed. No one will listen to his side of the story, not even his father. Feeling resentful, the 11-year-old is only too happy to go along when his 76-year-old grandmother decides to whisk him away on an impromptu road trip. G'ma explains that they'll be retracing the route through the South that she and Scoob's grandfather took back in 1963. As an interracial couple, they were rarely well received and had to travel using the Negro Travelers' Green Book to know which establishments would allow them entry. Scoob can hardly believe such a guide was necessary, but as he—a bi-racial child who presents as Black—and his white grandmother travel through the South, he notices the odd, even threatening, looks they're getting from some people. It seems to him that maybe things haven't changed much at all in the last 50+ years.
G'ma has always been a spitfire, but as they travel, Scoob starts to notice behavior that's strange even for her. Is there a reason she's constantly ducking Dad's phone calls? Is her spur-of-the-moment road trip really about teaching Scoob about the Civil Rights Movement and his own history? Or is G'ma up to something a little more ... criminal?
Clean Getaway by Nic Stone is a warm, enjoyable novel that asks readers to consider a serious question—how far has America really progressed when it comes to race relations? Through the experiences of Scoob and G'ma, which mirror those of G'ma and G'pa in 1963, we can come to our own conclusions. It's an unsettling but important question that all of us, regardless of ethnicity, would do well to ponder. Despite its weighty subject matter, Clean Getaway is a funny book as well as a surprising one. There's plenty of humor as well as mystery and adventure to keep it interesting and appealing. Of course, it's got thoughtful, poignant moments as well, all of which combine to create an engrossing, moving read. In addition to powerful lessons about racism, the book also teaches kids about the importance of knowing your own history and learning from grandparents while acknowledging the messiness of family life as well as the fact that there is always more to a person than what we think we know about them. It's an illuminating book in many ways and one I very much enjoyed.
(Readalikes: Reminds me of When I Hit the Road by Nancy J. Cavanaugh)
Grade:
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)




Reading
Farm to Trouble by Amanda Flower

Listening
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen21 minutes ago
-
Chevalier, Tracy "The Last Runaway"1 hour ago
-
Can't Wait Wednesday-Deception2 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Cover Love Statue of Liberty14 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Review: Keep Me Close by J.H. Croix22 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday #241 day ago
-
Summer 2022 TBR #toptentuesday1 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Fear No Evil by James Patterson1 day ago
-
Finlay Donovan is Killing It2 days ago
-
-
-
Review: Scrubbed by Dr. Nikki Stamp1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
May Reading: Highlights & Disappointments3 weeks ago
-
-
An Honest Lie by Tarryn Fisher2 months ago
-
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova3 months ago
-
-
Cybils Awards 2021: The End4 months ago
-
Back to the Classics 20225 months ago
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)