Big Rig
by Louise Hawes (Author)
Hitch a ride with 11-year-old Hazmat and her dad in their 18-wheeler, Leonardo, for a feel-good road trip across America that keeps on trucking!
Life on the road with Daddy is as good as gets for Hazmat. Together, they've been taking jobs and crisscrossing the US for years. Now Daddy's talking about putting down roots--somewhere Hazmat can go to a real school and make friends. Somewhere Daddy doesn't have to mail-order textbooks about nature's promise to all women. Somewhere Mom's ashes can rest on a mantel and not on a dashboard.
While everything just keeps changing, sometimes in ways she can't control, Hazmat isn't ready to give up the freedom of long-distance hauling. Sure the road is filled with surprises, from plane crashes and robo trucks to runaway hitchhikers and abandoned babies, but that all makes for great stories! So Hazmat hatches a plan to make sure Daddy's dream never becomes a reality. Because there's only one place Hazmat belongs: in the navigator's seat, right next to Daddy, with the whole country flying by and each day different from the last.
Award-winning author Louise Hawes writes with an easy, conversational voice and an I'll never grow up spirit that cheerfully thumbs its nose at traditional coming-of-age narratives. This heart-tugging, laugh-out-loud portrait of a father and daughter is a satisfying journey across modern America you won't want to miss.
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An original tweak on the road trip story.
School Library Journal
Gr 4-6--Hazel's mother died when she was a newborn, so it's been just her and Dad trucking on the road together. Hazel is homeschooled by her truck driver father (who also has a PhD in English Literature), and even though he keeps talking about getting a home and Hazel going to school one day, she wants to put off that future for as long as possible. To Hazel, the road is home, and she wants other people to understand that, too. As the plot progresses, Hazel and her father find themselves in one unbelievable situation after another--encountering a teenage runaway, rescuing a van of school children, and saving a cat from an airplane crash to name a few--and Hazel uses them all for her trucker script she wants to send to Hollywood executives. While Hawes has a unique premise with lots of potential, it can feel like readers are on a very long trucking trip with a lot of curves and one too many rest stops. Many of the things that happen to Hazel and her father could happen individually, but it seems highly improbable that so many things would happen to them in such a short span of time. And while readers might be able to understand that all of these events bring Hazel and her father closer together while teaching important life lessons, it becomes too much to suspend disbelief. VERDICT A fair purchase for libraries seeking books about father-daughter relationships or trucker life.--Kerri L. Williams
Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Woven with hilarity, tenderness, and the chaos of life on the road, Big Rig is a charming novel about growing up.—Foreword Reviews
Hazel's loving relationship with her father forms the core of this unusual roadtrip adventure . . . . Hawes creates a story that is wholesome without being hokey, and readers looking for a feel-good adventure should come along for the ride.—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's BookThere are hilarious moments, some mysticism, and heart-stopping adventures. . . . Hazel is innocent, wise, trusting, loving, capable, creative—and a total delight; readers will root for her all the way. . . . An unusual modern picaresque romp with a lovely message. - Kirkus Reviews
Hawes' breezy tale will capture readers' attention, piquing their interest through highway high jinks and keeping them wondering about where Hazmat's adventures will take them next. An original tweak on the road trip story. - Booklist
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV041030 - Juvenile Fiction | Transportation | Cars & Trucks
JUV068000 - Juvenile Fiction | Travel
Fathers and daughters
Travel
Parents
Trucking
Single fathers
