VOYA
- Beth Karpas
Trace Bonham drives the Team Blu car on a professional Super Stock circuit. He is a high school senior finishing his degree online and a great driver. His parents are divorced, but his life is away from them, on the road with his car's crew, with occasional visits from the team's corporate sponsors and his online teacher. Trace has been winning big. The commercials and billboards for Blu featuring him are making him famous, too. But something is wrong: his engine is inconsistent, doing things it shouldn't be able to. While tech checks always come up clean, Trace is suspicious. As he checks out his suspicions, he must determine just how much he wants to keep this new life. While this is the middle book in a trilogy, it is easy for any reader to pick it up without reading the first. Each character is clearly introduced, and the plot develops entirely in this volume. Trace is a fairly believable character, torn not only by the challenges of his career, but by ordinary high school issues of school and friends and prom. While the immense research and detail that Weaver has used to create the vivid race scenes will attract racing fans, it may turn off non-fans, limiting the potential readership for this volume. Reviewer: Beth Karpas
Children's Literature
- Sue Poduska
A "Motor Novel," this book has a lot to offer the reader who may not enjoy the usual topics explored for this age. If you love cars and racing, you will love this story. Teenager Trace Bonham is an up and coming Super Stock car driver, complete with television and billboard ads for his sponsor. He is winning race after race, but he has decided the car has more power than it should have. He shows himself to be honest and upstanding. Other racers and fans have noticed the increased power, but the tech inspectors cannot find a violation. Trace and his team crisscross the country, often racing against the same teams. He cannot avoid sexual entanglements, but these are not a focus of the story. They are merely stated as a fact of a teenage driver's life. At times, the myriad of characters were confusing, and it was difficult to get emotionally invested in Trace. The races themselves were also a bit confusing, but probably not to a race fan. Reviewer: Sue Poduska
School Library Journal
Gr 10 Up—Weaver continues the story of Trace Bonham, a teenager who was chosen to be the driver for a Super Stock racing team. Team Blu is sponsored by an energy-drink company, and Trace is feeling pressure from his corporate handlers to conform to the image they want to project. In addition, Trace continues to be troubled by the breakup of his parents' marriage; his on-again-off-again relationship with Mel, a girl also involved in the stock-car scene; and, most importantly, by his ongoing suspicion that his team is illegally tinkering with his engine to give him an edge on the competition. Trace is a flawed but appealing character who clearly enjoys the perks of being a celebrity even as he wrestles with the moral dilemmas inherent in his situation. (Weaver includes a quote from legendary NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip suggesting that cheating is endemic in stock-car racing.) This is a good choice for car-mad reluctant readers, although a couple of non-graphic sex scenes may limit it to a slightly older audience than that for previous books in the series.—Richard Luzer, Fair Haven Union High School, VT
Kirkus Reviews
Weaver extends his Motor Series with this full-throttle, stand-alone sequel. The summer points chase has begun in the Midwest circuit, and Super Stock rookie Trace Bonham, backed by Team Blu, is on a winning streak. While his sports-energy-drink sponsor is promoting him as the next wonder boy and he's passed every inspection, Trace begins to suspect that his whatever-it-takes crew has rigged his car to win. He can feel it. Faced with an ethical dilemma, the teen must decide if he is "only the driver" or if he can still be a winner apart from his team's efforts and corporate sponsorship. In the midst of his high-speed adventures, Trace reveals racing terminology, rituals and the "mental game" needed to overtake an opponent; his grueling life on the road; and his continued pursuit of Melody, the love of his life, all while keeping track of his "fence bunnies." There's no drag here. (Fiction. YA)
