Teen Fiction - Body, Mind & Health, Teen Fiction - Choices & Transitions, Teen Fiction - Boys & Young Men, Teen Fiction - Romance & Friendship

No Right Turn

Name: No Right Turn
Author: Terry Trueman
ISBN: 9780060574932

by Terry Trueman

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Overview

I heard the gunshot and I knew what had happened. Even before I made it downstairs to Dad's office, I knew what he'd done.

How do you live your life after catastrophe hits your family? How do you go back to football practice, or take a girl out on a date, or talk to your friends about normal stuff when nothing is normal anymore? Three years after his father's death, Jordan is still wondering.

But then, salvation comes—in the form of a '76 Corvette. It's gorgeous, it's beautiful, it's incredibly sexy. And so is the girl who suddenly takes notice of him.

Slowly Jordan realizes that maybe, just maybe, he can start living again. But the real question is: Does he want to?

Synopsis

I heard the gunshot and I knew what had happened. Even before I made it downstairs to Dad's office, I knew what he'd done.

But then, salvation comes—in the form of a '76 Corvette. It's gorgeous, it's beautiful, it's incredibly sexy. And so is the girl who suddenly takes notice of him.

Slowly Jordan realizes that maybe, just maybe, he can start living again. But the real question is: Does he want to?

Suzanna E. Henshon, Ph.D. - Children's Literature

Three years after his father's suicide, Jordan has no friends and no interests: he is alone and invisible at school. Then he discovers something wonderful—a 1976 Corvette and the girl of his dreams. Will Jordan finally start living again? Or will taking risky chances cause him to lose everything? In this riveting new story, Terry Trueman (who received the ALA Best Book for Young Adults for two previous novels) brings skill, style, and passion to the pages of this book, which will appeal to readers fourteen and up. 2006, HarperCollins Children's Books, Ages 14 up.

About the Author, Terry Trueman

Terry Trueman was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended the University of Washington, where he received his B.A. in creative writing. He also has an M.S. in applied psychology and an M.F.A. in creative writing, both from Eastern Washington University. The father of two sons, Henry Sheehan and Jess, Terry Trueman makes his home in Spokane, Washington, with his wife, Patti. His previous books are No Right Turn, Cruise Control, Inside Out, and Stuck in Neutral, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book.

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Editorials

VOYA

When Jordan was thirteen years old, his father killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Jordan was the only other person in the house at the time. Three years later, the agony of that afternoon still resonates through every aspect of Jordan's life. He has given up most of his friends, he has lost interest in sports, and he keeps his mother at a distance. Then his mother blushingly introduces their new neighbor, Don, and Jordan falls in love-with Don's Corvette. Don takes Jordan out for a spin and even lets him drive the car, leaving Jordan gripped with a mighty lust for repeating the experience. Knowing that Don works on Wednesday nights, Jordan begins sneaking out in the 'Vette for exhilarating solo drives. On one of these clandestine excursions, he meets the most beautiful girl in his high school, and lets her think that the car belongs to him as complications ensue. Trueman has an instinct for the adolescent experience under difficult circumstances, as evidenced by earlier books, which have featured teenagers afflicted with cerebral palsy and schizophrenia in Stuck in Neutral (HarperCollins, 2000/VOYA December 2002) and Inside Out (2003/VOYA October 2003) respectively. He has also demonstrated a piercing understanding of damaged father-son relationships in Cruise Control (2004/VOYA October 2004), which is a central theme in this book, and the path to healing such relationships. The story is told in a dynamic, cut-the-crap narrative, making it a fast, compelling read. And Jordan's Corvette obsession makes it an excellent book to recommend to car-crazy teens. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, HarperCollins, 176p., and PLB Ages 11 to 18.
—Diane Emge

Children's Literature

School Library Journal

Gr 8-10-Suicide is never pretty but Jordan has no qualms about describing the day his father shot himself three years earlier. Angry and traumatized, he is slow to heal, especially since he refuses to discuss his feelings. Now 16, the teen has isolated himself from everyone and all of his former interests. When his mom begins dating again, he is barely cordial to her new boyfriend, Don, but is nevertheless intrigued by the man's vintage Corvette. Jordan becomes hooked on the thrill of riding with Don and risks the budding friendship by borrowing the car without permission. Bolstered by the adrenaline rush and sense of freedom, his joyriding becomes addictive and rewarding when he catches the attention of the girl of his dreams. He continues taking the car at every opportunity, and readers fear what his friend Walt has warned all along: Jordan is finally busted after speeding. Reclaiming his girl's and Don's trust requires uncorking bottled emotions about his father's death. The first-person point of view works well here, as Jordan acts upon gut feelings, rationalizes his behavior, and waffles back and forth with guilt. The description of the suicide scene is realistic and powerful, and great dialogue and car details keep the plot moving for reluctant readers.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Jordan was 13 when his father killed himself with a shot to the head while they were home alone. It's three years later. Jordan doesn't talk about it, or much of anything else. He doesn't play sports or hang out, still locked inside his intense anger at his dad. But when his mother begins to date a man with a 1976 Corvette Stingray, Jordan can't help but be fascinated. He's so taken that he sneaks the car out, only to meet Becka, the local cheerleader goddess. Becka, despite her looks and popularity, is a lovely girl with a large family, a sibling with Down syndrome and a genuine interest in Jordan. He, of course, thinks she's only interested in the 'Vette. Told in the first person, Jordan's web of lies about the car leads to a rather scary climax and some tentative resolution about cars, girlfriends and life and death. Readers will be taken with Jordan's matter-of-factness about his sorrow and isolation, and how he locks himself up in lies. (Fiction. YA)