Driver's Ed

by Caroline B. Cooney

Overview

Driver’s Ed was like so many things in school. If the parents only knew . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780440219811
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/28/1996
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	4.19(w) x 6.88(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Caroline B. Cooney is the author of Goddess of Yesterday (an ALA Notable Children’s Book); The Ransom of Mercy Carter; and The Face on the Milk Carton (an IRA–CBC Children’s Choice). She lives in Westbrook, CT.

Editorial Reviews

A wrenching, breathlessly paced plot and an adrenaline-charged romance make Cooney’s latest novel nearly impossible to put down. . . . This modern-day morality tale is as convincing as it is irresistible.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred

“A poignant, realistic novel, with nicely drawn characters.”—Booklist, Starred

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Quick Pick

A Booklist Children’s Editors’ Choice

From the Publisher

Here's a novel that really sneaks up on you. The dust jacket calls to mind paperback horror fiction, but the teenagers in this provocative investigation of moral responsibility don't turn into vampires or go berserk and attack their classmates. They do, however, cause a horrible death. Driver's ed class is pretty much of a joke. Mr. Fielding zones out when he's in the school car, and he's never sure who's behind the wheel. Even so, Remy Marland thinks driver's ed is great. It gives her a chance to hone her driving skills (by taking other people's turns) and to moon over Morgan Campbell. Morgan also likes driver's ed. For him, it's the perfect place to read car magazines, look at girls, and moon back. When the two agree to a nighttime escapade to rip off some street signs, their hormones and the thrill of the risk get in the way of their judgment. The subsequent death of a young woman, killed at an intersection from which they stole a stop sign, profoundly tests their feelings for one another and their ties with their families. The substance of the novel develops rather slowly. It's prefaced by some wry, irresistible scenes that replicate the exquisite tortures of high-school crushes while setting the stage for the tragedy. Then, with graceful ease, Cooney slips back and forth from Remy to Morgan, to give readers a glimpse of the different ways the teenagers handle their nightmarish burden and their families'--especially their mothers'--reactions. A poignant, realistic novel, with nicely drawn characters and a vintage metaphor that's actually refreshing: a driver's license (not first sex) is the "ticket out of childhood."

Stephanie Zvirin