Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940014482011 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Webfoot Publishing |
| Publication date: | 05/02/2012 |
| Series: | Full Throttle , #3 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | NOOK Book |
| Pages: | 340 |
| File size: | 4 MB |
About the Author
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Driven
4.9 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
8 reviews.
 |
This was the type of book and story we read in the 50s that helped us identify with the person we thought we were
Grownups did't understand us, and we needed to be respected,be caused we did know something, we just could not get people to understand that.
|
|
Ello
|
|
|
|
I abosolutley love this series! Lisa ia an amazing author and she should continue making mor books to the series aswell as making another sereies!hopefully!? I would read all of it!definitly recomed!GO Cody and Jess!
|
|
One of the best books for young people I have ever read. At seventy I enjoyed this book as much as my 15 year old grandchildren did.
|
|
So, if you have read my many of my blogs before, you know that I AM A SUCKER FOR SERIES!!! Yes I am! And the Full Throttle series is one that I have enjoyed so much! So when Lisa asked me if I would be interested in being part of her blog tour, I was very excited and honored! I have REALLY enjoyed this series! Trust me, I was totally skeptical when I read the first book. Cars? I thought. Really? How am I going go enjoy a book about cars and racing. BUT I did! I not only enjoyed it, I couldn't wait for the next one! And I sped through it as well. So of coarse, I couldn't wait for Driven to be released! And boy was it totally worth the wait!
In this book, all of the beloved characters are back, only not so much in the fore front. This book is about a teenage girl named Jess and her life and love of the race track. Jess has had it rough for most of her life. Her dad left when she was 8 and after that, her mom turned into a alcoholic and was never able to fight her way out of that addiction. Adding her failed relationships with looser after looser who mistreated her did nothing but add to her reason for depression and continued drinking. This only made life harder for Jess. As soon as she was old enough, she started to work and even began to hide money in a book so that she could help cover the bills if they were ever in a situation where they needed it. Living with her mom was like walking on egg shells. She never knew what her moms mood would be from one day to the next so she mainly just tried to stay away as much as possible. This lead her to the race track where she found herself one Saturday night at the right place at the right time.
She had always had a love for cars, pretty much as long as she could remember. When she was very young, she used to watch her dad work on them and eventually, he gave in and started showing her the ropes. She carried on her love affair with them even after he left and when she was in high school, she even took shop class so that she could learn more. When she got a car of her own, she talked her shop teacher into letting her use the class to change out the motor in her pinto to a 351 Windsor. (OK, so I admit, I have NO CLUE what that is, but it sounds tough.) So as fate would have it, on this particular trip to the track, Jess bought a pit pass instead of a seat in the stands to take a look at the cars before the races began. On this particular night, Teri Sue, a female driver of the baby blue number 70 camaro, was having problems with her car and her crew chief and as it turned out, Jess could help. Before the night was out, Teri Sue had offered her her dream job and what would turn out to be a very special friendship with Teri Sue and her family.
Over the next weeks, Jess became familiar with a lot of the other racers as well, and after an accident with Teri Sue, Cody made his way quickly to Jess's crap list. She even tried to fight him in the pits. She couldn't stand the sight of him, and to make it worse, he started coming around Teri Sue's when she was there working on the camaro. Every time she laid eyes on Cody, her blood began to boil. Why did he have to come around all the time? They had work to do. But then, the more he came around, the more she got to know him and the more she started to realize that maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she even liked him a little......maybe a even a little more than that. But Jess was such a private person. She was really struggling with letting these people into her life. How could she trust these people she just met, when she couldn't even trust her own parents?
Like the other books in this series, I really loved Driven. These characters are so full of heart, even behind their tough as nails exteriors. I think that's what makes them so much fun to read about. At first, you only see their tough exterior, but as you read on, the layers begin to peel back and you finally get to see whats really in their heart. Lisa is such a talented writer in this way. To begin with, her characters are the one that if you met them on the street, that would probably be the people that you would love to hate. But if you ever really took the time to get to know them, you would be amazed at how much you will love them in the end. So maybe the next time that you see someone like Jess on the street, shy and closed off from the world, say hi and give them a smile. You never know when they might really need to see that someone cares.
|
|
Driven is hands down my favorite book in the series. Pure literary joy. I didn't think Running Wide Open could be topped. I was wrong. I really couldn't put this one down. I've never given a book higher than 5 stars, but I'm throwing in a plus on this one - I loved it that much.
In book 3 of the Full Throttle series, Lisa Nowak has taken a different approach with her story. Instead of the story being told from Cody Everett's point of view, it's now Jess DeLand's turn. And she does not disappoint! The story is told from her perspective as her world collides with that of our favorite characters' from the previous books. This is a nice change and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story is an emotional roller coaster ride, while being heartfelt, real and relatable, the entire way through.
Jess DeLand has it rough. Her dad walked out when she was 8, leaving her in her mother's care. While not an uncommon situation, this is an extreme hardship on her because her mother is an alcoholic. Jess has endured things no child should have to ever endure. Such as having to go to a bar, at the age of 10, and dragging her drunk mom home because her keys have been confiscated by the bartender. Or having to work 2 jobs to help meet their basic needs because her mom can't be bothered to make it to work on time and hold down 1 job.
Luckily, Jess has skills. Before he left, her father cultivated in her a love of automotive mechanics. Her dream job is to work on cars, particularly racing ones. One day, Jess get a lucky break. She's offered the opportunity to live her dream of working on race cars . . . . and getting paid for it. No more flipping burgers for her. The bonus comes as she develops real friendships for the first time in her life. Having to hide her mom's abusive, neglectful and alcoholic tendencies has meant she could never make friends for fear her secret would be discovered and she'd end up in foster care. But, her new boss, teenage race car driver, Teri-Sue Cline and her younger brother Rhett, become the siblings she's never had. What she also wasn't expecting was the attention of one Cody Everett. After she takes a few swings at his head in a fit of rage, he can't seem to stay away from her.
What I most enjoyed about this book, is how all my favorite characters are incorporated into Jess' life, in addition to the new ones. Cody's and Jess' worlds mesh perfectly and we get what we loved about the previous books with a new, equally endearing story and protagonist. Although their relationship starts off on a hostile note, Cody and Jess compliment each other beautifully and find that they have a lot more than a love for the race track, in common.
Lisa's characters have tugged at my heartstrings since book 1. They are lovable and endearing as well as infuriating. I find myself wishing some of these people were real and that I was part of their inner circle. Their devotion to each other melts my heart.
It's no secret I'm a huge fan of Lisa Nowak's. She's easily one of my favorite authors. She has a way of telling a wonderful, compelling story with incredible depth and humanity. If anyone has been on the fence about this series, I guarantee this book will seal the deal.
|
|
When Jess DeLand takes center stage as the main character in the third of Lisa Nowak’s Full Throttle series, we are immediately captivated. Jess enters the world of stock car racing to take her place among familiar faces (if you’ve already read Running Wide Open and Getting Sideways). Jess, at sixteen, is smart and savvy with a strong sense of responsibility. A talented mechanic, Jess is fascinated by cars and the internal combustion engine. Complicating Jess’s life is the fact that her mother is an alcoholic, barely able to keep things together. Stepping into the gap, Jess sees that bills are paid even if the money comes out of her wages at a local fast food restaurant. In a stroke of luck and timing, life changes when she meets Terri Sue Cline, a girl her own age who’s racing at the Eugene Speedway. Being offered a job as Terri Sue’s mechanic is a dream come true. But when her mother deserts her. Jess’s pride is put to the test as she tries to pretend that all is well. Woven into the sometimes dark story line is Nowak’s trademark humor as well as a sensitive depiction of a budding romance. For established fans, Jess’s tale provides new insight into those favorite characters, Cody Everett and his awesome Uncle Race. A delightful addition to the Full Throttle series, Driven is already a hit for old and new readers.
|