The Car

Rating:
Summary: One Of Gary Paulsen's Greatests
Review: Fourteen Year-Old Terry Anders had just gotten off the phone with his mom and dad, both saying that they were tired of fighting with each other, and they were going to leave Terry in the hands of the other parent. Terry was home alone! He liked not hearing them fight. Later that day, he started putting together a 1974 Blakely Bearcat, which was a kit car. Terry then decided that he was going to drive the car. One problem, he didn't have a license to drive the car. So he starts on his journey and meets two interesting characters, Wayne and Waylon. They teach him to "LEARN". Gary Paulsen uses very well written descriptions that put you right there with what is happening. One example would be when Terry got the phone call, you could imagine what Terry was thinking. He has a very good word choice, and makes you think about what you just read. Like when Wayne and Waylon tell Terry to "LEARN" in life. The book left me with one question, am I learning all I can in life? This is a great book of adventure and endless possibilities.

Rating:
Summary: The Car by Gary Paulsen
Review: The book The Car is a suspense and a mystery book that gets you into it at the very beginning of the book. at first the only character that you know for the first three chapters is Terry the main character who is a boy that is 13 years old. It is a very confusing beginning at first but you find out more and more as you go on. Terry is a single child whose parents dont pay much attention to him as much as they used to. Also his parents are on the verge of breaking up and leaving each other forever.
One night his parents dont come home and call him and tell Terry that they have had enough with their sspouse and will never come home again. so Terry thinks fast and remembers that he has an uncle in Portland and builds a car to drive all the way there. but i wont tell you what happens next on his wild and crazy trip to Portland.

Rating:
Summary: The Cat
Review: The Car by Gary Paulsen is a great novel about growing, rebellion, and America. The book begins in Cleveland, Ohio with a 14 year old boy named Terry. His parents, who spend all of there time arguing, decide to leave one another, coincidently at the same time - leaving Terry at home by himself. In his garage there is a little kit car of his fathers that he was forbidden to work on. Now that he has no supervision he decides to put the car together. Terry decides to go west with his new friend, he calls the "cat" since the car is a Blakely Bearcat, to see his only relative, his uncle. On the way he picks up a hitchhiker named Waylon, not by choice, a Vietnam veteran. Waylon is a "child of the sixties and seventies" and tries to teach Terry about "learning". They head to Wayne's house, who is also a Vietnam Vet and together they all three go "trucking". While "trucking" they learn all sorts of things about America, themselves, and each other. Gary Paulsen who also wrote The Hatchet, along with many other celebrated novels is an excellent author. He explains just enough to give the idea of what is going on, and leave the rest to the reader. Unlike some Authors who detail everything so much you don't even want to finish reading. For this reason I think that Gary Paulsen is one of the best authors ever. His books feel so realistic, probably because he writes from his own experience and has an excellent way to describe it. A possible alternate title that might have been better would have been The Cat, but that might not have caught to many peoples interest.

Rating:
Summary: the car
Review: The Car. The feel of a car driving down the road, the response of the engine as a pedal is pushed farther and farther to the floor, the feeling that you have nowhere to go, nobody to return home to, nothing to look at but the scenery around you describes what might be going through the head of fourteen year old Terry Anders while he was behind the wheel of his homemade kit car. You see, Terry never really got along with his parents; they were just there. They were just people who happened to live in the same house as him and who really could care less about the future of Terry. Typically, one day they don't come home. After a while they don't show up and in a freak coincidence, they both call, one after another, and saying that they are leaving. Many thoughts are going through Terry's head, and he eventually decides to finish building the kit car that was in the garage and sets out on a journey of a lifetime. On his journey, he meets people who accompany him on his ride, people who know the United States like the back of their hands. They show him places that aren't on the tourist maps, things that would be very hard to find by yourself. While I was reading this, it came to me that even though this book was a very good book, it came to me that none of this could happen in real life. Sure, maybe a 14 year old might be able to drive around the neighborhood in a car without any attention, but in real life this just wouldn't work. It would also be very hard for him to build it too. Despite all of this, the way that Gary Paulsen writes his novels captivates me every time. I have read many of his books, and in simpler terms, he puts his characters in trees and throws rocks at them. Basically what that means is that he puts them in situations and throws problems at them and they always find a way of solving their problems. These books, as well as his others make your mind escape into an imaginary world where it's just you, Terry, the Car, and the open road. The only major disappointment in this book would have to be the ending. It leaves you there wanting more, questioning what will happen to Terry, asking why does the book have to stop there? I guess that is what shows you it is a good book. I recommend this book to anybody who enjoys a light read, cars, and following a teenager on a wild adventure.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book Even down to the Title
Review: This book is about a fourteen-year-old child named Terry Anders who is abandoned by both of his parents. He doesn't want to just stay in the house, so what does he do? He starts assembling pieces of a kit car together known as the Cat. When Terry finishes the car, he sets out on a journey to find his uncle who lives in Portand. On the way, he picks up a wandering Vietnam veteran who teaches Terry about life on the road.
I really enjoyed reading this book because it made me think. It made me think not only about the road, it also made me think about life. Just think about this quote from the book,"The first call came almost exactly at eight o' clock. His mother called first. 'Terry, I'm not coming home. I can't take it any longer. I've taken all things. Tell your father I won't be there for him to fight any longer. You'll both have to do without me.' And she hung up. His father called just after nine.'Tell your mother I'm not coming back-I've got all my stuff, or everything I want. I'm sick of the whole thing.' And he hung up."
This book was full of deep moments like that. For instance, this quote,"He was alone. His name was Terry Anders. He was fourteen years old, living in Cleveland, Ohio, and his parents had left him.Of course it didn't happen quite that suddenly. It was true he could not exactly remember a happy time with his parents. He thought there might have been a few moments when he was a baby, but they weren't memories so much as feelings, or wishes about feelings he would have liked to have had."
My absolute favorite part of this book was when Terry was making the kit car and how he had to figure it all out by himself. It is my favorite part because it tells you how determined he was to make the kit car, eventhough both of his parents left him.

Rating:
Summary: The Car
Review: This is a great book that i would recomend to everyone this book makes you feel like you are right in the book. The charaters that Gary paulsen wrights about come alive with feeling and thouhgts. The Car is a great book that is suspenseful and keeps you wanting to because it feels like you are right in the book. So if you enjoy reading i would advise you to pick this book up and read it.

Rating:
Summary: a true work of art
Review: this novel doesnt only teach us a way of enjoying life but it shows us a kind of understanding which cannot be explained in a classroom.