
Why We Took The Car
Hardcover
Description
Praise For Why We Took The Car…
* ""[An] action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure . . . this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
* ""In his first novel translated into English, Herrndorf sits squarely and triumphantly at the intersection of literary tall tale and coming-of-age picaresque." —Kirkus, starred review
"Surprising, tender and deliciously absurd . . . [A] funny, poignant, and intermittently profane and raunchy novel." —The Wall Street Journal
"Buckle your seat belt. You're in for a bumpy, exhilarating ride . . . in this lively bildungsroman, rich with funny, poignant riffs on nicknames, boomerangs, Beyoncé, aging and the possibility of life on other planets." —The Washington Post
"A sharp coming-of-age journey, hilarious and heartrending in equal measure." —Horn Book
"[A] compelling coming-of-age tale. [Herrndorf's] authentic voice will resonate universally with teens and will draw some comparisons to Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn." —VOYA
Publishers Weekly Starred Review
German novelist Herrndorf makes his YA (and U.S.) debut with this action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure. When German eighth-grader Mike Klingenberg discovers that he’s among the few “Boring kids and losers... Russians, Nazis and idiots” who are not invited to his crush Tatiana’s birthday party, he is devastated. Mike is facing a miserable summer, with his mother in rehab and father away at a “business meeting” with his sexy assistant, when his new Russian classmate, Tschick (whom Mike considers “trash”), arrives at his house in a stolen car. An unlikely compatibility leads to a candy-fueled road trip, complicated by their lack of a map or cell phone. Driving all over Germany, the boys face conundrums like avoiding the police, buying gas and food when clearly underage, and vaguely seeking Tschick’s grandfather. Prepared by life to expect ill will, Mike and Tschick instead meet “almost only people from the one percent who weren’t bad.” Beginning at the end, with Mike narrating the explanation suggested by the title, this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship.
A Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Praise for Why We Took the Car:
* ""[An] action- and emotion-packed story of surprise summer adventure . . . this alternately wild, sad, hilarious, and tender tale chronicles the development of a strange and beautiful friendship." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
* ""In his first novel translated into English, Herrndorf sits squarely and triumphantly at the intersection of literary tall tale and coming-of-age picaresque." —Kirkus, starred review
"Surprising, tender and deliciously absurd . . . [A] funny, poignant, and intermittently profane and raunchy novel." —The Wall Street Journal
"Buckle your seat belt. You're in for a bumpy, exhilarating ride . . . in this lively bildungsroman, rich with funny, poignant riffs on nicknames, boomerangs, Beyoncé, aging and the possibility of life on other planets." —The Washington Post
"A sharp coming-of-age journey, hilarious and heartrending in equal measure." —Horn Book
"[A] compelling coming-of-age tale. [Herrndorf's] authentic voice will resonate universally with teens and will draw some comparisons to Holden Caulfield and Huck Finn." —VOYA
Arthur A. Levine Books, 9780545481809, 256pp.
Publication Date: January 7, 2014