Last Ride

by Laura Langston

He killed his best friend, Logan, in a street-racing accident a year ago. As he tries to make amends to Logan's girlfriend and keep his promise to never race again, Tom is haunted by his dead friend. He thinks Logan is trying to tell him something. Not only that, since he faces huge medical bills from the accident and may have to give up his car, the pressure to race is almost unbearable.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Ghosts

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

By the time she hit Grade Four, Laura Langston knew she wanted to be a writer. So did the teachers. It was the persistent daydreaming and invisible friends that tipped them off. Since Laura grew up knowing no writers – and consequently didn’t know how to be one – she became a journalist instead. The trouble is, journalists are expected to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

But making stuff up is way more fun. So eventually Laura traded one notebook for another and today she writes books for tweens, teens, children and sometimes adults.

When she’s not writing, reading or walking her Shetland sheepdogs, Laura can be found spying on people in the grocery store or twisting herself into a pretzel in yoga class. To learn more, visit www.lauralangston.com. Follow her at www.facebook.com/LauraLangston.Author

Reviews

[Conor Ruffing · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last ride is a fiction book that has a big situation. Ever since Shields killed his best friend Logan in a race, and while being in the hospital Shields promised his best friends girl friend that he would never race again after that incidence. After making that promise Shields struggles with the temptation to race. It doesn't help when his Mom is in debt with his medical bills, and his friends are pressuring him in racing to win 6 grand. He needs to pay a guy named Ray for his car debt. But at the same time wants to help his Mom with paying off his medical bill, so he and his Mom don't get in big a mess. So Shields either has to pick his medical bills over not racing from a life changing promise. As this story goes on you find out a freaky thing that has came back from the past to tell Shields something. A quote that I think has a lot of meaning to do with the struggling Shields is going through not to race, and helping his mother with his medical bills is, from the book is when Shields says "I need to stop. Its the only way to get him to slow down. To keep him safe. But if I do...My panic swells, black and heavy. If I do, I'll lose my car, my chance to help mom, my pride. I'll lose everything.

[Owen]

Spoiler

The Last Ride
Tom is the main character in the book and is a young good who has a love for cars. He works in a car shop and he has a boss named ray. Growing up he had a best named Logan and he also had a love for Cars. They both raced rs to make money in high school.Tom had to work a lot to support his family. He also worked to build his own car. Tom and his friend Logan were very good at street racing and they would make good money doing it.One day Logan and Tom were racing through the streets and Logan crashed and died. Tom has been haunted from this moment for his whole life and think about the race every single day
Tom is faced with adversity during the book and he promised his parents that he wouldn't race again. The cops during the report said that it was Logan 's fault that he crashed but really he blames himself. If Tom didn’t pressure Logan into reaching them then the accident would have never happened Towards the beginning of the book he needs to pay some bills for his car and he works 40 hours a week to pay it off to his boss but it isn’t enough. The boss only has one solution for him to make money and it is to start racing again. Tom is still in unbelief that his best friend is gone and his girlfriend also doesn't want Tom to race again. During the book Logan developed feelings for Logan's ex Girlfriend which is messed up because they're only not together because he died .
After the tragedy of his best friend Tom's life goes down he begins to struggle in school and he needs to work to keep his house and car. He had to make a hard decision to race again. He would work on hsi car with the little money he had and fixed it up after the accident he was in. To help pay off his car he would race and his first race back he won 300 dollars. This was huge for him because he didn't listen to anyone and still raced. He is starting to lose weight and has dreams about Logan. His parents are very concerned about Tom and they think that he should see a doctor. Since Tom has little to pay him lots of money Ray threatens to take his car away and Tom can't deal with that because that is the most important thing in his life.
Ray and Tom went to go get coffee one day and Tom tried to sabotage Ryan and it backfired. To, said he would slander the business so Ray wouldn't make any money. Ray responded and he said that he will just keep the car and enter it in a race. Tom wouldn't let that happen so he decided that he would race the acura so that he could keep and have money taken off his debt. He said he would race after the last one but he continues to do whatever it takes to keep his car. His mom needs 5000 dollars by the end of the month to pay off the house and Tom blames that on himself because he is spending the money on the car and not the house or the medical bills. He tells his mom that he is racing and she doesn't agree but he races anyway.
The book shows who Tom is as a character and he develops as a character.His values change throughout the book. He doesn't race because of the past mistake but he changes and races because he needs to help his mom and get his cars. At the end of the book he decides to sign a contract with Ray for one year to get some money to pay off his debt for the house and the car. Tom had to race for one year but he had to make a sacrifice to keep his car and his home. I would recommend this book to teens who enjoy racing and cars. This book is a modern book so a treen who goes through the same issues that Tom does can relate.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last ride by Laura Langston. This book tells a story about the life of a 16 year old boy named Tom Shields. Tom was facing alot of problems after the accident.

This book is all about Tom. Tom has best friend named Logan. Tom blames himself for the death of Logan even though Logan's death was an accident.
After the accident Tom's been hunted by Logan for the rest of his life.

The thing that I liked about this book was that the main character are trying to find a solution to his problems. I really enjoyed reading this book because it had a problematic story in to it. I really recommend this book for those people who liked to read short stories book.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite in the series.

[Morgan Angrisano]

What a great book I chose to read. The book was easy to read and the flow of the storyline kept me wanting to know more. It really held up to my expectations of what I was hoping for. I have read other books by Laura Langston before and I really enjoyed them and this one was no different. This book deals with problems and challenges that we find in our everyday lives. That is why the characters are ones you can relate to. They are faced what making choices and decisions and are left to deal with the consequences of those choices. The first decision Tom made was to compete in a street race with his best friend Logan. What he did not know was that decision and that race would take his best friends life and change his life forever. Even though Logan and Tom made the choice to race that night Tom is left alone to deal with the consequences of that choice. From that day forward his life is affected from that one race and one decision. He now faces many struggles, from having his best friend’s girlfriend, Hannah not want anything to do with him, to being constantly reminded of his best friend in various ways on a frequent basis. He smells Logan’s favorite candy which was cherry Twizzlers all the time. He keeps seeing Logan in his dreams and knows he is trying to tell him something but what exactly he doesn’t know. He has Ray at the garage wanting the money back that Tom owes him for his car. His mother is struggling with debt from his medical bills from the hospital and is on the verge of losing their house because if it. The pressure is just building up on Tom and he is faced with peer pressure from his friends who are trying to get him to race again. He realizes that if he races and wins he can help his mother and keep his car. However, he is trying to keep his promise to Hannah which was to never race again. He had made that promise to her the night of the accident in the hospital. He feels he is at the risk of losing everything especially his car if he doesn’t decide to go ahead and race but it also means losing Hannah for good. The haunting continues and Tom can’t exactly figure out the message that Logan is trying to get across but knows he is trying to tell him something. Tom decides to give in and race again. He breaks his promise to Hannah who is not at all happy with his decision. It was that race that made him realize so many things. The message Logan was trying to send him all along. That indeed was his last race. He knew he could not go ahead and complete the race. Although he didn’t complete the race he learned so much from attempting it that it again changed his life but this time for the better. It made Toms life worth living again. He now has Hannah by his side once again as he also realized he had feelings for her which he didn’t truly realize before. He knows that there is so much more to life than his car, the garage and racing. He has a better outlook on his life. He gave up working for Ray at the garage and his car but is looking ahead to a brighter future. That indeed was Tom’s last ride but in reality it was so much more.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom's best friend is six feet under thanks to him, and the guilt is eating him from the inside out. The "Last Ride" is a book about a sixteen year old boy named Tom Shields who mistakenly challenged his best friend Logan to a race which led to his buddy’s demise. From that point forward everything (almost) was downhill for him, he wrecked his car and his body in that race, and the debt was threatening to suffocate him. His grades were dropping fast, his parent’s house was in jeopardy and on top of that he couldn't keep his eyes off of Hannah, Logan's ex-girlfriend. It was all he could do not to race again, since he had promised to Hannah when he was in the hospital that he wouldn't, but eventually the pressure on Tom got to him and Drove him to do things that would forever change his future.

The storyline is packed with dilemmas, romance, sadness and depression that brings the story to life and keeps the pages turning. This is a great book for almost anyone; it makes you lose sense of time and takes you right into Tom's world. The author did a fantastic job at making the characters come alive and at keeping the reader's attention every word of the way. That's what made this story so relatable, even if you've never experienced anything like it, you'd still feel like you were right there with Tom. Overall this is a quality book with an intense plot, lots of dilemmas and an undeniably realistic feel.

[bjneary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Laurie O for reading and reviewing this for PSLA 2012!
A year ago Tom Shields was the best street racer in town, he made hundreds of dollars for each race that he won, everyone admired his speed, skill and impressive car. A year ago Tom Shields challenged his best friend, Logan to a street race. A year ago Logan was killed in that race. Now, Tom Shields is filled with guilt for killing his friend, has a crush on Logan's girlfriend, refuses to race again, worries about his family's financial situation due to his medical bills and must try to come up with a post-high school plan. On top of that he works hours upon hours in Ray's car shop to try to pay back his $20,000 debt to him for repairing his car after the crash. Ray wants money and he wants it now. Tom has two options, bring in cash or bring in business or else Ray takes the car back. Tom can't lose his car, it is his lifeline. But if he isn't going to race any more what is the point of keeping the car? Maybe returning to street racing is the solution to all of his problems. Tom's internal conflict is depicted realistically and in great detail in Last Ride.

[Nicholas Rosebrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Last Ride" by Laura Langston was a very suspenseful book that made me want to keep reading. The book was about a boy named Tom Shields who killed his best friend Logan. Tom loves racing and is very talented at it, however, the promised he would never race again after what happened to him and Logan. Tom also swears he can see his dead friend sometimes, and he thinks his dead friend is trying to tell him something. As the temptation to race is almost unbearable, Tom has a crush on Logan's old girlfriend. His medical bills from Tom and Logans accident is close to $80,000 and Tom's mother has trouble paying this, and Tom tries to give his mom some of the money he earns while working at Ray's car shop. Ray rebuilt Tom's Acura and told Tom he could pay him back whenever he wants, however now that Tom stopped racing Ray wants him to start racing again or pay the $20,000 by the end of the week or else he will reposes Tom's Acura. "Last Ride" is a great book and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reommended for gr. 8-12. High interest, low level novel. Characters are high-school age. The story involves Tom, whose best friend died in a drag race with him. Tom has been haunted by visions of Logan, as well as his feelings for Logan's girlfriend. He has sworn off racing since the accident, but works at a body shop that occasionally does illegal work and whose owner wants to make money off of Tom's racing skills. Tom must make some difficult decisions as he and his family are struggling to pay off medical bills incurred as a result of the accident. Underage drinking takes place at a party where parents are out of town.

[Minnek8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a new Reading Specialist for Special Education students that are mostly high school through transition age, this book (and actually the Orca series) is something I would like to add to our bookshelves. Last Ride is "high interest" book at a 2.4 RL that I think some of our students might enjoy. On a personal level, the storyline held my interest. I was vested in the characters and wanted to find out what decision the main character would make with his life, as well as what would happen with the "ghost" of his deceased friend.

[Christopher O'brien]

Last Ride by Laura Langston is a suspenseful book that you won’t be able to put down. Tom got his best friend Logan killed with his favorite hobby of racing cars. Tom has an obsession with drag racing, but after the accident with Logan he swears he will never do it again. However Tom’s temptation to race becomes unbearable. Tom believes Logan is sending him a message from heaven. A great book you can finish in a day!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five thousand pounds of roaring, customized, racing machine. That's all Tom Shields has between him and the ghost of his dead friend, tens of thousands of dollars of debt, and the despair of the only girl he cares about. It isn't enough. Last Ride is raw, gutsy, and full of street-level reality.

[Emma B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read last ride and it was okay. It was about a boy and his best friend go illegally racing and his best friend died. Then he stops racing. After a couple of years people start to threaten him if he doesn't start again. Read to find out more.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good i mean its not that like exciting but yeah its a good book to read and its not that long only about 130 pages long and it contains alot of racing,beting, and problems but i do consider this book to people
cause you wont get bored and is so easy to read.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've been reading a few of the orca books so i can speak to the junior high kids about them. this one has a more subtle message than most. dealing with guilt and loss is important.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for those reluctant/struggling readers. Written at a 2nd grade reading level.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read about regrets, choices and living with our mistakes. With only 134 pages and centred around illegal street racing, this book will especially appeal to young, male teens.

[Imonnie Booker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good book I highly recommend it.

[Shannon Rickert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so proud of him for giving up racing. It was good for him to learn though that it wasn't him who killed Logan. It will be ok just take it one day at a time.