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Cadillac Chronicles
Sixteen year-old Alex Riley’s top priorities in life are to find his long-absent father and a girl with a decent set of breasts. But his mother has a knack for sabotaging his plans. To advance her political career, she takes in an elderly black man named Lester Bray. Lester arrives with a vintage Cadillac and an old man's personality. It takes only a week for Alex's mother to ask Lester to leave. That makes Alex angry. On the morning of his eviction, Lester and Alex set out on a road trip, ostensibly to find the boy's father in Fort Lauderdale. But the two don't just head south. They also cross through un-navigated political, racial, and personal territory. A wild ride, Cadillac Chronicles explores what it means to—finally—find a real friend.
Brett Hartman lived an unremarkable life in Fort Lauderdale until May 18, 1983, when he was arrested for aggravated battery. While away at Auburn University, he suffered a psychotic breakdown and months of intensive treatment. Though he made a full recovery, the events of that period never left him. He continued his education at Indiana State, where he received a doctorate in clinical psychology; he has worked as a psychologist ever since. His memoir Hammerhead 84 covers his journey through the mental health industry. Cadillac Chronicles is his debut novel. He lives in Albany, New York, with his wife and their two sons.
Brett Hartman lived an unremarkable life in Fort Lauderdale until May 18, 1983, when he was arrested for aggravated battery. While away at Auburn University, he suffered a psychotic breakdown and months of intensive treatment. Though he made a full recovery, the events of that period never left him. He continued his education at Indiana State, where he received a doctorate in clinical psychology; he has worked as a psychologist ever since. His memoir Hammerhead 84 covers his journey through the mental health industry. Cadillac Chronicles is his debut novel. He lives in Albany, New York, with his wife and their two sons.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2012
1 person is currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Brett Hartman
4 books13 followersBRETT HARTMAN is the author of the acclaimed YA novel CADILLAC CHRONICLES and the memoir HAMMERHEAD 84. He's also a clinical psychologist. His experience running an anger management group for teens and evaluating inmates at the county jail served as inspiration for his latest novel SONG OF THE CAGED BOYS. He lives in Albany, NY with his wife, Sarah, and their two sons, Benjamin & Nicholas.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 2, 2012
"Cadillac Chronicles" by Brett Hartman is, on the surface, a journey by car to the South. But it is much, much more. It is a story of growing up. It's about growing old. It's about family. It's about loyalty. And most of all, it's about friendship.
Lester Bray is not someone Alex Riley would ever have thought of as a friend. He's more like a social project that his mother decided on. Have an elderly person move in with the two of them -- brownie points that might help to advance her political career.
But after a short time, his mom wants Lester to leave. He's old, he's grumpy, and he doesn't like politics. But when he's told he has to leave, he has nowhere to go. Alex suggests that they go south to visit Lester's sister. He offers to accompany Lester.
Alex has a secret motive. His father, who left his mother when Alex was one, has never communicated with Alex. Alex looked him up and knows he lives in Ft. Lauderdale. Alex wants to meet him and find out why his father has made no effort to be a part of Alex's life.
Lester agrees to the plan and they sneak out the next morning driving Lester's ancient Cadillac. What ensues is a trip that is life-changing for Alex. He doesn't just find his father, he finds his moral compass. And it's a compass that leads him to do the right thing -- no matter what.
Read the whole review at: Cadillac Chronicles
Lester Bray is not someone Alex Riley would ever have thought of as a friend. He's more like a social project that his mother decided on. Have an elderly person move in with the two of them -- brownie points that might help to advance her political career.
But after a short time, his mom wants Lester to leave. He's old, he's grumpy, and he doesn't like politics. But when he's told he has to leave, he has nowhere to go. Alex suggests that they go south to visit Lester's sister. He offers to accompany Lester.
Alex has a secret motive. His father, who left his mother when Alex was one, has never communicated with Alex. Alex looked him up and knows he lives in Ft. Lauderdale. Alex wants to meet him and find out why his father has made no effort to be a part of Alex's life.
Lester agrees to the plan and they sneak out the next morning driving Lester's ancient Cadillac. What ensues is a trip that is life-changing for Alex. He doesn't just find his father, he finds his moral compass. And it's a compass that leads him to do the right thing -- no matter what.
Read the whole review at: Cadillac Chronicles
December 3, 2019
This is a book that surprised me. I'll admit that I definitely judged a book by its cover and when I decided to read this book, I assumed it was going to be boring. I am so glad that I still chose to jump in and I am so happy to be able to share this book with others.
Alex is a boy much like many of the teens we know- a loner, over medicated, depressed, yet brilliant and talented and no one sees it. Also, he has a mother who just doesn't see that he should be a priority. Lucky for him, his mother's need for publicity and acceptance brought him face to face with a man that changed his life.
Even reading this summary, it almost sounds cliche and didactic, but it is more than that. It is a road trip book that doesn't fit into the fold of other road trip books. I am a fan of road trip books because they are definitely a way to help characters unfold and for hope, realization, epiphanies, etc. to play a part and although this book does do that, it's clicheness ends there.
And what makes this book so special? Lester Bray. Lester Bray is the man that changes Alex's life. Lester is a man that outside of our story, changed many lives. He is so real that I feel like I know him and also makes me wish I could.
Topics: Racism, Depression, Medication, Psychiatry, Politics, Friendship, Parenting, Virginia Tech Shooting
Snatch of Text 132, 127, 128, 169, 218
Mentor text for: Characterization, Plot Development, Voice
Alex is a boy much like many of the teens we know- a loner, over medicated, depressed, yet brilliant and talented and no one sees it. Also, he has a mother who just doesn't see that he should be a priority. Lucky for him, his mother's need for publicity and acceptance brought him face to face with a man that changed his life.
Even reading this summary, it almost sounds cliche and didactic, but it is more than that. It is a road trip book that doesn't fit into the fold of other road trip books. I am a fan of road trip books because they are definitely a way to help characters unfold and for hope, realization, epiphanies, etc. to play a part and although this book does do that, it's clicheness ends there.
And what makes this book so special? Lester Bray. Lester Bray is the man that changes Alex's life. Lester is a man that outside of our story, changed many lives. He is so real that I feel like I know him and also makes me wish I could.
Topics: Racism, Depression, Medication, Psychiatry, Politics, Friendship, Parenting, Virginia Tech Shooting
Snatch of Text 132, 127, 128, 169, 218
Mentor text for: Characterization, Plot Development, Voice
January 19, 2013
A road trip for a 16-year-old is not that unusual. Maybe not even in a Cadillac Deville. But when Alex Riley hooks up with Lester Bray, an elderly black man, the game is on. I enjoyed every mile of it.
The reader needs to know that the writer doesn't cop out on the sexual yearnings of a 16-year-old as well as a boy's new-found freedom with profanity. At the same time, the reality of the racial divide is explored with a splendid frankness. To gloss over the above would make for a trip that doesn't have any soul.
Road stories demand that we learn something at the end of the journey. Alex does and so do we. In spades.
The reader needs to know that the writer doesn't cop out on the sexual yearnings of a 16-year-old as well as a boy's new-found freedom with profanity. At the same time, the reality of the racial divide is explored with a splendid frankness. To gloss over the above would make for a trip that doesn't have any soul.
Road stories demand that we learn something at the end of the journey. Alex does and so do we. In spades.
July 2, 2012
Although the overall storyline is a bit predictable, the stops along the way are interesting. Not groundbreaking but solid for a debut novel.
November 7, 2012
loved it. Enjoyable satisfying read.
December 28, 2012
A must read.
January 12, 2013
Great book.
February 8, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. I'm not a fan of the swearing, but it still was an amazing book! I'd totally recommend it :)
March 10, 2013
Cadillac Chronicles
is the story of a white teenage boy and an elderly black man traveling together but heading in opposite directions. The unlikely pairing of Alex, the teenage boy, and Lester, the elderly man, comes by way of an adopt-a-senior program gone haywire. The fault lies primarily with Alex’s mother, a church-surfing politician wannabe who thinks that bringing an old black man into her home will help her career. Instead, Lester absconds with Alex on a road trip from Albany to Fort Lauderdale in search of the boy’s father.
Cadillac Chronicles is a coming-of-age adventure crossed with end-of-life poignancy. It's a book for young readers who can enjoy a work of fiction without sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, zombies or any combination thereof.
If you like discovering the heart inside a teenage boy, you'll like this book. I did. A lot.
Brett is also the author of Hammerhead 84, a memoir published in 2005 that recounts his tumultuous freshman year in college and the psychiatric mismanagement that made the year special. The book picked up some very nice reviews and blurbs (including one from James Frey, pre-scandal).
Once you know this, you'll understand why Brett dedicated Cadillac Chronicles to the memory of Rebecca Riley, a little girl, four years old, who died from being overmedicated by a psychiatrist.
Cadillac Chronicles is a coming-of-age adventure crossed with end-of-life poignancy. It's a book for young readers who can enjoy a work of fiction without sorcerers, vampires, werewolves, zombies or any combination thereof.
If you like discovering the heart inside a teenage boy, you'll like this book. I did. A lot.
Brett is also the author of Hammerhead 84, a memoir published in 2005 that recounts his tumultuous freshman year in college and the psychiatric mismanagement that made the year special. The book picked up some very nice reviews and blurbs (including one from James Frey, pre-scandal).
Once you know this, you'll understand why Brett dedicated Cadillac Chronicles to the memory of Rebecca Riley, a little girl, four years old, who died from being overmedicated by a psychiatrist.
July 21, 2020
No way is this a young adult book. Or did they mean for 18-21 year olds. While the premise of the book is admirable--a white teen age boy with emotional, parental, and social issues forms an unlikely friendship with a eighty-something black man during a road trip in a Cadillac Seville, I think there are many problematic areas that would not make me recommend this as reading for young people. For one, I think it is too focused on sex. And while I get for some teen boys, sex is probably top of mind, this book is over the top in the language. I lost count how many times the boy's penis and his erections were referenced and the countless nicknames for it. And the sex scene was too graphic for a book geared to young adults. Definitely rated-R, yet the book gets a young adult label. I also felt like women were objectified and all they had to offer were breasts and sex.
The language is just a minor issue for me. Perhaps the biggest issue is the whole losing his virginity part. The book jacket uses a review from Kirkus Reviews that Alex will "spectacularly loses his virginity in a scene that will surprise readers as much as Alex." Well it sure did! Because he lost it to a predator! The home health attendant is waiting for him in bed after he gets out the shower. He had just met her the evening before in which they had had very little interaction. This attendant is 18 years old, so some will say that it wasn't so bad because Alex had just turned 16. But she was still an adult. In fact, she told him the reason she gave him that room to sleep in was because she had planned on sleeping with him. She had even stopped to get condoms. Really?!? I read reviews where people thought this was a good element of the book. I wonder if they would have said the same thing if the genders had been reversed. Instead, a 16 year old white girl who has a 18 year old black man waiting for her naked in bed when she gets out the shower.
What's even worse is the fact that having this home health attendant be a young black woman buys into the stereotype that black women are hyper sexual. She was just 18 years old, but already very experienced sexually. So much so, that she teaches this boy the ropes and had devised this plan the moment she met him. What's even more insulting is that the author gave her a symbolic name of Selma in honor of the Selma, Alabama Marches in the 1960s. But then again, it's believable in a book in which he has the character spout that he believed black girls had larger breasts than white girls, and have the old black man, Lester, confide that he had a "small pecker" despite what they say about black men.
There were other cringe worthy moments in the book too, such as when the author wrote: "farting away like a Taliban firing squad" and some of the language about gay men.
Those issues aside, the book is at its best in the parts that focus on Alex's and Lester's friendship. I wish the author had kept the problematic parts on the editing floor.
The language is just a minor issue for me. Perhaps the biggest issue is the whole losing his virginity part. The book jacket uses a review from Kirkus Reviews that Alex will "spectacularly loses his virginity in a scene that will surprise readers as much as Alex." Well it sure did! Because he lost it to a predator! The home health attendant is waiting for him in bed after he gets out the shower. He had just met her the evening before in which they had had very little interaction. This attendant is 18 years old, so some will say that it wasn't so bad because Alex had just turned 16. But she was still an adult. In fact, she told him the reason she gave him that room to sleep in was because she had planned on sleeping with him. She had even stopped to get condoms. Really?!? I read reviews where people thought this was a good element of the book. I wonder if they would have said the same thing if the genders had been reversed. Instead, a 16 year old white girl who has a 18 year old black man waiting for her naked in bed when she gets out the shower.
What's even worse is the fact that having this home health attendant be a young black woman buys into the stereotype that black women are hyper sexual. She was just 18 years old, but already very experienced sexually. So much so, that she teaches this boy the ropes and had devised this plan the moment she met him. What's even more insulting is that the author gave her a symbolic name of Selma in honor of the Selma, Alabama Marches in the 1960s. But then again, it's believable in a book in which he has the character spout that he believed black girls had larger breasts than white girls, and have the old black man, Lester, confide that he had a "small pecker" despite what they say about black men.
There were other cringe worthy moments in the book too, such as when the author wrote: "farting away like a Taliban firing squad" and some of the language about gay men.
Those issues aside, the book is at its best in the parts that focus on Alex's and Lester's friendship. I wish the author had kept the problematic parts on the editing floor.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2019
Liked it
Great read.Hard to finish without choking up.Will look for more details by authors author. P lo Jesse let me know if any other titlrs.
Great read.Hard to finish without choking up.Will look for more details by authors author. P lo Jesse let me know if any other titlrs.
October 20, 2012
Although the road traveled by this novel by a debut YA author is fairly familiar, it's hard not to root for sixteen-year-ol Alex Riley and hope that he manages to make his way through relatively smoothly. Alex and his mother don't get along, and he wishes that he knew more about his father who lives in Florida. Because it will make her look good and advance her political career, Alex's mother agrees to take in elderly Lester Bray but quickly changes her mind after Lester proves to be too troublesome. When Alex's annoyance with his mother grows, he and Lester take Lester's Cadillac from his home in New York to the South. The two continue to bond over the trip even while Alex learns the truth about his father and loses his virginity while visiting Lester's hometown. All sorts of detours help Alex come to understand himself better and develop tolerance for those around him. Readers will certainly fall in love with Selma who deflowers Alex and shows him how to please her through oral sex, and they will probably want to get out their maps or navigational devices and plan their own life-changing road trips. I'll be looking for more from this fresh voice.
August 8, 2013
I received a copy of this book in the goodreads giveaway. I thought the author did a fantastic job. The story of a 16 yr. old boy and an elderly man is not just a story about a physical journey but an emotional journey as well. The two of them met at a time in their lives that they really needed one another. The became the best of friends as one's life nears the end while the other's life is really just beginning. It was a wonderful journey. I loved this book and would recommend it to any adult or older teen. I thought it would be alright for my younger teens but after reading it realized that there is one chapter that is really not all that appropriate for younger teens. I can't wait to read more written by this author.
July 28, 2013
Alex Riley is 16 and naive. Lester Bray is old and wise. Together they drive Lester's Cadillac Deville from upstate New York to Fort Lauderdale to find Alex's father, then to Alabama to visit Lester's sister, finally returning home.
This YA (coming of age) novel confronts the issues of racism, homosexuality, flawed parents, and bad therapists with a philosophy of personal responsibility and tolerance. The lack of evil and spirit of acceptance make the book a pleasure to read.
For the complete review see: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2013/0...
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway on July 4, 2013 from CBSD LIBRARY (A Goodreads Librarian - not the author). I received the book on July 19, 2013.
This YA (coming of age) novel confronts the issues of racism, homosexuality, flawed parents, and bad therapists with a philosophy of personal responsibility and tolerance. The lack of evil and spirit of acceptance make the book a pleasure to read.
For the complete review see: http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2013/0...
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway on July 4, 2013 from CBSD LIBRARY (A Goodreads Librarian - not the author). I received the book on July 19, 2013.
May 16, 2013
Alex, 16 years old takes a road trip with African American aged Lester, partly to escape his controlling mother, partly to find his absent father. This well-written coming of age story taught me something about adolescent boys. The dialog always rang true. While not overly written, there are some great turns of phrases. By the second page I was pretty sure I was going to enjoy this book, especially when I read, "The man extended a gaunt hand, tufts of gray hair at the knuckles like miniature welcome mats." Perfect, unexpected. I'll try to get this in the hands of every adolescent boy I know.
June 7, 2013
Alex, the disagreeable, friendless teenager who is the main character in Cadillac Chronicles captured my attention from the first page, and held onto it til the end, capturing my heart along the way. There is a road trip, a beautiful girl, a fantastic, unexpected friendship, trouble with parents, along with a potent dose of racism and homophobia. Lester, the elderly man who befriends Alex, is a powerhouse, a powerful, bracing voice, making me wish all teenagers could have such a friend. A really fine book.
Read
September 15, 2015Alex, 16 years old takes a road trip with African American aged Lester, partly to escape his controlling mother, partly to find his absent father. This is for older teens and adults. Spoiler alert. The boy does do the "deed" with an older woman. It does not detract from the story. Not for middle schoolers.
March 29, 2013
This book had a fair amount of sexual content for a story of friendship between an old, black man and a white teen. It also had a good examination of race (although it could have gone deeper). What was the best was being able to name all the locations in Albany, NY where the story initially starts.
May 18, 2013
What a great story about a unique friendship between an old black man, Lester, and a teen white kid, Alex. The story took twist and turns I wasn't quite expecting but I certainly enjoyed the ride and the person Alex became.
August 11, 2013
A good premise but could have benefited from a stronger delivery. The style is too preach-y for me. Some very crude details, including some stuff Alex thinks/says, is, perhaps, an attempt to be "real" but it just seems not very classy.
February 22, 2013
A great work of realistic fiction, one of the best I've read in a while.
February 24, 2013
An impressive debut novel from a writer who knows how to tell a great story with interesting characters and compelling themes.
July 19, 2016
Peach Award (4 stars)
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews