Slammed: Honda Civic

Turbocharged #4

by Patrick Jones

"After getting out of reform school, DeAndre lands back in the life that put him there: racing souped-up cars with stolen parts. But in trying to earn back his Detroit cred--and his girlfriend--he'll learn what it really means to win"--

93 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Patrick Jones is the author of five realistic teen novels, most recently Stolen Car((Walker / Bloomsbury, 2008). His first young adult novel Things Change (Walker & Company, 2004) was named by the Young Adult Library Services Association as a best book for reluctant readers, and was runner-up in the Teen Buckeye Book Award selected by Ohio teens. His second novel Nailed was published by Walker / Bloomsbury in spring 2006 and was a runner-up for the Great Lake Book Award. His 2007 novel, Chasing Tail Lights, is nominated for the Minnesota Books Awards. His most recent (and last) professional publication is Connecting with Reluctant Readers (Neal-Schuman, 2006). In 2006, he won lifetime achievement awards from both the Catholic Library Association, and the American Library Association. Jones is a frequent speaker at library conferences, having visited all fifty states, as well as in Canada, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Jones grew up in Flint, Michigan, but now lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Read more at his web page www.connectingya.com, including FAQs about Things Change and Nailed (perfect for book reports!). NOTE: After a bruising experience with another author, he's limited his reviews on Good Reads to only raves as not to disturb the "fellowship" of YA writers.

Reviews

[Rachel's Book Reviews · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wowwwww .... dumbest book ever.

No plot, only has a little to do with cars, only a little bit about him.
No character development, all characters were paper thin.

Wasn't cheering for our protag. He was kind of a douche.

All the girls were merely trophy pieces (in one way or the other.) Totally objectified. It was odd and pointless. I'm not even sure why this got published....

[Mason Klann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A guy named Deandre trying to look for a better life out of reform school. He has to manage his probation while being able to deal with his rival named Ali. The book is supposed to be focused on car modifications and other things but from a garage mechanic perspective you can see how its supposed to reach other people with cars and stuff but it doesn't talk about engine internals enough to actually learn anything. The major themes of the book are the risks and high stakes of street racing, over coming peer pressure, and trust. Again I don't like that the book didn't go much into detail of how the engine mods work like ECU tuning, Intakes, exhaust systems, just saying that they added them without much or even any detail at all. Overall I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who's actively trying to gain knowledge in cars and engines but I would call this a book for younger kids (10-12) years old.

[Sawyer Wilder]

I really liked it how it was short and sweet and action packed

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great hi/lo book for young adult readers who are fans of movies likeThe Fast & The Furious. The book also realistically portrays the difficulty students can encounter when trying to break ties with old friends who might distract them from the positive life changes they are pursuing.