Wheels

Degrassi #17

by Susin Nielsen

Everyone likes Wheels at Degrassihe plays in a rock band with his buddies Joey and Snake and thinks about being a musician full-time, like his birth father.
But Wheels's life slams to a halt when his parents are killed in a car accident. He fights with his best friend, hangs around downtown with rough street kids, and gets into serious trouble with the law. Still his friends refuse to desert him, and Wheels learns he can count on the people around him when he really needs them.
Based on the groundbreaking Degrassi Junior High television series, this book offers a sensitive and engaging look at the challenges of teenage life.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Susin got her start feeding cast and crew on the popular television series, Degrassi Junior High. They hated her food, but they saw a spark in her writing. Nielsen went on to pen sixteen episodes of the hit TV show. Since then, Nielsen has written for over 20 Canadian TV series. Her first young adult novel, Word Nerd, was published in 2008 to critical acclaim. It won multiple Young Readers’ Choice Awards, as did her second novel, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom. Her third novel, The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen, was published in August 2012. It went on to win the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award, the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year Award, and a number of Young Readers’ Choice Awards. Author Wally Lamb named it his top YA pick for 2012 in his “First Annual Wally Awards,” and recently Rolling Stone magazine put it at #27 in their list of “Top 40 Best YA Novels.”
Her books have been translated into multiple languages. Susin’s new novel, We Are All Made of Molecules, will be published in Canada, the US and the UK in Spring of 2015. She lives in Vancouver with her family and two naughty cats. She is delighted to have finally figure out how to "claim" her author profile on Goodreads!

Reviews

[Little Seal]

Of the Degrassi books I have read so far, this is my favorite. I laughed, I cried, and I was brought back into the episodes it was based off of (with a subplot that was never shown in the show). I will say though that the ending got to me due to Wheels saying that he'd never go to court again, but you know he probably does after he kills the kid when he drives drunk.

[Selenem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having grown up on Degrassi in its many iterations, I enjoyed the nostalgia of reading this as an older adult. The plot follows four episodes from Degrassi Jr.High's third season: Can't Live With 'Em part one and two, and Taking Off part one and two. It also adds a subplot about Wheels meeting a couple of street kids and shoplifting, which wasn't in the series. The Degrassi team has described Wheels as the most tragic character and this story shows the beginning of his descent, despite the lessons learned. RIP, Neil Hope.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read for Degrassi fans 😃👍

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

cool