The Girl in the Back Seat

by Norma Charles

In this fast-paced, on the road, YA novel, Norma Charles once again manages to include provocative social issues in an adventure story that will appeal to children from age ten and up. The novel opens with Toby, a young girl in a Bountiful-style community, being caught secretly reading at night. The community leaders decide that she must be married at once to "the prophet," an older man. Hearing of the plan, Toby decides to escape to Winnipeg where she has a sympathetic aunt. Fortunately, at this moment she meets Jacob and Minerva Armstrong and learns they are on their way to Winnipeg in the family Mini. During the night, she steals away and hides herself in the backseat of the Mini. Jacob and Minerva have their own set of problems, since they are black and their Caribbean mother has recently remarried, this time to a penny-pinching Englishman who has two children of his own, and who seems wholly alien to the siblings. When the two Armstrong children discover Toby hiding in the backseat, she pleads with them not to tell their parents, since they will surely call the police. As the trio make their way across the country to Winnipeg, all sorts of problems arise as Jacob and Minerva learn more about Toby’s plight and her life in the religious community. On the other side, Toby comes to see some of the challenges involved with a blended marriage where colour is involved. But as with all novels by Norma Charles, there is also much fun and laughter as the family visits famous prairie sights, such as the renowned dinosaur display in Drumheller. In the end, the adults as well as the children learn uncomfortable truths about themselves.

184 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2008

About the author

I wasn't always a writer. When I was young, I was a Reader. I read everything I could get my hands on. When I first learnt to read in Grade one, I was so excited, I rushed home and taught my little brother, Bryan to read too. Now he loves books as much as I do. When we moved to BC, we discovered the Public Library in New Westminster. Our parents would drop us off on Saturdays so we could read to our hearts content. Paradise! When I graduated from university, I got a job teaching, and my favourite thing to teach was, you got it! Reading. I retired from teaching to raise my children, two boys and two girls and we sure read a lot of books. When we ran out of books to read, I'd make up stories for them, and that's when I became a writer and I sold my first book, See You Later, Alligator. When my youngest son started school, I went back to teaching and got the best job in the world that combined my three loves, reading, kids, and books: a teacher/librarian. After a few years of trying to balance the teaching and the writing, I finally gave up teaching so now I can write full time. Yay!

Reviews

[Gabriele Goldstone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid mid grade read. I like the Canadian setting and Charles is great with keeping up the tension. Recommended.

[Sahaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super good