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Chuckaboo
A fart and cough break the silence. Don Gallagher isn't fooled. Someone in the lean-to shelter wanted to drown out the fart, but the sounds didn't synch. Who's the culprit keeping everyone awake? Don is a sixteen-year-old runaway from home. The authorities are searching for him. He's hiding on the Appalachian Trail, where a boy with a backpack won't draw unwanted attention. Or so he hopes. Chuckaboo appeals to guys who read novels of realistic adventure. Order a copy for a son, a father, or yourself.
354 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 19, 2016
2 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
A routine chore sparked a funk of introspection.
I was editing photos. Hundreds of them scrolled down a monitor. They had been taken during my work as a photographer. Some of the images had graced the front pages of a newspaper. Now they appeared minuscule, blurring within a scrum of thumbnails.
Yikes! The insignificance of those photos—and my work—became apparent.
My photography train kept rolling. But a disquietude lurked beneath the surface. I wondered how I could make a difference in the world.
Could I write novels? Books can sway a reader’s outlook. I knew this truism firsthand. The Grapes of Wrath jolted my sensibilities.
During spare time I wrote. A novel came to life. I shopped it around. Rejections followed. My magnum opus ended up a phantom opus.
A shakeup was required. Something drastic. I hiked the Appalachian Trail. That life altering slog-linked here-took six months.
Years racked up. Work competed with writing. Yet draft by draft another novel took shape. The plot is set on the Appalachian Trail. The book launches on July 19, 2016.
At last, I’ve created something that could make a difference.
I was editing photos. Hundreds of them scrolled down a monitor. They had been taken during my work as a photographer. Some of the images had graced the front pages of a newspaper. Now they appeared minuscule, blurring within a scrum of thumbnails.
Yikes! The insignificance of those photos—and my work—became apparent.
My photography train kept rolling. But a disquietude lurked beneath the surface. I wondered how I could make a difference in the world.
Could I write novels? Books can sway a reader’s outlook. I knew this truism firsthand. The Grapes of Wrath jolted my sensibilities.
During spare time I wrote. A novel came to life. I shopped it around. Rejections followed. My magnum opus ended up a phantom opus.
A shakeup was required. Something drastic. I hiked the Appalachian Trail. That life altering slog-linked here-took six months.
Years racked up. Work competed with writing. Yet draft by draft another novel took shape. The plot is set on the Appalachian Trail. The book launches on July 19, 2016.
At last, I’ve created something that could make a difference.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 15, 2021
A very good YA read
June 3, 2016
Firstly, thanks to the author Christopher Fitzgerald for a free copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Don doesn't like his mother's new boyfriend, so he decides to leave home and hideout on the Appalachian Trail. The start of his journey doesn't go so smoothly, but he eventually makes it onto the start of the AT, and meets a group of fellow hikers. But Don needs to keep his identity a secret, because he is a runaway. One thing leads to another, leads to another, and Don, now known by his trail name 'Chuckaboo' forms an alliance with fellow hiker 'Zigzag' who turns out to be very sketchy indeed.
The thing that drew me to this book initially was the mention of the Appalachian Trail. I'm a sucker for all things hiking. And what's more is Christopher Fitzgerald actually HIKED the AT. So, this book draws on the realities of long distance hiking. The camaraderie, the good times, the struggles, the broad spectrum of weather... but the story includes a young man who is doing something he believes will help his mother in the long run. The story became a little hard to relate to when the same things started to repeat (namely things between Chuckaboo and Zigzag) but I think that just highlighted the young age of Chuckaboo, the influence Zigzag had on him, and the dire needs of a long distance hiker.
There is a mix of characters, from yoga, guitar carrying Rainbow, to the elderly Turtle, and a man with a knife. I found them to be pretty well-rounded, though I had trouble identifying with any of them. I really didn't like Zigzag, but then I don't like manipulative, aggressive characters, but dislike of a character, to me, just means the author knows how to write a good antagonist.
What I really loved about this story was the descriptions along the AT, the weather, the shelters, both on and off the trail, the wildlife, the rodent issues, the people, other than hikers (rangers, and soldiers-in-training, tourists etc.), and the evolution of Chuckaboo. I loved how unprepared he was, eating cold tinned food, a blow-up mattress, and blankets rather than the more hiking appropriate sleeping mat and sleeping bag.
Don doesn't like his mother's new boyfriend, so he decides to leave home and hideout on the Appalachian Trail. The start of his journey doesn't go so smoothly, but he eventually makes it onto the start of the AT, and meets a group of fellow hikers. But Don needs to keep his identity a secret, because he is a runaway. One thing leads to another, leads to another, and Don, now known by his trail name 'Chuckaboo' forms an alliance with fellow hiker 'Zigzag' who turns out to be very sketchy indeed.
The thing that drew me to this book initially was the mention of the Appalachian Trail. I'm a sucker for all things hiking. And what's more is Christopher Fitzgerald actually HIKED the AT. So, this book draws on the realities of long distance hiking. The camaraderie, the good times, the struggles, the broad spectrum of weather... but the story includes a young man who is doing something he believes will help his mother in the long run. The story became a little hard to relate to when the same things started to repeat (namely things between Chuckaboo and Zigzag) but I think that just highlighted the young age of Chuckaboo, the influence Zigzag had on him, and the dire needs of a long distance hiker.
There is a mix of characters, from yoga, guitar carrying Rainbow, to the elderly Turtle, and a man with a knife. I found them to be pretty well-rounded, though I had trouble identifying with any of them. I really didn't like Zigzag, but then I don't like manipulative, aggressive characters, but dislike of a character, to me, just means the author knows how to write a good antagonist.
What I really loved about this story was the descriptions along the AT, the weather, the shelters, both on and off the trail, the wildlife, the rodent issues, the people, other than hikers (rangers, and soldiers-in-training, tourists etc.), and the evolution of Chuckaboo. I loved how unprepared he was, eating cold tinned food, a blow-up mattress, and blankets rather than the more hiking appropriate sleeping mat and sleeping bag.
November 7, 2016
well done YA novel that you will enjoy mostly for its depiction of hiking on the Appalachian Trail. Fitzgerald has written good characters (interesting for sure) of the type one finds out there in the world although I did not like or trust ZIgzag, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. You might like this if you enjoyed Wild, if you are a voyeur when it comes to hiking, or if you're interested in a solid YA crossover read. I'm interested to see Fitzgerald does next.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews