Joyride

by Amy Ehrlich

Nina and her mother, Joyce, are always on the move. They own little, and stay nowhere long, but as Nina begins to yearn for a more settled life, Joyce begins to move at a more frantic pace.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Family, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Amy Ehrlich is the author of more than thirty books for young readers and is also a winner of The Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award for her novel Joyride, which was also chosen Booklist Choice Best Book of the Decade. She lives on a farm in Northern Vermont with her husband and a great many domestic and agricultural animals.

Reviews

[Doug Wilhelm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling, unforgettable YA novel that suffers a bit from a confusion of titles: the publisher insisted on originally calling it Where It Stops, Nobody Knows, which was the title when I first read it. But the author apparently hated that title, and got it changed to Joyride on a later edition. This book is well worth discovering -- it's a mysteriously gripping, compulsive adventure told by a girl who accepts but doesn't understand why she and her mother can't stay anywhere for long, why they have almost no possessions, and why they have to move quickly and secretly every time someone starts to ask personal questions. Your heart goes out to both the narrator and her mother -- if that's really who she is ...

[Kate Worthington ❤️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was a rec from the Creep Dive so unfortunately knew the ending. Still enjoyed tho!

[Jenna LaMie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal response
I like this book because you never knew where they were gonna go next. I liked books that have a mystery in them or suspense in them. I really liked this book and hope there is more books like this one that I can read.
Summary
The book Joyride starts of with a girl Nina and her mother Joyce. Nina and her mom move every couple months or every year. Nina thinks that her mother lost her job or doesn't have enough money to live in that house or apartment anymore. Well Nina and her mother finally move to this place and rent an apartment and Nina meets a lot of new people and becomes friends with a group of girls and they become really good friends. But when Nina asks her mom to hangout with them her mom says no every time and she can't figure out why she won't let her hang out with her friends. One day when she asked her mom to go away for her basket ball game her mom grounds her. Then a couple days later is her friends birthday party and they go to Mcdonalds to get breakfast before school and while they are eating she looks out the window and she sees her mom and these two guys. When her mom sees her after she is done ordering her food her mom walks over to the table that all the girls are eating at and say Nina come outside for a minute and her mom slaps her and walks away and Nina sits outside crying and doesn't go back inside because she is afraid of what her friends will say. Then they end up moving away again and she meets some new friends and they tell her to not go by the goths but she starts talking to one of the guys and they become really good friends. She starts going over to his house and they hang out until her mom gets home from work. But her mom says she doesn't trust her and they move again. Joyce says this is a place where she use to live when she was little. They find nice old lady and she rents them and room and one day when Joyce was out in the living room she needs something out of her box that she has and she find a whole bunch of money and she knows it's the money is Joyce's. Then she starts realizing that her mom is acting really strange around people and the police show up at there house one day and ask Joyce what her name is and to see her I.D. and once they leave Joyce says hurry up and pack all your stuff we are leaving. Then Nina finally comes out and asks Joyce ¨ Did you steal that money that I found in my box¨ and Joyce says I will tell you later just hurry up and pack. Joyce wants to leave before the old lady comes back home. They are finally all packed and leave. When they get to there new apartment Joyce has to park the van in a parking building a couple miles away. Joyce makes Nina do everything now and doesn't go anywhere anymore. One day Nina goes to the laundry mat to do laundry and she meets thing every nice old lady that asks her someone personal questions which Nina thinks its weird then the old lady helps Nina fold her laundry. Then one day Nina goes out and gets a pizza to eat and when she gets home there are police in her house and her mom is gone. They say that they have been watching them since they moved her. One lady comes out of the living room and Nina realizes its the lady from the laundry mat. She takes Nina into her moms room and tells her to sit down on the bed and tell her that Joyce kidnapped her when she was only 3 weeks old from the hospital. She also tells her that her real mom and dad and sister are waiting at the front door to finally take her home. She goes to the front door and opens it and there are two adults and a little girl standing there with and picture of a little girl and the two adults. They take her home and she really likes it there and her mom and dad don't like it when Nina talks about Joyce. One days Nina ask her dad if she can go see Joyce in prison and her dad takes her there in the next few months and her mom explains why she did it and that she will always love her.
Recamandation
I recamand this book to girl and guys that like mysterys and suspense. There is the mystery all through out the book trying to figure out what Joyce did to get all the money and what was really going on.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young adult book with a lot of heart. The journey of a young girl and her mother who are always on the move, never settling in one place long. The mother’s behavior becomes more frantic & paranoid, until we find out the reason why Nina had such an unconventional childhood.
The copy I read is under the title “Where It Stops, Nobody Knows”.

[Kaitlyn Appleby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personal Response: Joyride was a very interesting book it had a lot of mysteries and drama moments. I enjoyed the suspense of what would happen on the next page. The way the book ended was so surprising I would have never seen it coming and I think that really put the cherry on top for this book.

Plot Summary: In the book Joyride Nina and her mother Joyce have been traveling her entire life. They never lived in one spot for more than a month. Nina had many suspicions throughout the book of why they moved around so much but she never really got a straight answer from her mother. Nina tried not to make too many friends because when she did her mother would make her move right away so Nina lost many friends throughout the book. In the end Nina finds out why her mother made her move so much, and what she found out was completely life changing.

Recommendation: I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a little mysteries along with a little drama. I think mainly girls would enjoy this book. If you like a book that will keep you in suspense then this is the book for you!

[Salena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this book as a teen, and I recently found it again. It is a well-written YA book with an unsuspected ending.

[Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover wasnt what made me fall In Love. It was the story, the characters, the theme, the ending, the purpose!

[Jaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book and the mother daughter relationship .

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a short read, and it's meant for 12+, but the concept was quite interesting. I would've liked it better if it was written for Young Adults, but that's neither here nor there

[Mick · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[Brianna Layman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't a huge fan of this book. The writing was fairly simple and there was a lot of layered in racism that put me off.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

plot twist!!! i didn’t think i was gonna like this book when i started, but I ended up not putting it down. It was easy to read, and i did not predict the ending. very satisfying read

[Jessica Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect with this book. I selected it to read purely because I've owned it for years, and I am trying to get through my book shelf.

This book thoroughly surprised me. The storyline was suspenseful as well as unpredictable. As I was reading, I assumed that Joyce was maybe on the run from a formerly abusive relationship or something, which was not the case.

In reading each chapter, I began to feel some anger toward Joyce and began labelling her as "selfish". Joyce was selfish in how she repeatedly uprooted Nina's lifestyle, hauling her daughter from school to school, and across country from state to state. Nina was a just a young teenager craving some normality and stability in her life - she clearly had the capability to succeed in school and always find friends or boyfriends, but as soon as she started to settle, Joyce told her it was time to go.

My rating is four stars, because given the fact that this book is a short and easy read, the storyline I felt was impactful.

[Angie Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina has never really thought of her life as being different from any other middle school student her age. That is, other than the fact she’s lived in more states than most grown-ups, everything she owns fits into the van they travel in, and she takes care of her mom about as much as her mom does her. She’s used to it, though. It’s the way it’s been as long as she can remember. Life was an adventure, after all.


So when Nina and her mom started disagreeing on how, and where they are living, she didn’t think anything of it other than she was growing up, coming into her own, wanting to put down some roots. The problem was, the more comfortable Nina began to feel in a particular town, the more her mom seemed to possess some desperate need to leave it. Was it that her mom didn’t want to share her attention, or was there another secret Nina’s mom was protecting her from? When finally the truth comes out, Nina was far from prepared for the heartbreak to follow. Nina learns the hard way that sometimes what we don’t know doesn’t hurt us, and often those we think we know most are literally complete strangers.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Angie Fisher for TeensReadToo.com

Nina has never really thought of her life as being different from any other middle school student her age. That is, other than the fact that she's lived in more states than most grown-ups, everything she owns fits into the van they travel in, and she takes care of her mom about as much as her mom does her.

She's used to it, though. It's the way it's been as long as she can remember. Life was an adventure, after all.

So when Nina and her mom started disagreeing on how, and where, they are living, she didn't think anything of it other than that she was growing up, coming into her own, wanting to put down some roots. The problem was, the more comfortable Nina began to feel in a particular town, the more her mom seemed to possess some desperate need to leave it.

Was it that her mom didn't want to share her attention, or was there another secret Nina's mom was protecting her from?

When finally the truth comes out, Nina was far from prepared for the heartbreak to follow. Nina learns the hard way that sometimes what we don't know doesn't hurt us, and often those we think we know most are literally complete strangers.

[Josie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in a couple of hours, but even so the pacing seemed slow. I liked the descriptions of the different towns Nina stayed in, but as Joyce became increasingly frantic/paranoid/aggressive her behaviour seemed out of place, especially because Nina was so chill she just shrugged it off each time. The ending was also kind of silly. Maybe because I've read better books with the exact same plot twist, but Nina was just like "oh well" and went to live with her real family without seeming to care overly much about a) leaving Joyce who then GOES TO PRISON, and b) the fact she's moving in with complete strangers. Then again, she didn't seem bothered about leaving her friends and boyfriend behind each time she moved either. Oh, and there was no explanation for why Joyce had stolen Nina as a baby, which was unsatisfying.

Also, the fact that this was written in 1988 made it seem really... quaint. Nina talks about getting her hair permed a couple of times, and says that at "nearly 5'7"" she's considered tall, which made me lol, because no.

[Julie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina's mother is constantly moving them around the country. Nina is getting tired of this, and she wants answers.

Finally, Nina realizes the ugly truth. Her mother really isn't her mother at all. She kidnapped Nina from the hospital when she was just a few days old. The woman gets sent to a federal prison, and Nina goes to live with her real parents.

A different type of story that I'm used to, but it was enjoyable. In a way, it reminded me of Margaret Peterson Haddix (sorry if I spelled her first name incorrectly).

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a solid two star, but the ending, which took me by surprise and I will not spoil, upped it a bit. This is about a girl named Nina whose mother, Joyce keeps moving from city to city. The back of the book portrays Joyce as being a crazy mom, but sadly, the author did not deliver. And because of the constant moving of the characters, the side characters aren't terribly developed. However, this was a good and interesting read, especially towards the end.

[Monica Kerins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book a lot. I would even consider to reread this. It was about a girl who had to survive on the road. No house. Just her and Mom. They were always moving and I loved how the charcters seemed as if this were to really happen because it was like anyone could realte. If you are a teen and love family drama and any sort of girly realistic fiction then I would definetly recommend this to you.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nina Lewis longs for a life of setting in, making friends and dating. Her Mother Joyce has other ideas and needs. Joyce becomes nervous and antsy after moving to a new city when living there for a short time. Nina finds her self covering Joyce's lies and Joyce becoming more and more secretive.
I found myself captivated by Amy Ehrlich's story telling. Wonderful mystery with heart wrenching real life struggles of a young girl just wanting to fit in.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had several possible theories as to why the main character and her mother seemed to be on the run. I was quite surprised by book end to discover I had overlooked the correct reason. I thought Nina was a bit uncomplaining for a person being forced into so many constant changes in her life--but I suppose she might have adapted to being that way since she seemed to like the adventure side of the relocating. Good story--never dull--four stars.

[Bonnie Helbach · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gently mystery that builds up to the end so much so that I couldn' put it down. I choose this book because I was weeding the library and although this book had not been checked out in awhile, the story caught my attention. I wasn't diappointed and it will be staying on the shelf. i'll be including it in my next booktalks.

[jacky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another "Electronic Bookshelf" quiz book. This book is about a girl whose mother keeps making them move from place to place. As the story progresses, the girl finds out why. That's really all I remember about reading this book.

[Steff S (The Bookish Owl) · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright but I found the ending predictable - I'd half guessed and then the avoidance of hospitals confirmed it. The side-characters were interesting, I just wish they could have been developed further. I also found the ending a little flat and almost incomplete.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trying to figure out if I read this one a long time ago or it has just been on my shelf for a long time. Parts seem vaquely familiar but other parts don't. Doesn't matter--I'm enjoying it while watching the Olympics.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ordered this off Amazon in a moment of nostalgia. I loved this book as a teenager and the memory has stayed with me over the years. I remembered the title, the cover and the ending! Kind of forgot the rest.

It is fast paced, the plot is great with a twist ending and I highly recommend it.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book, its really interesting and hard to put down!!

[Mrs Mac McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this story of a young girl and the strange relationship she has with her mother, and the crazy life they lead. An interesting twist at the end.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't remember a lot about this book but I remember that I liked it. I read it in Junior High.