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How to Steal a Car
From National Book Award winner Pete Hautman, the story of a girl who acts out by stealing cars.
Some girls act out by drinking or doing drugs. Some girls act out by sleeping with guys. Some girls act out by starving themselves or cutting themselves. Some girls act out by being a bitch to other girls.
Not Kelleigh. Kelleigh steals cars.
In How to Steal a Car, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman takes teen readers on a thrilling, scary ride through one suburban girl's turbulent life - one car theft at a time.
Some girls act out by drinking or doing drugs. Some girls act out by sleeping with guys. Some girls act out by starving themselves or cutting themselves. Some girls act out by being a bitch to other girls.
Not Kelleigh. Kelleigh steals cars.
In How to Steal a Car, National Book Award winner Pete Hautman takes teen readers on a thrilling, scary ride through one suburban girl's turbulent life - one car theft at a time.
170 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2009
25 people are currently reading
637 people want to read
About the author
Pete Hautman
60 books357 followersPeter Murray Hautman is an American author best known for his novels for young adults. One of them, Godless, won the 2004 National Book Award for Young People's Literature. The National Book Foundation summary is, "A teenage boy decides to invent a new religion with a new god."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 160 reviews
October 5, 2011
this book isn't getting the same "4 stars" that ultraviolet got.
ultraviolet got an "I really like this RIGHT NOW to a very high 3 stars and i'm just being stingy really" 4 stars. this book is getting an "I would have thought this was awesome when I was 14 and it's not painful to read now, and i'm feeling generous because it was a quick read" 4 stars. basically they are different kinds of good.
this is the first book I've read in the "Jasmine project" that is what I stereotypically think of as teen novels. i'm pretty sure you can buy this for 3 dollars from those bookfair papers you get at school and be given it a month later after you'd forgotten you even ordered it. it's thin and looks trashy, I bought it at the scholastic store for that exact reason, those were the books I owned as a kid and I liked them. most new teen books seem longer and full of weird pretensions of what teen fiction is. I remember believing firmly that the martian chronicles was too long (and I was a kid who read a ton so it wasn't a lazy thing) so books must have been shorter then since bradbury's stuff is small. this is like that 170, but the perfect 170, a complete story, layered but directed. it isn't complex like the adult novels I read but it's solidly on the level of palahniuk and Moore.
it's a funny plot about the kinds of things we do as a teen and it doesn't glorify or villainize illegal acts they are just sort of there which is nice for someone who grew up in a place where all teens were breaking the law.
I can see a complaint about her having the keys to the cars, but my car was stolen 6 years ago by someone who knew where to find the keys, and honestly it's not that farfetched for me. I get it, I get joyriding. I'd buy it for the right teen, it could be improved by addressing the attempted self destruction but that isn't necessary.
ultraviolet got an "I really like this RIGHT NOW to a very high 3 stars and i'm just being stingy really" 4 stars. this book is getting an "I would have thought this was awesome when I was 14 and it's not painful to read now, and i'm feeling generous because it was a quick read" 4 stars. basically they are different kinds of good.
this is the first book I've read in the "Jasmine project" that is what I stereotypically think of as teen novels. i'm pretty sure you can buy this for 3 dollars from those bookfair papers you get at school and be given it a month later after you'd forgotten you even ordered it. it's thin and looks trashy, I bought it at the scholastic store for that exact reason, those were the books I owned as a kid and I liked them. most new teen books seem longer and full of weird pretensions of what teen fiction is. I remember believing firmly that the martian chronicles was too long (and I was a kid who read a ton so it wasn't a lazy thing) so books must have been shorter then since bradbury's stuff is small. this is like that 170, but the perfect 170, a complete story, layered but directed. it isn't complex like the adult novels I read but it's solidly on the level of palahniuk and Moore.
it's a funny plot about the kinds of things we do as a teen and it doesn't glorify or villainize illegal acts they are just sort of there which is nice for someone who grew up in a place where all teens were breaking the law.
I can see a complaint about her having the keys to the cars, but my car was stolen 6 years ago by someone who knew where to find the keys, and honestly it's not that farfetched for me. I get it, I get joyriding. I'd buy it for the right teen, it could be improved by addressing the attempted self destruction but that isn't necessary.
November 1, 2009
OK, here's what I would do if I won a National Book Award for a novel as fantastic as Godless. I'd kick it up a notch. I'd create a more complex and edgier main character and I'd get her involved with some deep pscycho-emotional behavior that seems harmless at the beginning, but spirals into the uncontrollable as the pages turn.
What I might do differently than Pete Hautman, is I might follow the tried and true yet predictable path of having Kelliegh, my main character, come to some moment of truth that makes her back away from the darkness of the inevitable. The critics might like me if I pulled my punch. They might give me a book award too.
But what Hautman has done is much riskier and really astonishingly brilliant. Kelliegh's resolution rests somewhere outside the bounds of her story in the zone of human mystery. Her father says he loves her. Her mother smokes a cigarette in front of her instead of hiding her bad habits. How do these two things add up to Kelliegh's evolution as a human being? I'm not sure. I'm not sure they even will save Kelliegh but I admire Hautman's trust that by letting us know these things, Kelliegh's tale is fully told.
I also admire that he is brave enough to face the criticism that will inevitably follow for breaking the mold of wishful thinking endings in Young Adult novels. Not every human story ends well, and though readers often like to be uplifted when they read good fiction, sometimes, like Kelliegh they are just wanting to be told the truth.
What I might do differently than Pete Hautman, is I might follow the tried and true yet predictable path of having Kelliegh, my main character, come to some moment of truth that makes her back away from the darkness of the inevitable. The critics might like me if I pulled my punch. They might give me a book award too.
But what Hautman has done is much riskier and really astonishingly brilliant. Kelliegh's resolution rests somewhere outside the bounds of her story in the zone of human mystery. Her father says he loves her. Her mother smokes a cigarette in front of her instead of hiding her bad habits. How do these two things add up to Kelliegh's evolution as a human being? I'm not sure. I'm not sure they even will save Kelliegh but I admire Hautman's trust that by letting us know these things, Kelliegh's tale is fully told.
I also admire that he is brave enough to face the criticism that will inevitably follow for breaking the mold of wishful thinking endings in Young Adult novels. Not every human story ends well, and though readers often like to be uplifted when they read good fiction, sometimes, like Kelliegh they are just wanting to be told the truth.
September 11, 2009
Hmmm... HTSAC starts off like lightning. Within the first couple of pages, the 15-year-old main character has actually stolen her first car. Her observations are pithy and funny and cool. Her interactions with her friends (her best friend and their boyfriend... yes, there's only one boyfriend for two girls... the explanation is hilarious) are realistic and relatable. Because the characters are so solid and interesting and the style is so complete, it's easy to miss the fact that the plot isn't satisfying at all. Kelleigh, the main character, devolves from an average teen to a criminal, and it's a fascinating ride, but the end of the book leaves so many of her problems unsolved - will her parents divorce? is her friend gay? will she keep stealing cars? - that it's frustrating instead of refreshingly open-ended.
Did I like the book? Well, the truth is that I'm not certain. You know how you take a really BIG bite of the food you love best, and it's wonderful at first, but as time goes on, the food seems to grow in your mouth, then eventually you think you're going to throw up? HTSAC is kind of like that. At first, it's great, but as it goes along, it gets less and less satisfying.
Did I like the book? Well, the truth is that I'm not certain. You know how you take a really BIG bite of the food you love best, and it's wonderful at first, but as time goes on, the food seems to grow in your mouth, then eventually you think you're going to throw up? HTSAC is kind of like that. At first, it's great, but as it goes along, it gets less and less satisfying.
January 9, 2015
“Don’t look, but there’s a police car behind us.” These words were said to Jen, one of the main characters, as soon as she got in the car and started driving away. What would you do in this kind of situation? To find out what Jen does, you will just have to read this action packed booked to find what happens.
The title kind of speaks for itself. This book does not exactly teach you how to steal a car, but it goes through these two middle-aged teens that have experiences in stealing cars. The two young girls are Kelleigh and Jen. These young girls are of course, best friends. These girls aren’t your ordinary teens. You would think that teens in high school would resort to things like alcohol and drugs. Well, these girls aren’t those girls that would do that.
The first story of how they started stealing cars was when Kelleigh was sitting down by the mall and a man that happened to drop his keys on the ground. Kelleigh then picked up the keys, got in the car, went around the block a couple times, and returned the car to where it was before. There are many more stories like this one, but everything keeps on getting more suspenseful.
Thats why I loved this book. It always had my attention all throughout the book. I never knew what was going to happen all the time. I would highly recommend this book someone who loves a lot of action in their books. You will be stuck reading it all night just like I was.
March 3, 2011
I really love Hautman's writing. He does such a great job of building characters, and the world around them is so rich. In this book, he did a masterful job of layering in details about Kelleigh's homelife, so that you gradually realize that she's not always an impartial narrator. I really enjoyed reading this, I really like the cover, the title's a great hook, and I BELIEVE him.
But here's my problem. It's because I'm a librarian who's always looking for a good booktalk book for middle schoolers, and when something doesn't fulfill my wildest hopes and dreams, I'm sad. This has a great cover, like I said, and a great title, is by a great author who I've booktalked before, and is nice and slim (170 pgs) - not intimidating at all.
Ok. But. The whole thing could easily be read as a novel showing how easy it is to steal cars. I mean, there are undercurrents of "it's really not a good idea," but overall, we don't get the sense of where Hautman stands on the issue. And for goodness sakes, I'm not one who wants books to have a moral, but in a book with this title, I want to be able to give it to a kid and not worry about whether the kid is going to steal a car as a result. Am I the only one who had this problem? I love you, Pete, but ummm... you make me nervous here.
But here's my problem. It's because I'm a librarian who's always looking for a good booktalk book for middle schoolers, and when something doesn't fulfill my wildest hopes and dreams, I'm sad. This has a great cover, like I said, and a great title, is by a great author who I've booktalked before, and is nice and slim (170 pgs) - not intimidating at all.
Ok. But. The whole thing could easily be read as a novel showing how easy it is to steal cars. I mean, there are undercurrents of "it's really not a good idea," but overall, we don't get the sense of where Hautman stands on the issue. And for goodness sakes, I'm not one who wants books to have a moral, but in a book with this title, I want to be able to give it to a kid and not worry about whether the kid is going to steal a car as a result. Am I the only one who had this problem? I love you, Pete, but ummm... you make me nervous here.
March 16, 2013
Now I don't know if this is just me, but I didn't get this book at all. It didn't even feel real. It felt like this was an outline for a book, and the whole time I just wished Pete Hautman had finished it. Everything about it was so underdeveloped. There was so much going on and none of it connected. Her father defending a rapist, her and her best friend liking their other friend and him not liking them, her mom's drinking, her dad's affair, her friend getting molested, that one guy and the basement, and most importantly Moby Dick. You'd think that when an author mentions a book in their book that it would somehow relate to that book. Someone please tell me how a book about a whale relates to a teenage girl stealing cars. How? Please, someone tell me, because I am dying to know.
I give this book one star just for being written. I considered giving it two for the concept, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Mostly because of the ending that wasn't really an ending. When the main character, who's name I can't even remember, says that she felt like she was finally going somewhere. I just lost it. When in that whole book did she mention anything about feeling trapped or stuck or like she was being held back in any way. This whole book was such a disappointment.
I give this book one star just for being written. I considered giving it two for the concept, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Mostly because of the ending that wasn't really an ending. When the main character, who's name I can't even remember, says that she felt like she was finally going somewhere. I just lost it. When in that whole book did she mention anything about feeling trapped or stuck or like she was being held back in any way. This whole book was such a disappointment.
January 5, 2022
***3.75***
I had a lot of fun reading this book over the three day weekend. This book won’t be a lifelong favorite or anything, but I’ll look back on it fondly. I read it in a matter of hours, because it was short and fast paced. I liked the characters even if I didn’t agree with them morally. I look forward to buying this book, because I picked it up from the library on a whim. I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fun fast read, but if you’re looking for something super impactful I’d pick up something else.
I had a lot of fun reading this book over the three day weekend. This book won’t be a lifelong favorite or anything, but I’ll look back on it fondly. I read it in a matter of hours, because it was short and fast paced. I liked the characters even if I didn’t agree with them morally. I look forward to buying this book, because I picked it up from the library on a whim. I would definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fun fast read, but if you’re looking for something super impactful I’d pick up something else.
Read
October 23, 2014This book was ok, there was a lot of parts that I found boring and that didn't make any sense.
March 26, 2019
Personal Response
Personally, I really liked the book How To Steal a Car . I really like how realistic the book is, it is like the author is speaking from experience. I also like how the geography is actually consistent throughout the text and is a real place.
Plot Summary
The book is about a girl named Kelleigh Monahan who one day sees a man drop his keys to his car and instead of telling him, she had the sudden urge to just keep them. Later that night she snuck out of the house wither her friend Jen, and went to the man’s house, and took his car. They were not gone long, but the rush that it gave them was like ecstasy, Kelleigh found something that made her boring life a little more interesting. And after her first encounter, she was hooked. One became two, two became three and soon she was the best booster there ever was.
Characterization
At the beginning of the book Kelleigh’s life was fairly normal until she stole her first car. Her life went in a downward spiral from there. Her family was breaking apart, she was losing her friends, and she was stealing cars for money. But in the end, she gave up stealing cars and aced her driver’s test on the first try.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to fans of young adult or realistic fiction books. I would also recommend this book to anyone the ages 12 and up. I would recommend this because there is a bit of slander in the book and I don't believe younger audiences would understand some of the slang used.
Personally, I really liked the book How To Steal a Car . I really like how realistic the book is, it is like the author is speaking from experience. I also like how the geography is actually consistent throughout the text and is a real place.
Plot Summary
The book is about a girl named Kelleigh Monahan who one day sees a man drop his keys to his car and instead of telling him, she had the sudden urge to just keep them. Later that night she snuck out of the house wither her friend Jen, and went to the man’s house, and took his car. They were not gone long, but the rush that it gave them was like ecstasy, Kelleigh found something that made her boring life a little more interesting. And after her first encounter, she was hooked. One became two, two became three and soon she was the best booster there ever was.
Characterization
At the beginning of the book Kelleigh’s life was fairly normal until she stole her first car. Her life went in a downward spiral from there. Her family was breaking apart, she was losing her friends, and she was stealing cars for money. But in the end, she gave up stealing cars and aced her driver’s test on the first try.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to fans of young adult or realistic fiction books. I would also recommend this book to anyone the ages 12 and up. I would recommend this because there is a bit of slander in the book and I don't believe younger audiences would understand some of the slang used.
October 30, 2017
Personal Response
I think that this book was very interesting. It talked about a girl named Kelleigh, and she enjoyed stealing cars for cash. I rate this book four out of five stars because it was a good book, but it was not a book I enjoyed that much.
Plot Summary
The book is about a named girl Kelleigh. She isn't a person that likes to talk to a bunch of people, but she has 2 really close friends named Will and Jen. They are all 15. The car stealing all started when Kelleigh and her friend Jen went to the mall and they saw a man drop his car keys. Kelleigh and Jen were going to tell the guy that he dropped his keys but instead Kelleigh decided to keep the keys and maybe use them for fun sometime if they ever saw the same guy and his car again. A week went by and Kelleigh saw the same guy at the mall. She decided to take his car for a little spin. Kelleigh got in the man´s car and drove off to pick her friend up Jen. They went to Taco Bell then returned the car back to where the guy parked it before he found out. The two girls have done these things a couple times now. Kelleigh decided to take this to the next level and steal her neighbor´s car while they were out on vacation. When she stole it the police found out and had a high speed chase until Kelleigh finally got away from the police and parked the car somewhere else. She should've known from there that stealing cars was not going to be a good idea. Kelleigh needed money for herself but didn't have a job at the moment so, what she did was talk to a guy that was known to steal cars a lot back in his days. The guy (Deke) told her that he had a job for her and that this could get her a lot of money. The job was to steal a Jaguar (car brand). Kelleigh was up for the challenge. When she arrived for the car she didn't know how to start it at first, but when she got the hang of it she drove to her destination and claimed her money. Kelleigh was close to being caught but she was actually never caught once.
Characterization
This book was based in a first person view. It had younger characters in the book so this was something new that I hadn't read before. The character experienced many new things she had not done before. It was an experience she would never forget. She found out who she could also trust from her friends and also what kind of trouble she could get if she steals cars again.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to anyone that is in high school. I would do this because if you want a good book that has a good story and also some action for it, then this is the book you would like to read.
I think that this book was very interesting. It talked about a girl named Kelleigh, and she enjoyed stealing cars for cash. I rate this book four out of five stars because it was a good book, but it was not a book I enjoyed that much.
Plot Summary
The book is about a named girl Kelleigh. She isn't a person that likes to talk to a bunch of people, but she has 2 really close friends named Will and Jen. They are all 15. The car stealing all started when Kelleigh and her friend Jen went to the mall and they saw a man drop his car keys. Kelleigh and Jen were going to tell the guy that he dropped his keys but instead Kelleigh decided to keep the keys and maybe use them for fun sometime if they ever saw the same guy and his car again. A week went by and Kelleigh saw the same guy at the mall. She decided to take his car for a little spin. Kelleigh got in the man´s car and drove off to pick her friend up Jen. They went to Taco Bell then returned the car back to where the guy parked it before he found out. The two girls have done these things a couple times now. Kelleigh decided to take this to the next level and steal her neighbor´s car while they were out on vacation. When she stole it the police found out and had a high speed chase until Kelleigh finally got away from the police and parked the car somewhere else. She should've known from there that stealing cars was not going to be a good idea. Kelleigh needed money for herself but didn't have a job at the moment so, what she did was talk to a guy that was known to steal cars a lot back in his days. The guy (Deke) told her that he had a job for her and that this could get her a lot of money. The job was to steal a Jaguar (car brand). Kelleigh was up for the challenge. When she arrived for the car she didn't know how to start it at first, but when she got the hang of it she drove to her destination and claimed her money. Kelleigh was close to being caught but she was actually never caught once.
Characterization
This book was based in a first person view. It had younger characters in the book so this was something new that I hadn't read before. The character experienced many new things she had not done before. It was an experience she would never forget. She found out who she could also trust from her friends and also what kind of trouble she could get if she steals cars again.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to anyone that is in high school. I would do this because if you want a good book that has a good story and also some action for it, then this is the book you would like to read.
May 10, 2017
Personal response:I really enjoyed this book, it kept me wanting to just keep reading because of how good it was. I could not really connect to much with it because all the stuff that happens is really illegal and I do not do many illegal things, but otherwise it was very good.
Plot summary: The beginning is two girls at a mall, a car pulls up and a guy gets out, when he is walking into the mall he drops his keys, the girls pick them up and keep them. A couple weeks later the girls are going for a walk and they see the car in a drive way. They take it. The two girls take it around the block a couple times and bring it back. They do not think of it as much, thy just did it to "live on the wild side" for a little bit. They tell their friend and he says he want help to steal a car from a guy who has been making fun of him. They do. They steal it and drive it into a lake, then they go home. A few days go by and all of a sudden The girls gets a call from the other that she needs to come pick her up, she is stranded in another town. So she steals her neighbors car and almost gets pulled over on the way back but gets away. Then the next day she goes to a gas station and a guy says he knows that shes been stealing cars, he asks if she wants to make money, which she does and so he gets her car to steal for $250. She steals it and feels awful because she realizes shes a bad person and doesn't steal anymore, she passes her drivers test and gets a car and says it feels better to drive one she owns.
characterization:
Kelleigh: Brunette who likes to steal cars until she realizes it's bad. She's tall and doesn't like to dress with lots of color, black is good.
Jen: Blonde who likes color and showing off her body. She's kelleighs best friend and often makes bad choices.
Deke: Hold rat. He's the one that finds cars for her to steal, he use to steal them himself but he got caught and is on probation.
Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure book. This is a very thrilling book that Im sure would make lots people like it.
Plot summary: The beginning is two girls at a mall, a car pulls up and a guy gets out, when he is walking into the mall he drops his keys, the girls pick them up and keep them. A couple weeks later the girls are going for a walk and they see the car in a drive way. They take it. The two girls take it around the block a couple times and bring it back. They do not think of it as much, thy just did it to "live on the wild side" for a little bit. They tell their friend and he says he want help to steal a car from a guy who has been making fun of him. They do. They steal it and drive it into a lake, then they go home. A few days go by and all of a sudden The girls gets a call from the other that she needs to come pick her up, she is stranded in another town. So she steals her neighbors car and almost gets pulled over on the way back but gets away. Then the next day she goes to a gas station and a guy says he knows that shes been stealing cars, he asks if she wants to make money, which she does and so he gets her car to steal for $250. She steals it and feels awful because she realizes shes a bad person and doesn't steal anymore, she passes her drivers test and gets a car and says it feels better to drive one she owns.
characterization:
Kelleigh: Brunette who likes to steal cars until she realizes it's bad. She's tall and doesn't like to dress with lots of color, black is good.
Jen: Blonde who likes color and showing off her body. She's kelleighs best friend and often makes bad choices.
Deke: Hold rat. He's the one that finds cars for her to steal, he use to steal them himself but he got caught and is on probation.
Recommendations: I recommend this book to anyone who likes adventure book. This is a very thrilling book that Im sure would make lots people like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2025
Woah I wish I was alive in 2009
February 5, 2015
Innocent car thief?
If you had a dull life, trouble at home, and weren’t even licensed yet, would you steal a car?
Some girls might start drinking or using drugs. Some might starve or harm themselves or be driven to other things. Or some will just steal a car now and then. In Pete Hautman’s “How to steal a car,” we see the inner mind of a teenage car thief. It just might surprise you…
Kelleigh Monahan has some normal challenges that plenty of people go through. These include school, a best friend that gets bullied, and parents that can’t get along. At first, Kelleigh just notices when a man’s keys fall out of his pocket. She picks them up and takes his car for a spin. Then she gets the keys to the truck that belongs to a classmate who bullied her best friend. She drives that truck into a pond. She meets a guy who tells her she can make money for stealing cars and bringing them to a certain place. But the consequences could be very serious. Kelleigh does have her reasons for doing this, and at first they don’t seem that dumb. “Look’, I said, ‘just because I stole one car--and I didn’t really steal it; it’s more like I borrowed it--that doesn’t mean I’m your designated car thief. I got the key for you. Steal it yourself” (page 29).
If you like a book where all the intensity is all around one character, you will like this book. However, this book still has interesting supporting characters. Kelleigh’s parents and friends have their own distinct roles in the story. However, if you want to learn how to steal a car, you will not learn much.
I would rate this book four out of five stars because the intensity works well and it has interesting characters.
If you had a dull life, trouble at home, and weren’t even licensed yet, would you steal a car?
Some girls might start drinking or using drugs. Some might starve or harm themselves or be driven to other things. Or some will just steal a car now and then. In Pete Hautman’s “How to steal a car,” we see the inner mind of a teenage car thief. It just might surprise you…
Kelleigh Monahan has some normal challenges that plenty of people go through. These include school, a best friend that gets bullied, and parents that can’t get along. At first, Kelleigh just notices when a man’s keys fall out of his pocket. She picks them up and takes his car for a spin. Then she gets the keys to the truck that belongs to a classmate who bullied her best friend. She drives that truck into a pond. She meets a guy who tells her she can make money for stealing cars and bringing them to a certain place. But the consequences could be very serious. Kelleigh does have her reasons for doing this, and at first they don’t seem that dumb. “Look’, I said, ‘just because I stole one car--and I didn’t really steal it; it’s more like I borrowed it--that doesn’t mean I’m your designated car thief. I got the key for you. Steal it yourself” (page 29).
If you like a book where all the intensity is all around one character, you will like this book. However, this book still has interesting supporting characters. Kelleigh’s parents and friends have their own distinct roles in the story. However, if you want to learn how to steal a car, you will not learn much.
I would rate this book four out of five stars because the intensity works well and it has interesting characters.
December 30, 2015
Kelleigh is your typical teenage girl. Well, except for the fact that she’s a grand theft auto artist.
The first time Kelleigh steals a car, it happens by chance. She’s at the mall with a friend when she sees a guy drop his keys in the parking lot. Instead of telling him, she picks up the keys and puts them in her purse. The idea of stealing his car is swimming around in her brain but she doesn’t act on it - yet. She later sees the guy’s BMW in her neighborhood and remembers that she has the keys. In the middle of the night she takes it for a joy ride with her friend. She returns the car and goes home. You’d think that would be the end of her car boosting career but it’s actually just the opposite.
The ease of stealing a car appeals to Kelleigh. The opportunities keep presenting themselves to her and she just can’t resist. The thrill and rush she feels from stealing cars fills a void. It’s like an escape for her.
The title and cover of this book caught my attention. After reading the book blurb and finding out that it was about a girl who steals car, made me want to read it that much more. At just under 200 pages, How to Steal a Car is a fun, fast and intense thrill ride. The storyline carries ahead at a steady pace and had me turning page after page. I wanted to know what Kelleigh would do next and how the next opportunity would present itself. I wanted to know if she’d get caught, how and what would happen to her.
The first time Kelleigh steals a car, it happens by chance. She’s at the mall with a friend when she sees a guy drop his keys in the parking lot. Instead of telling him, she picks up the keys and puts them in her purse. The idea of stealing his car is swimming around in her brain but she doesn’t act on it - yet. She later sees the guy’s BMW in her neighborhood and remembers that she has the keys. In the middle of the night she takes it for a joy ride with her friend. She returns the car and goes home. You’d think that would be the end of her car boosting career but it’s actually just the opposite.
The ease of stealing a car appeals to Kelleigh. The opportunities keep presenting themselves to her and she just can’t resist. The thrill and rush she feels from stealing cars fills a void. It’s like an escape for her.
The title and cover of this book caught my attention. After reading the book blurb and finding out that it was about a girl who steals car, made me want to read it that much more. At just under 200 pages, How to Steal a Car is a fun, fast and intense thrill ride. The storyline carries ahead at a steady pace and had me turning page after page. I wanted to know what Kelleigh would do next and how the next opportunity would present itself. I wanted to know if she’d get caught, how and what would happen to her.
February 1, 2014
The book "How To Steal A Car" by Pete Hautman is involved around Kelleigh Monahan, the girl who (possibly) has some kind of mental disorder. This main girl had started to steal a car, and then she stole the other ones because of her personal satisfaction, too.
I really like the main character, Kelleigh, and every other characters of HTSAC because they are realistic and relatable. But the thing is – I can’t find any solid plot in the book. In fact, I just don’t get the plot. At first, I kind of expected the plot to be more like all about main character stealing the car, got thrown into jail, learn some lessons, and quickly realize that stealing a car is not a good thing, but I was totally wrong. This book is unpredictable. Well, I like the book that has an unpredictable plot, but not this kind of unpredictable. And as I went on and keep reading it, HTSAC continued to get less and less interesting.
“I think that a lot of car thieves just like to steal cars and drive. Also, they think they will never get caught even though most of them eventually do and they know it but they just don’t care.”
(p. 170, aka the last page of the book)
That’s what Kelleigh said at the end of the book. Really? I mean, I’m totally fine with the cliff hanger and everything, but that ending didn’t really satisfying me. It’s extremely irritating how Hautman just end the book and left some of the conflicts unsolved. I just don’t like it like that.
I really like the main character, Kelleigh, and every other characters of HTSAC because they are realistic and relatable. But the thing is – I can’t find any solid plot in the book. In fact, I just don’t get the plot. At first, I kind of expected the plot to be more like all about main character stealing the car, got thrown into jail, learn some lessons, and quickly realize that stealing a car is not a good thing, but I was totally wrong. This book is unpredictable. Well, I like the book that has an unpredictable plot, but not this kind of unpredictable. And as I went on and keep reading it, HTSAC continued to get less and less interesting.
“I think that a lot of car thieves just like to steal cars and drive. Also, they think they will never get caught even though most of them eventually do and they know it but they just don’t care.”
(p. 170, aka the last page of the book)
That’s what Kelleigh said at the end of the book. Really? I mean, I’m totally fine with the cliff hanger and everything, but that ending didn’t really satisfying me. It’s extremely irritating how Hautman just end the book and left some of the conflicts unsolved. I just don’t like it like that.
November 2, 2016
I haven't written a review in a few months. How do I begin, again? *shrug* I'm just going to dive right in.
This book started off relatively well (you know, despite the thinly veiled myisogyny and homophobia). The concept is interesting, and the characters and their problems are realistic. The biggest problem is the lack of plot. As the story progresses, you would be expecting it to be going somewhere... Evidently this thought did not occur to Pete Hautman when he wrote the book.
In the end, Kalleigh didn't even find a healthy way to deal with all the crap that made her steal cars all summer. I'm really disappointed at the lack of closure.
Kalleigh isn't even all that likeable of a character. Well, she's bearable and I didn't mind her narrative. She just impulsively does ridiculous things, like stealing a car (?!?!), when life doesn't go the way she wants it to. She's a bit of a brat, too.
Good things? It was a quick easy read. I enjoyed Mr. Hautmans writing style; specifically some of his analogies. The book IS funny and adventurous. I wanted a short, non-serious read and that's what I got. Mostly this story has just made me want to find out if I can get away with stealing a car.
This book started off relatively well (you know, despite the thinly veiled myisogyny and homophobia). The concept is interesting, and the characters and their problems are realistic. The biggest problem is the lack of plot. As the story progresses, you would be expecting it to be going somewhere... Evidently this thought did not occur to Pete Hautman when he wrote the book.
In the end, Kalleigh didn't even find a healthy way to deal with all the crap that made her steal cars all summer. I'm really disappointed at the lack of closure.
Kalleigh isn't even all that likeable of a character. Well, she's bearable and I didn't mind her narrative. She just impulsively does ridiculous things, like stealing a car (?!?!), when life doesn't go the way she wants it to. She's a bit of a brat, too.
Good things? It was a quick easy read. I enjoyed Mr. Hautmans writing style; specifically some of his analogies. The book IS funny and adventurous. I wanted a short, non-serious read and that's what I got. Mostly this story has just made me want to find out if I can get away with stealing a car.
March 21, 2011
I really liked this book. This book taught a lot of things to me and how life is to them. I would recommend this book to other people who like to read about other people thoughts. I like this book mostly in the beginning. In the beginning, this book mostly talks about how Kelleigh steals cars. This book made it seem like stealing cars were so easy.
The book talked mainly about stealing cars. I really liked this book because it was funny in a way. This book made it enjoyable and memorable.
The book talked mainly about stealing cars. I really liked this book because it was funny in a way. This book made it enjoyable and memorable.
May 16, 2012
BOOK TALK: Kelleigh isn't a bad kid. She's just bored. The first car is just for fun, to see what will happen. The second car is for revenge. The third car is to rescue her best friend, left stranded at a party she wasn’t even invited to. And all the cars after that? Well.... it’s starting to look like Kelleigh might have a problem.
December 4, 2016
Good, although it does spoil a movie...
March 2, 2017
"I didn't mention that my dad wasn't alone in the car, a woman sitting besides him looked younger than him". This girl named Kelleigh has a lot of problems going on with her friend and parents, her way out it's to drive. Kelleigh starts to work in stealing cars for profit. Kelleigh and her best friend have a weird relationship with will. Will is Kelleigh and Jens boyfriend at the same time, they both think that he's gay. Kelleigh and Jen knew each other since they were little. Pete did a great job with showing all the points of views of the teens, one of the quotes he mentions in the book was "Most parents don't realize that little kids are super sensitive even they might not understand anything about what's going on... dogs are the same way". The end of the story will not surprise you at all.
July 11, 2017
I read this book a few days ago and I already forgot all the characters and most of the plot. I just know this was a 'meh' book. Good to pass the time and not much else. I remember the father's affair and the mother started day drinking or something. Oh and she stole a few cars 🚗 and she shared a boyfriend with her best friend who was just a guy friend so I don't know why they called him their boyfriend... but ok whatever. Main character might be a sociopath and the 'bad boy' character felt so thrown in the plot. I don't mind MCs not having a romantic interest, sometimes I actually prefer it but this time is just felt odd. Like she never grew as a character and her relationships never changed. The parents were pretty much the driving force behind the plot. So all in all, it was pretty forgettable. Great story idea but if only the author executed it better.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2025
The concept is good. But maybe it’s just hard for me to get into to mindset of a 15 yr old girl in 2009? I’m a 2006 kid, and christian home, so it was a bit uncomfortable that the girls are thinking about seggs and stuff a lot. If you could take that stuff out, I would rate a 3.5. But it was interesting to think that maybe not everything the fmc experienced was accurate, since she has the perspective of a teenager.
I seriously can’t believe the lawyer dad though. How is it acceptable to want to defend a serial r@pist?? That’s disgusting
Maybe the book would’ve been better if it went longer. If Kelleigh and Deke had a good partnership going on.
Anyways, I just wanted to quick read this so I could get it off my shelf. Going to donate now :)
I seriously can’t believe the lawyer dad though. How is it acceptable to want to defend a serial r@pist?? That’s disgusting
Maybe the book would’ve been better if it went longer. If Kelleigh and Deke had a good partnership going on.
Anyways, I just wanted to quick read this so I could get it off my shelf. Going to donate now :)
June 2, 2023
How To Steal A Car by Pete Hautman is a story about a girl named Kelleigh. Kelleigh has trouble with her friends, her parents are on the precipice of divorce, and her only escape, it seems, is driving. Kelleigh ends up 'borrowing' a car. This happens again and again until eventually she realizes she doesn't want to be doing this. I found Kelleigh a very frustrating character, she constantly made bad choices and manipulated her friends. Kelleigh was extremely self-centered and rude and I didn't like reading about her. If you like confusing plot lines, irritating characters, and bad morals, you would like this book.
January 29, 2024
I enjoyed this book as a quick yet thought-provoking read. The story follows Kelleigh, a 15 year old girl who enjoys stealing cars. There isn’t really one singular overarching plot as much as there are multiple smaller plot lines stemming from the different parts of Kelleigh’s life that interact in interesting ways. Throughout the story, we get to see Kelleigh’s relationships with her parents, her best friend Jen, her boyfriend Will (who is a shared boyfriend with Jen), her grandfather, and a few other characters around her Minnesota hometown. As Kelleigh steals more and more cars, she explains her thought processes and motivations for doing so. I found it very interesting how the story is interspersed with snippets of an essay that Kelleigh is writing for high school summer homework, as well as with comparisons to Moby Dick, which Kelleigh is also reading for homework.
I found my opinions towards Kelleigh changing a lot throughout the course of the book. At times I would be angry at her, frustrated, dismissive, and even disdainful for her decisions. But there were also times where I found myself understanding her, feeling sorry for her, and even rooting for her. It wasn’t until one of her later interactions with Jen that left me wondering “what is wrong with this girl?” that I finally realized, “oh! She’s just an angsty teenager, and teenagers’ lives and thought processes are messy”. This realization allowed me to enjoy the book even more because I could see bits of my teenage self in Kelleigh and relate to her frustrations (and at times her entitled behavior). While I do not plan to steal any cars anytime soon, I think Kelleigh is a very well written character and I hope she figures her life out. She certainly has all the resources to do so.
I found my opinions towards Kelleigh changing a lot throughout the course of the book. At times I would be angry at her, frustrated, dismissive, and even disdainful for her decisions. But there were also times where I found myself understanding her, feeling sorry for her, and even rooting for her. It wasn’t until one of her later interactions with Jen that left me wondering “what is wrong with this girl?” that I finally realized, “oh! She’s just an angsty teenager, and teenagers’ lives and thought processes are messy”. This realization allowed me to enjoy the book even more because I could see bits of my teenage self in Kelleigh and relate to her frustrations (and at times her entitled behavior). While I do not plan to steal any cars anytime soon, I think Kelleigh is a very well written character and I hope she figures her life out. She certainly has all the resources to do so.
February 7, 2018
It Was A Good Book, I Liked How You Could Vizualise What Was Happening In The Story In Your Head. It's If The Book Was Happening In Your Head, It Has Very Great Descriptive Words In It. I Would Recommend This Book Because It Will Keep You Hooked And Keep You Reading I Took A Long Time To Finish This Book, Because I Procrastinated Finishing The Book, But The Good Thing Is That I Finished The Book.
January 9, 2023
Breaking through my collection of free books and what was this. Kelleigh is a FELON and it was just like quirky? I picked this book up from my high school but the writing was very middle school but I can write that off because this is an older book. Again because this is out dated, they thought Will was gay simply because he wasn't foaming at the mouth for Kelleigh and Jen? Anyway interesting how unrealistic this realistic fiction book was.
August 8, 2017
I found this book at a library nearby me and thought it to be quit intriguing. I finished it only a few hours later and was really satisfied with it. It was a quick, fun read that was really amazing, I'm so glad i found it!
November 8, 2023
Not my cup of tea but the books is interesting. The way the book introduces new lore is so unique. Kelleigh feels sort of real. All the characters are a sort of moral gray. I'm not sure I like that though.
January 3, 2018
If you read this book don't put it down! At first, it is a little boring but after like two chapters it is so Good.
July 12, 2018
Didn't love the lack of resolution. It was short, and likely because not much more story could be pulled from it. It's not a bad book, just maybe not the best executed plot.
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