Thunder Road

by Ted Dawe

Thunder Road - you find it any city after the cops are in bed. It's where street racers go to test their machines - and their nerve.

Trace is 19 and has grown out of small town ways. He's hungry for more. In Auckland he hooks up with Devon, a guy with the Midas touch, who introduces Trace to burn-offs, big city style. Soon everything is smoking.

When Trace falls for a girl even Devon says is out of his league, loyalties are stretched. Then Devon hits on a scheme for hauling in cash. Soon enough he and Trace find out who really controls the strip. As the underworld closes in, it looks like their friendship is heading for burn-out.


Menacing, suspenseful - a gripping novel from a remarkable talent.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Cars, Suspense, Romance, Friendship, Drugs

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Ted Dawe, who has had a long career as a teacher, stunned readers with his impressive first novel, Thunder Road – winner of the Best First Book Award and Senior Fiction category of the coveted New Zealand Post Children's and Young Adults Book Awards. His subsequent YA novel K Road was published to warm reviews.

Into the River won the supreme Margaret Mahy Book of the Year award at the 2013 NZ Post Children's Book Awards.

Ted lives in Auckland, New Zealand, where he teaches English to foreign students.

Reviews

[Jolene Stockman · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Zealand YA fiction. Dark and shaken. Love the male POV, the Kiwi slang, the overall themes and feel of the book, and I really liked the ending. The content (drugs, cars, gangs) just made me sad... I guess I don’t mind crying over zombies and romance, but wasted lives just rark me up!

[slarkstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

good nz book

[Wyktor Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about the New Zealand underground car scene featuring two young guys who bite off way more than they can chew.

[eden · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love reading books written by new zealand authors.

[Chelsea Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my 2023 reading challenges has a Prompt to read a banned book. I did some research and learned about Into the River, so I chose that. It wasn't until I had it out on Libby that I realized it was a prequel, so I returned it early so I could read Thunder Road first. Then I went to a book sale and found it for $2 - so it was meant to be.

I enjoyed the read and the writing style and am very much looking forward to Into the River.

Prompt: PopSugar 2023: Title is a song title.

[Leanne Neilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ted Dawe tells it like it is. Boots and all. It's not pretty or glamorous but real and raw.

[Alastair Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Except for the ending I loved the pace, the focus on class distinction, the romance and the intrigue. The characterisation was good - an awesome coming-of-age-novel. Teen spellbinder.

[Rebecca]

Thunder Road is quite an interesting book and I must say that it isn't a book I would normally read but it is something different.

I wouldn't say that I loved any of the characters because I found them all to be alright. They weren't really highly memorable to me.

They did have an interesting lifestyle though, basically it just followed the life of a guy who got into the wrong crowd. He got in with drug dealers etc.

Then there was also the 'boy racers' which was an interesting topic. It's quite a common thing in New Zealand.

Overall, I personally would say that this book was quite interesting and an entertaining read but it wasn't really my kind of book. This book is more recommended for a male audience but there's no reason why girls can't enjoy it.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for young adults. Speaks their language better than i do!!

[Benny Shen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't read this book. Honest.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fairly good book.