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Driver's Ed
Driver's Ed was like so many things in school. If the parents only knew . . .
Remy Marland crossed her fingers and prayed to the God of Driver's Education that she would get to drive today. Remy loved to drive. She didn't know where she was going, but one thing was for sure. She was going to get there fast.
Morgan Campbell had been standing on the threshold of turning sixteen and getting his driver's license ever since he could remember. Deep in the first crush of his life, thinking of nothing but girls, Morgan forgot what driving was all about.
Driver's Ed . . . the only life and death course in school.
Remy Marland crossed her fingers and prayed to the God of Driver's Education that she would get to drive today. Remy loved to drive. She didn't know where she was going, but one thing was for sure. She was going to get there fast.
Morgan Campbell had been standing on the threshold of turning sixteen and getting his driver's license ever since he could remember. Deep in the first crush of his life, thinking of nothing but girls, Morgan forgot what driving was all about.
Driver's Ed . . . the only life and death course in school.
199 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1994
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
132 books1,802 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
September 4, 2017
4.75. "Bunch of perverts in this church," Taft whispered to Morgan. "Joseph has two wives, one king's a girl, and Queen Joanne the Normal's in charge." (page 194-195)
November 16, 2007
Horrid. Forced to read it for English class, as part of a unit on pleasure reading. Had strong words with my teacher on the subject of what did and what did not constitute pleasure reading.
May 9, 2014
This book was very poorly written. The plot was so predictable and cliche that it was a struggle to read more than the first few chapters. I like many others was forced to read Drivers Ed.i was forced to read it in Sophomore English. My distaste with the book is also found in the style of writing was dull and not entertaining in any way. In short avoid this book, but not having read any of Caroline B. Conny's other works I can't recommend or otherwise.
February 2, 2013
This book was really good. I like how this goes throught the different POV of the characters. This is a tradgic, but kind of true story. I mean most teenagers do stupid things and have no idea abou what kind of results they might get. Plus I couldn't put the book down once I got started. I wanted to see if Remy and Morgan were going to tell that they were the ones who stole the sign.
March 19, 2014
This book is about 2 teenage kids who decide to make a bad mistake by stealing a road sign. The teens who decided to steal this sign were 3 16 year old teens. Their names were Morgan Campbell, Remy, Nicholas Budie the only teens that have had a lot to do with it was Nicholas Budie, Morgan Campbell because Nicholas was tdriver but every night late at night he would drive around staeling signs and Morgan was in it because he wanted that sign he thought that sign was special because it said"Morgan Road". This whole story starts off in a genetic american suburb.When those teens take that sign off that post they don't relize who they are going to be hurting and in the end they didn't just hurt one person they hurted a bunch because by them removing that sign they took a life of a young mother. When they had the guilt for awhile they decided to turn themselves in and take the blame for her death.They thought that they could that they were doing no wrong because Morgan wanted his name road for a drivers ed project.Remy is a blond haired girl, and all she worries about is making sure her hair is the same and right wway each and everyday.Then you have Morgan who is blond also, and is a weight lifter and is a really built guy.
I would have to say because I have my licence I would hate if sokmeone took the sign down and made me not know the law for that intersection and that is the reason for my death. I really don't understand why some people would even think about removing the signs if they want them so bad why don't they just go buy them. This book taught me that think about your actionsbecause they can affect someone and even hurt them. I think this is a great book for teens to read because most of us are starting to drive or are driving and this is a great example of things that can happen when stupied teens don't think before they make their decision, and adults too because they can learn that when they think their teens are doing something right and a big sign appears in their room question them and ask where they got that sign.I would have to say this genra is for young adults and adults. The reason why I say adults and teens is because kids won't take this serious.
I would have to say because I have my licence I would hate if sokmeone took the sign down and made me not know the law for that intersection and that is the reason for my death. I really don't understand why some people would even think about removing the signs if they want them so bad why don't they just go buy them. This book taught me that think about your actionsbecause they can affect someone and even hurt them. I think this is a great book for teens to read because most of us are starting to drive or are driving and this is a great example of things that can happen when stupied teens don't think before they make their decision, and adults too because they can learn that when they think their teens are doing something right and a big sign appears in their room question them and ask where they got that sign.I would have to say this genra is for young adults and adults. The reason why I say adults and teens is because kids won't take this serious.
June 30, 2011
Not a good read. The beginning was nice but then it turned into some depressing teen tragedy. The only think I kind of liked was the writing style, and I still skipped paragraphs. This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am still trying to keep an open mind that the rest aren't as bad as this one. It was well written, but had I known this was what it was going to be like--funny at first then a stupid accident, then people feeling sorry for themselves--I would never have picked it up. I'm not sure what you're meant to take away from this but I kind of got the gist of "everything has a consequence" but most people with common sense already know that by now. And who would steal a sign anyway? That's foolish and stupid, and not even they thought it was a great idea, just something fun, then someone is dies brutally killed, and now everyone hates them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2026
I think this book has a really creative and unexpected premise, teens stealing road signs leading to a woman’s death is such a strange but compelling angle.
I originally read this when I was about 11 and only remembered vague pieces of it, so I picked it up again for sentimental reasons and curiosity. Reading it now gives it a completely different vibe.
As I’m going through it, I’m noticing how heavily it leans into guilt. At times the repetition comes across as if it's hammering the same emotion instead of letting it evolve.
I also remember it being more interesting the first time. That might be nostalgia, but this reread didn’t hit the same way, and I don’t think it’s something I would come back to again.
I originally read this when I was about 11 and only remembered vague pieces of it, so I picked it up again for sentimental reasons and curiosity. Reading it now gives it a completely different vibe.
As I’m going through it, I’m noticing how heavily it leans into guilt. At times the repetition comes across as if it's hammering the same emotion instead of letting it evolve.
I also remember it being more interesting the first time. That might be nostalgia, but this reread didn’t hit the same way, and I don’t think it’s something I would come back to again.
August 28, 2024
Was expecting intentional murder.
October 18, 2022
wow, this one holds up! very sad and emotional. i didn't remember much from the first time i read it as a teen (except the stop sign part). this is definitely one of the better vintage YA novels i've read.
February 23, 2014
Driver's Ed is a young adult fiction novel by Caroline B. Cooney. The story takes place in a generic American suburb, evolving around the teenagers Remy and Morgan and their inevitable love-story with a dramatic plot twist.
Personally, I was not very impressed by this book. The story starts off extremely slowly so that it is very hard to get into the book. Admittedly, it takes up speed at about the half of it, but when the climax of the story is reached, it starts to slow down again, leaving only two complaining teenagers not ready to face their problems.
The two main characters are neither interesting nor well thought out and don't have a real personality- they represent the stereotypical “teenage fools” that so many YA novels seem to feature and could theoretically be replaced easily. It is obvious that the writer tried to show the character development of the two protagonists, going from careless teenagers to thoughtful, mature people who think about their actions. However, in my opinion this is not well done. It happens too fast and doesn't fit to what the reader has learnt about the two characters.
One part that I enjoyed reading was the description of the Driver's Ed class, especially the role of the teacher is realistic and funny. Also, I think that the writing style is certainly not bad and in combination with another story I would probably have enjoyed it more.
To summarize, I have to say that I honestly would not recommend this book. I do understand that teachers assign this book to teenagers as it teaches about personal responsibility and vandalism, but in my opinion there are definitely better books out there that do not make the reader feel as if they are being lectured.
Personally, I was not very impressed by this book. The story starts off extremely slowly so that it is very hard to get into the book. Admittedly, it takes up speed at about the half of it, but when the climax of the story is reached, it starts to slow down again, leaving only two complaining teenagers not ready to face their problems.
The two main characters are neither interesting nor well thought out and don't have a real personality- they represent the stereotypical “teenage fools” that so many YA novels seem to feature and could theoretically be replaced easily. It is obvious that the writer tried to show the character development of the two protagonists, going from careless teenagers to thoughtful, mature people who think about their actions. However, in my opinion this is not well done. It happens too fast and doesn't fit to what the reader has learnt about the two characters.
One part that I enjoyed reading was the description of the Driver's Ed class, especially the role of the teacher is realistic and funny. Also, I think that the writing style is certainly not bad and in combination with another story I would probably have enjoyed it more.
To summarize, I have to say that I honestly would not recommend this book. I do understand that teachers assign this book to teenagers as it teaches about personal responsibility and vandalism, but in my opinion there are definitely better books out there that do not make the reader feel as if they are being lectured.
November 22, 2016
November
Driver's Ed
Caroline Cooney
In this book, three kids are taking driver's ed classes. Then one night they decide that when they were driving home they would steal a road sign. This turned out to be a very bad idea because a few days after the theft they saw on the news that a woman had died, because she did not know the roads well and she got hit by a truck. The kids that had done that felt terrible about the death. They had to go with that burden for a while.
In my opinion this book was very interesting, but it seemed like it was not happening fast enough. This book had multiple themes, but the main one was don't lie. This is because the people had been lying about what happened that night felt terrible and they got no sleep. All in all a good book!
Driver's Ed
Caroline Cooney
In this book, three kids are taking driver's ed classes. Then one night they decide that when they were driving home they would steal a road sign. This turned out to be a very bad idea because a few days after the theft they saw on the news that a woman had died, because she did not know the roads well and she got hit by a truck. The kids that had done that felt terrible about the death. They had to go with that burden for a while.
In my opinion this book was very interesting, but it seemed like it was not happening fast enough. This book had multiple themes, but the main one was don't lie. This is because the people had been lying about what happened that night felt terrible and they got no sleep. All in all a good book!
April 11, 2025
The only reason I couldn't give Driver's Ed five stars is mostly because of the rather ambiguous ending and most of the main conflict is not what I would call amazing.
What is amazing is how Cooney can go from a book that has nothing of interest to me and then deliver a book the next go around that exceeds my expectations to punch me in the gut.
Now the cover and title will not leave too much to your imaginations.
Mr. Fielding, the driver's education teacher, is not one to take his job too seriously even though he is riding daily with sixteen-year-olds who may have never been behind the wheel for any length of time. He lets them drive but completely checks out to let them learn from their mistakes and each other.
His students aren't really any better.
They know he doesn't pay attention, and they constantly switch name tags so anyone can get more driving time. The girls are nervous to have the boys watch them make mistakes and the boys just play it off all cool in a "I meant to do that" sort of way. The book touches on a few teens but there are two main characters: a boy and a girl.
The boy, Morgan Campbell, comes from a family where they go on vacations for the holidays and have a TV in every room of the house. His parents are both lawyers with his dad planning to run for
governor and Morgan has hopes that a red Miata convertible is in his future when he gets his license. That's all on his mind lately: cars and girls with one girl in particular as his crush.
Remy Marland doesn't go by her birth name, which is Rembrandt, but she knows it will be on her license because of the law. She also knows that she will end up having to be the chauffeur of her teenage brother Mac and her baby brother Henry to alleviate some of the burden on her parents.
There won't be a brand-new car to go along with her laminated piece of plastic, but Remy isn't worried about that. Getting a license is a big deal but having to share the backseat of the Driver's Ed car with Morgan Campbell in such a close space is everything.
The biggest trends right now in this town are the delinquents playing mailbox baseball and teens wanting to have road signs on their walls. Things like DANGEROUS CURVES or a street sign with their first or last name displayed proudly, and Remy's friend Lark is looking for a way to get her own unique sign. Since most of the teens don't have wheels yet, this is hard to come by.
Morgan use to be friends with Nickie Budie but now that he has grown up, he goes by Nicholas and drives his big black Buick like a bat out of hell. Morgan still catches rides with him despite his parents not caring much for his current reputation and he gets talked into involving Nickie in a plan to go cruising for signs.
Lark ends up having to bail because of her mother being sick so the trio go out under the excuse of just watching movies at her house with Morgan and Nicholas doing the cutting with hacksaws as they get a sign for Lark and Remy decides to swipe the one for Morgan Road. It seals the deal on a budding relationship along with the thrill of committing some vandalism to add to the excitement as Nicholas decides to get a STOP sign for his own wall.
It isn't rocket science to figure out what happens next because the one road meets a six-lane road...
Friday night, Morgan watches the eleven o' clock news with his family and Remy receives a call not long after from Lark when the story breaks. A woman, twenty-six with a husband and a two-year old son, has her car slammed into by a dump truck and is killed.
Most of the story deals with how Morgan and Remy are trying to cope with their guilt in wanting to tell their families but their fear of the consequences. The only real parts Nicholas plays are to be the one who will throw blame on the other two because he has no human grasp of sympathy.
Oddly enough, we get to see that Mr. Fielding wasn't as oblivious to the students in his class as he thought. He knows about the sign stealing and when the police demonstrate to his Driver's Ed class the dangers of such reckless endangerment by placing the wrecked car on the high school lawn, it is his wake-up call.
The husband of the woman puts out a print ad in the paper and one on access television begging someone to come forward about talking the sign and offering a reward from his own pocket and it just about pushes Remy over the edge since the woman left behind a little boy not that much older than her baby brother.
If I had read Driver's Ed in high school, it would have had an impact on me yet probably not as much as it does now. I now have a child, I am now a mother, I have been driving since I was twenty-one, I have seen bad traffic accidents, and I have had a deer run into my vehicle.
Back in high school, I took Driver's Education, and I don't remember a thing about it. We had those programs set up to show the effects of drinking impairing drivers with a "fake" accident scene but never had the real-life wreckage dumped on our football field. I passed a written test to get my learner's permit, but I never had the desire to drive a car even though my friends found freedom with their own licenses.
This book is one that I believe should be on everyone's bookshelf and alongside her Janie series, it is one of the best books Caroline B. Cooney has ever written. Again, I wish that there had been more of a clear-cut ending because the final act is just so heavy that to have it end the way it does still leaves me feeling unsatisfied.
What is amazing is how Cooney can go from a book that has nothing of interest to me and then deliver a book the next go around that exceeds my expectations to punch me in the gut.
Now the cover and title will not leave too much to your imaginations.
Mr. Fielding, the driver's education teacher, is not one to take his job too seriously even though he is riding daily with sixteen-year-olds who may have never been behind the wheel for any length of time. He lets them drive but completely checks out to let them learn from their mistakes and each other.
His students aren't really any better.
They know he doesn't pay attention, and they constantly switch name tags so anyone can get more driving time. The girls are nervous to have the boys watch them make mistakes and the boys just play it off all cool in a "I meant to do that" sort of way. The book touches on a few teens but there are two main characters: a boy and a girl.
The boy, Morgan Campbell, comes from a family where they go on vacations for the holidays and have a TV in every room of the house. His parents are both lawyers with his dad planning to run for
governor and Morgan has hopes that a red Miata convertible is in his future when he gets his license. That's all on his mind lately: cars and girls with one girl in particular as his crush.
Remy Marland doesn't go by her birth name, which is Rembrandt, but she knows it will be on her license because of the law. She also knows that she will end up having to be the chauffeur of her teenage brother Mac and her baby brother Henry to alleviate some of the burden on her parents.
There won't be a brand-new car to go along with her laminated piece of plastic, but Remy isn't worried about that. Getting a license is a big deal but having to share the backseat of the Driver's Ed car with Morgan Campbell in such a close space is everything.
The biggest trends right now in this town are the delinquents playing mailbox baseball and teens wanting to have road signs on their walls. Things like DANGEROUS CURVES or a street sign with their first or last name displayed proudly, and Remy's friend Lark is looking for a way to get her own unique sign. Since most of the teens don't have wheels yet, this is hard to come by.
Morgan use to be friends with Nickie Budie but now that he has grown up, he goes by Nicholas and drives his big black Buick like a bat out of hell. Morgan still catches rides with him despite his parents not caring much for his current reputation and he gets talked into involving Nickie in a plan to go cruising for signs.
Lark ends up having to bail because of her mother being sick so the trio go out under the excuse of just watching movies at her house with Morgan and Nicholas doing the cutting with hacksaws as they get a sign for Lark and Remy decides to swipe the one for Morgan Road. It seals the deal on a budding relationship along with the thrill of committing some vandalism to add to the excitement as Nicholas decides to get a STOP sign for his own wall.
It isn't rocket science to figure out what happens next because the one road meets a six-lane road...
Friday night, Morgan watches the eleven o' clock news with his family and Remy receives a call not long after from Lark when the story breaks. A woman, twenty-six with a husband and a two-year old son, has her car slammed into by a dump truck and is killed.
Most of the story deals with how Morgan and Remy are trying to cope with their guilt in wanting to tell their families but their fear of the consequences. The only real parts Nicholas plays are to be the one who will throw blame on the other two because he has no human grasp of sympathy.
Oddly enough, we get to see that Mr. Fielding wasn't as oblivious to the students in his class as he thought. He knows about the sign stealing and when the police demonstrate to his Driver's Ed class the dangers of such reckless endangerment by placing the wrecked car on the high school lawn, it is his wake-up call.
The husband of the woman puts out a print ad in the paper and one on access television begging someone to come forward about talking the sign and offering a reward from his own pocket and it just about pushes Remy over the edge since the woman left behind a little boy not that much older than her baby brother.
If I had read Driver's Ed in high school, it would have had an impact on me yet probably not as much as it does now. I now have a child, I am now a mother, I have been driving since I was twenty-one, I have seen bad traffic accidents, and I have had a deer run into my vehicle.
Back in high school, I took Driver's Education, and I don't remember a thing about it. We had those programs set up to show the effects of drinking impairing drivers with a "fake" accident scene but never had the real-life wreckage dumped on our football field. I passed a written test to get my learner's permit, but I never had the desire to drive a car even though my friends found freedom with their own licenses.
This book is one that I believe should be on everyone's bookshelf and alongside her Janie series, it is one of the best books Caroline B. Cooney has ever written. Again, I wish that there had been more of a clear-cut ending because the final act is just so heavy that to have it end the way it does still leaves me feeling unsatisfied.
August 27, 2014
I thought this book was one Cooney's creepier works, just because of how grounded in reality it was. I've always felt guilt keenly, so this book really wound its way into the pit of my stomach. I think this is a good example of what a teen novel can be: it deals with relateable situations that are terrifying in their possibility. It teaches a lesson without being preachy. I remember not being able to put this book down, but really really wanting to do so.
April 5, 2011
This book was very unpredictable and was well written. I am a fan of Caroline B Cooney and this book just adds to my love of her books. The story was fine but my only complaint would be that the ending was rushed and sloppy. Mostly the story is that some teenagers take a stop sign and it leads to some unpleasing results. The book is overall a good read and I recommend this book.
February 7, 2014
It taught me to think before I do something that helps me but can probably hurt others.
May 16, 2021
The only reason I can think of for this book getting low ratings is that the beginning is a bit odd and difficult to get into to. Fifty pages in, however, and this book becomes really good. Halfway in and it's one of my new favorites from Miss Cooney. This is a poignant and powerful read because of just how easily such a thing could become reality. Kids do dumb things without thinking of the potential ramifications. Heck, ADULTS are just as bad about it. In this case, however, Miss Cooney pulls no punches in showing the awful after-effects of such decisions. Even with the slow beginning this book gets a solid five stars from me for having some of the most hard-hitting lines and brutally realistic scenarios in a young adult/teen novel I've read in a very long time.
April 21, 2010
When really good, normal kids do something that has bad results, does that make them bad kids? Does the entire world change when something bad happens because of something you didn't think about before you acted? Do your parents stop loving you if you make a mistake? Remy, Morgan and their friends are about to find out. This book should be "must" reading for all eighth graders, because then there wouldn't be nearly as many high school students who don't realize that there are consequences to their actions.
Key issues:
Consequences, friends, family, courage to speak up, peer pressure, blackmail, pranks.
Major Characters:
Remy: A 'good' girl, Remy winds up in the position of needing to tell the adults that she loves that she has done something wrong. She learns something about love and family along the way.
Morgan: A bright perfect son in the perfect family, Morgan faces the same conundrum that Remy does-- should he 'fess up, or should he hope everything blows over? Complicating Morgan's decision is the fact that his father-- whom Morgan loves very much-- has decided to run for Governor, and Morgan is afraid that his news will ruin his father's chances for election.
Lark: Remy's best friend, Lark is the one who came up with the idea in the first place, but then she didn't go along with the others at the last minute.
Nicholas Budie: Nickie Budie as their child's friend is every parents' bad dream, and he was along with Remy and Morgan on the night everything happened. Unlike Morgan and Remy though, Nick has decided that the truth must never be told-- and he threatens Morgan with blackmail to keep him quiet.
Mr. Fielding: Although he is the Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Fielding never pays any attention to his students-- until he is jolted into awareness by certain events.
Mr. Willit: Morgan and Remy's show choir teacher, Mr. Willit is one of those teachers who never met a truly bad kid. Nickie Bundie does make him question that, though. He is also married to Morgan and Remy's pastor.
Mr. and Mrs Campbell: Morgan's perfect, lawyer parents. Morgan's father is about to run for Governor and his mother is a high-powered and high-energy lady.
Starr: Morgan's little sister. Starr is a champion brown-nose and a blackmailer extraordinaire as far as Morgan is concerned, and his secret is just the type of thing that she would use to her own advantage if she found out before his parents did.
Mac: Remy's younger brother. Mac is always getting into trouble, and when he isn't, he is pointing fingers and trying to blame someone else for whatever is wrong in the world. It's very little wonder then, that Remy was afraid he'd find out her secret and use it to torture her. But Mac is family, and he is also full of surprises...
Mr. and Mrs. Marland: Remy and Mac's parents. The Marland family is not financially well-off like the Campbells are, but they love and support each other in very obvious ways. Until...
Interesting information:
Caroline B. Cooney has written many award-winning books for young people, and this book continues the trend. Driver's Ed was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults.
Key issues:
Consequences, friends, family, courage to speak up, peer pressure, blackmail, pranks.
Major Characters:
Remy: A 'good' girl, Remy winds up in the position of needing to tell the adults that she loves that she has done something wrong. She learns something about love and family along the way.
Morgan: A bright perfect son in the perfect family, Morgan faces the same conundrum that Remy does-- should he 'fess up, or should he hope everything blows over? Complicating Morgan's decision is the fact that his father-- whom Morgan loves very much-- has decided to run for Governor, and Morgan is afraid that his news will ruin his father's chances for election.
Lark: Remy's best friend, Lark is the one who came up with the idea in the first place, but then she didn't go along with the others at the last minute.
Nicholas Budie: Nickie Budie as their child's friend is every parents' bad dream, and he was along with Remy and Morgan on the night everything happened. Unlike Morgan and Remy though, Nick has decided that the truth must never be told-- and he threatens Morgan with blackmail to keep him quiet.
Mr. Fielding: Although he is the Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Fielding never pays any attention to his students-- until he is jolted into awareness by certain events.
Mr. Willit: Morgan and Remy's show choir teacher, Mr. Willit is one of those teachers who never met a truly bad kid. Nickie Bundie does make him question that, though. He is also married to Morgan and Remy's pastor.
Mr. and Mrs Campbell: Morgan's perfect, lawyer parents. Morgan's father is about to run for Governor and his mother is a high-powered and high-energy lady.
Starr: Morgan's little sister. Starr is a champion brown-nose and a blackmailer extraordinaire as far as Morgan is concerned, and his secret is just the type of thing that she would use to her own advantage if she found out before his parents did.
Mac: Remy's younger brother. Mac is always getting into trouble, and when he isn't, he is pointing fingers and trying to blame someone else for whatever is wrong in the world. It's very little wonder then, that Remy was afraid he'd find out her secret and use it to torture her. But Mac is family, and he is also full of surprises...
Mr. and Mrs. Marland: Remy and Mac's parents. The Marland family is not financially well-off like the Campbells are, but they love and support each other in very obvious ways. Until...
Interesting information:
Caroline B. Cooney has written many award-winning books for young people, and this book continues the trend. Driver's Ed was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 26, 2012
Drivers Ed is one of the many dramatic and impacting novels written by Caroline B. Cooney. It basically talks about these ordinary and naive high school students in their driver's education class who eventually learn the importance of the class from a horrific and fatal event involving a few of their classmates that will change their lives forever. The story starts off as a normal routine for the main characters, Remy Marland and Morgan Campbell, who obviously have strong feelings for each other throughout the book. Despite the fact they both have a very strong desire of receiving their driver's license; their Drivers Education Class becomes simply a class where they do nothing but dream of each other's existence and play the game of which one will ask the other out on a date first instead of every class being a learning experience. Their friends share the same line of thought as well ignoring the true importance of a class that prepares one for the first step of entering adulthood. One day, Remy, Morgan and a few other friends named Lark and Nickie go on a driving assignment for their class when they come across a unique road sign that says THICKLY SETTLED. The sign appeals to Lark a lot and she is inspired to add it to her road sign collection. She eventually encourages the gang to go out on a stealing spree for other signs for themselves days later. One of the most appealing signs they ended up stealing was a large, red stop sign at the intersection of Cherry road and Warren Street in the story. Just days later, the evening news comes on and one of main topics discussed is about 26 year-old Denise Thompson being involved in a car accident at the intersection of Cherry Road and Warren Street where she was killed instantly. Her cause of death: failure to stop at what was supposed to be a stop sign, but instead was a simple wooden post that seemed to be cut at the top with a hacksaw. The incident leaving behind her 2-year-old son Bobby and her husband who loved her with all his heart heavily impact Denise Thompson’s family. The incident impacts the teens in countless ways such as slowly being eaten alive by the guilt they felt inside. They are soon brought to the conclusion of whether they should confess to their parents, the law, and even Mr. Thompson himself, or should they keep quiet for the rest of their entire lives and hope the guilt they feel inside will dissolve into the back of their memory forever. Unfortunately, the absolute most I could possibly give this book were 2 stars because the novel contained way too much romance at the beginning between the main characters Remy Marland and Morgan Campbell (well, at least too much for myself to handle!!). Although I did enjoy the life lesson it taught me on the importance of my Drivers Ed class. I would definitely recommend this book to other high school teens that enjoy novels that contain a lot of drama that never makes you want to stop reading. I wouldn't recommend this book for people like me who absolutely cannot stand any type of romance what so ever in novels or simply don't enjoy novels that reflect on sadness and guilt more than anything else. I personally would recommend trying Code Orange by this author though. It's probably my favorite one she's written so far.
January 24, 2013
The book Drivers Ed by Caroline B. Cooney, portrays drivers ed, peer pressure, and high school life all in one book. Throughout the book there are two consistent main characters: Rembrandt "Remey" Marland and Morgan Campbell who fall for each other in the beginning of the book while bonding over some sign stealing. Remey and Morgan were somewhat pressured into stealing signs but they just wanted to have a good time. During all of this, Remey and Morgan are in the same drivers ed class and both are looking forward to get their licenses soon, but everything changes in their life for the worst.
The night after they stole the signs Morgan and Remey both watched the news in horror, finding out that one of the signs they stole, a stop sign, had been the scene of a accident. On the same night after Remey and Morgan stole the sign, a mother of a little child, Denise Thompson was killed in a car accident while she went though an intersection thinking that there was no stop sign.
After hearing the news both Morgan and Remey decide to not tell anyone that they were the ones who stole the sign. Even if they told their parents would not approve of these actions and would be very mad at them, and maybe "Disown" them. As the guilt eats away at both Remey and Morgan, Christmas time is closely approaching. To get his mind off the accident, Morgan decides to volunteer to be in charge of the Christmas pageant. Even this does not get Morgans mind off of killing an innocent person, and even worse, whenever he watches TV, there is Denise Thompson face in the commercials. Finally both Morgan and Remey can't keep this a secret from their parents, and eventually spill the beans. Morgans father decides that they need to apologies to Mr. Thompson for his loss. While they are chatting, Mr. Thompson tells the kids that their is absolutely nothing he could do to them besides, filing a vandalism charge which would result in a couple hundred dollar fine and getting away with Denise death.
Overall the moral of the story is to not get pressured into something you don't want to do or don't feel is right, even though it may result in humiliation, in the long run it is better than possibly taking a life.
The night after they stole the signs Morgan and Remey both watched the news in horror, finding out that one of the signs they stole, a stop sign, had been the scene of a accident. On the same night after Remey and Morgan stole the sign, a mother of a little child, Denise Thompson was killed in a car accident while she went though an intersection thinking that there was no stop sign.
After hearing the news both Morgan and Remey decide to not tell anyone that they were the ones who stole the sign. Even if they told their parents would not approve of these actions and would be very mad at them, and maybe "Disown" them. As the guilt eats away at both Remey and Morgan, Christmas time is closely approaching. To get his mind off the accident, Morgan decides to volunteer to be in charge of the Christmas pageant. Even this does not get Morgans mind off of killing an innocent person, and even worse, whenever he watches TV, there is Denise Thompson face in the commercials. Finally both Morgan and Remey can't keep this a secret from their parents, and eventually spill the beans. Morgans father decides that they need to apologies to Mr. Thompson for his loss. While they are chatting, Mr. Thompson tells the kids that their is absolutely nothing he could do to them besides, filing a vandalism charge which would result in a couple hundred dollar fine and getting away with Denise death.
Overall the moral of the story is to not get pressured into something you don't want to do or don't feel is right, even though it may result in humiliation, in the long run it is better than possibly taking a life.
October 23, 2012
In the book Driver ED by Caroline B. Cooney in my opinion was spectacular. Hands up outstanding by how the Author wrote the book and told the story. Driver’s ED was about a girl named Rembrandt, who was the main character and Morgan, Rembrandt’s secret crush. Rembrandt has a nickname that she goes by in school, its Remy. Morgan and Remy are both in the same Driver’s ED class together and in many of each others other classes. Everyday in Driver’s ED; Mr. Fielding, the Driver’s ED teacher, takes three kids out to drive and the rest stays with the librarian who doesn’t care about anything, so she puts in ear plugs and lets the kids do anything. Morgan, Lark, and Remy go almost every class out to drive because everyone else is scared to and doesn’t want to anyway. Mr. Fielding never notices that they drive every time, he is a confused teacher. They all went out driving one day and Remy ran over a cement median in the middle of the lanes. One class, they all decided to start a contest to see who could take the most signs on the road. Remy, Morgan, and the driver Nickie all went to get signs one night and they got Morgan Street and a stop sign. Later they found out that a woman died the next night by a truck running into her. “Kids took the stop sign that was supposed to be there. She didn’t know there was one so she kept going and she just wasn’t lucky in this crash. He has left a husband and a 1 year old alone now” the reporter says. Consequences are to come but to find out; you will have to read the book! I recommend this book for every to read. It’s a very good book for teenagers to read because they are making choices and starting to drive. There is no negatives about this book that was displayed. Remy is a questionable character though becuase she changes throughout the book and is a very complex character. Morgan is friends with Remy and he likes her alot but he just doesn't know how to show her. He is afaid of loosing her but if he doesn't react soon, there is no chance with him dating her. Although she wants that too, she doesn't know what to think when he ignores her all the time.
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December 23, 2015
Everything about this book made it appear to be a horror-thriller. I've read other books by this author and most of them were. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a moralistic tale of a teenage prank that takes a deadly turn.
Remy, Morgan, and Lark are all in the same driver's ed class, run by the totally checked out Mr. Fielding, who can't even tell his students apart. One day, while driving, the teens discuss how they want to steal some road signs. They make a plan to do this with Nick, a delinquent student who already has his driver's license. But on that fateful night, Lark can't go, and Remy and Morgan are so caught up in their budding romance that they cut down a stop sign at Nick's behest. Later that night, a woman drives through the intersection where she would have stopped had there been a sign, and is killed in an accident.
Instead of this turning into a thriller of manipulation between the teens, Remy and Morgan wrestle with whether or not they should tell the truth, especially after the woman's husband offers a reward, all culminating in a Christmas pageant which really hammers the point home ("Denise would never celebrate another Christmas" etc.).
I found the tone of this whole novel strange - I felt like the reader is never meant to connect to any of the characters. They're written as being totally self-involved. Every single one of them, the kids, the teachers, the parents, even Remy's baby brother. I wasn't exactly sure who I was supposed to care about here. Remy ended up being the most sympathetic, I suppose. In the end they all seem to realize their flaws but it all seemed like I was watching from outside the action. Therefore this was very "meh." Most definitely not a thriller.
Remy, Morgan, and Lark are all in the same driver's ed class, run by the totally checked out Mr. Fielding, who can't even tell his students apart. One day, while driving, the teens discuss how they want to steal some road signs. They make a plan to do this with Nick, a delinquent student who already has his driver's license. But on that fateful night, Lark can't go, and Remy and Morgan are so caught up in their budding romance that they cut down a stop sign at Nick's behest. Later that night, a woman drives through the intersection where she would have stopped had there been a sign, and is killed in an accident.
Instead of this turning into a thriller of manipulation between the teens, Remy and Morgan wrestle with whether or not they should tell the truth, especially after the woman's husband offers a reward, all culminating in a Christmas pageant which really hammers the point home ("Denise would never celebrate another Christmas" etc.).
I found the tone of this whole novel strange - I felt like the reader is never meant to connect to any of the characters. They're written as being totally self-involved. Every single one of them, the kids, the teachers, the parents, even Remy's baby brother. I wasn't exactly sure who I was supposed to care about here. Remy ended up being the most sympathetic, I suppose. In the end they all seem to realize their flaws but it all seemed like I was watching from outside the action. Therefore this was very "meh." Most definitely not a thriller.
January 14, 2009
Subjexts: Cars, vandalism, personal responsibility, peer pressure, first-love, family relationships, driving, fear, and taking risks. Cooney “is a master of mixing spellbinding suspense with thought-provoking insight into teenagers' lives” (www.teenreads.com). Driver’s Ed is romance, suspense, and realistic fiction all rolled into one story. It teaches a big lesson in life—how to take responsibility for what you have done. In the case of Remy and Morgan, stealing the stop sign was a split-second thrill. However, that thrill quickly fades when they learn that someone has been killed. Their secret leads to unbearable guilt and remorse. In due time they confess only to realize they have also shamed their families. A second lesson of Driver’s Ed is taking responsibility for what you have not done. Mr. Fielding, the driver’s education teacher knew that the class was talking about stealing signs, yet he did nothing until it was too late. Mr. Fielding knew he was not a good teacher. Driver’s education is all about life and death which is exactly what Mr. Fielding did not teach his students. Driver’s Ed is a book that all young adults should read well before they reach the age of sixteen. Cooney gives librarians an interesting image (p. 4). Mrs. Bee the school librarian feels that just because the driver’s ed classroom is adjacent to the library it is not her responsibility to supervise the kids left in the classroom. Mrs. Bee simply wears her sunglasses and supervises nothing. An excellent book for the reluctant reader. Fasten your seat belt for Driver’s Ed—it’s a ride you won’t forget.
May 3, 2009
This contemporary fictional book centers around a group of high school students going through Driver’s Ed. But most specifically it centers around one boy, Morgan, who doesn’t have a very close relationship with his family. He rarely talks with his parents, and family time is usually spent watching the news together on television. As Morgan and the girl he likes, Remy, start hanging out with a trouble- maker, Nicky, they are drawn into the fad of stealing road signs. One night they steal a stop sign, and the next day hear that a young woman was killed at that intersection because there was no stop sign. The book deals with the horrendous guilt that Remy and Morgan feel, knowing that they are responsible for this woman’s death. This book has some great themes about the consequences of our actions. This would be a great book for high school students especially, since many of them don’t think about the possible negative consequences of their actions, especially when it comes to driving. In the book stealing road signs seems like such a small and insignificant thing, like many high school pranks, but they can lead to lasting and devastating consequences. I think this book would appeal to high school students, however, because it is very much from the teens’ point of view, and doesn’t come across sounding didactic. It combines normal high school drama, romance, adventure, family problems, and taking risks into one.
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January 24, 201313. If i were(name of character) at this point I would feel...
If I were Remy at this point, I would feel successful because first off, she got to show her crush, Morgan, how good she was at driving during driver's ed. Also because she now knows that her crush loves her too. She got the guy that all the girls wanted. She got to steal road signs with Morgan, which gave them more time to get to know eachother. After stealing road signs, they held hands and kissed twice, which I don't get because they haven't done anything like that and they haven't really talked to eachother enough to be kissing already. Remy has gotten everything she has wanted so far, which is why she should feel successful.
February 19
17. Explain what you would do if you we're in the same situation as one of the books characters.
Remy and Morgan stole a stop sign and it ended up killing a woman. Morgan decided to take the sign and hide them in his garage. The story came up on the news and Morgan's dad said that person should be shot, not knowing it was his own son. If I were Morgan in this situation, I would have told my parents by this point because the longer you wait, the worse it would be. Morgan and Remy have waited long enough that it has become old news, so if/when they tell their parents they will be very mad because they waited so long to tell them and they should have been honest enough to tell them in the first place.
If I were Remy at this point, I would feel successful because first off, she got to show her crush, Morgan, how good she was at driving during driver's ed. Also because she now knows that her crush loves her too. She got the guy that all the girls wanted. She got to steal road signs with Morgan, which gave them more time to get to know eachother. After stealing road signs, they held hands and kissed twice, which I don't get because they haven't done anything like that and they haven't really talked to eachother enough to be kissing already. Remy has gotten everything she has wanted so far, which is why she should feel successful.
February 19
17. Explain what you would do if you we're in the same situation as one of the books characters.
Remy and Morgan stole a stop sign and it ended up killing a woman. Morgan decided to take the sign and hide them in his garage. The story came up on the news and Morgan's dad said that person should be shot, not knowing it was his own son. If I were Morgan in this situation, I would have told my parents by this point because the longer you wait, the worse it would be. Morgan and Remy have waited long enough that it has become old news, so if/when they tell their parents they will be very mad because they waited so long to tell them and they should have been honest enough to tell them in the first place.
October 30, 2013
The book that I read is called " driver's ed," the author of the book is Caroline B. Cooney, she ends up finding a secret about something that she's not supposed to know about and the Mac wants to eliminate her. the length of the book is one hundred and ninety nine pages long, There was no illustrations in my book. The book that I read was a fiction book. The book is about this girl named Morgan she's the main character of the book and she cant wait to turn sixteen and be able to drive. Another book that Caroline B. Cooney has written is called The Voice in the radio which is about a girl named Janie who listens to a voice on the radio because she has to face her past and her future. This book is not relevant to me because I am not a girl who is nervous to get her license, this book would be good for anyone who thinks that they wont pass there drivers test. I didn't like this book because it honestly did not make much since to me it confused me page after page. The setting of the book is mostly in a class room talking about the teacher. This book does not keep you interested the first couple of pages but after the first couple paragraphs but after words it gets good. The character in this book does and does not seem real to me because I can believe some things but others I cant. The author did provide a good conclusion to the book. My resources are Robert Cormier, Author of the chocolate war, Entertainment weekly, publishers weekly, booklist.
August 6, 2009
This may have been the first Cooney book I read, and it initiated this whole binge on her books. I remember loving it. This, along with Emergency Room and Flight #116 is Down are probably my favorite books written by her. They are definitely not a great literary acheivement, but they are great for the older middle grade readers who need something a little older than Sarah, Plain and Tall but aren't quite ready for a lot of heavy reading (Crime and Punishment...). These books display childhood angst and emotion well in a way that teens can relate to and understand without being to explicit, complicated, or overwhelming. I never felt that the author was trying to force anything at us, to me it was simply a story that had characters I could relate to and empathize with, whether I had ever experienced that situation or not.
September 19, 2008
Caroline B. Cooney disappointed me this time. In her book's I expect tons of suspense, tragedy, mystery and a certain level of uneasiness. This book was good...very good. But it didn't compare to some of her other books. I would recommend this to people who are interested in stories about teenage lives getting flipped upside down, and the power of guilt. I would definitely not recommend this to readers looking for a fluffy love story, or any fluffy happy story at all. This book kept me interested because it was intense. It wasn't at all what I'm used to reading. It was not the best book because it did not continually have an interesting or dramatic thing going on. Again, this book was OK, but just didn't reach my expectations.
May 3, 2010
This book was interesting not good but interesting. The beginning I thought was really slow. Then about 3 chapters later the pace went up big time. But it's all the same problem until a few chapters tell the end. I thought Remy and Morgan were really fake. The whole book I just wanted one of them to go to jail or something so one of them wouldn't be in the rest of the story. Now I have been talking bad about it and I gave it 4 stars. It is a interesting book still. The whole tension of what are they going to do was enough to keep me reading. If you like thrillers with a corny romance this is the perfect for you. But this book for me wasn't the best book I have ever read.
July 12, 2010
I am a fan of Caroline Cooney, and this book was written in her usual manner, but it was incredibly depressing. I nearly cried in the end -- nearly -- and that is defiantely saying something. I wish I could give this 2.5 stars, because the beginning felt so forced. It seemed like she was shoving her characters down the reader's throat. It took until the end of the story to grow comfortble with them, and my that time, they had completely morphed (well, most of them) from what they were in the beginning.
But no matter how I felt about the book, it did leave me with one definate life lesson; Never steal a stop sign.
But no matter how I felt about the book, it did leave me with one definate life lesson; Never steal a stop sign.
April 5, 2012
3.5 I liked this book. It is one I will have my kids read when they are teenagers. I enjoyed the budding romance between Remy and Morgan in the beginning. It was cute and sweet and so much like things were for me in high school.
Just when you thought things were gonna be great, the story took a tragic turn and showed how seemingly innocent actions can have devastating consequences.
This is a good book to show how peer pressure is definitely something to resist, and hopefully inspire kids to stand up and do the right thing even if it's hard.
Not my typical romantic read, but still good.
Just when you thought things were gonna be great, the story took a tragic turn and showed how seemingly innocent actions can have devastating consequences.
This is a good book to show how peer pressure is definitely something to resist, and hopefully inspire kids to stand up and do the right thing even if it's hard.
Not my typical romantic read, but still good.
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