"Road trip race against time • Moving family mystery • Inspiring ode to heroes of the African American civil rights movement"
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2021
This Middle Grade debut from award-winning YA author Nic Stone (I adored her Dear Martin novel) features one-of-kind characters and true-to-life struggles underpinned by a special relationship between a boy and his grandma, and the segregation history of the American South. It’s also powerful on themes of racism, making amends, and complex family dynamics.
In big trouble at school and fearing his dad has lost faith in him, eleven-year-old Scoob has had a rough time of it of late, so the prospect of going on a road-trip with his gloriously willful grandma seems pretty good. Travelling with the Green Book guide that lists ‘safe’ places for African Americans to travel, G’ma takes them to places she and her deceased husband visited on a trip decades ago, though they didn’t make it the whole way. Among these sites are the bombed church where civil rights activists used to gather, including Dr Martin Luther King, and the former home of Medgar Wiley Evers, a black soldier who fought in WWII and came home to fight for civil rights.
As their journey progresses, Scoob is increasingly freaked out by G’ma’s actions and state of mind. “Looks like we’re both trying to make a run for it,” she remarks, leading Scoop to anxiously wonder what she’s running from, and what she’s trying to make amends for. During their moving page-turner of a trip, the story reveals how unjust life was for African Americans during segregation, and how hard it was for Scoob’s African American G-pop and white G’ma to be a young married couple.
Gripping, moving and informative, this is a wonderfully warm read, and Scoob’s perspective is spot-on for the age-group.
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From New York Times bestselling author Nic Stone comes a middle-grade road-trip story through American race relations past and present, perfect for fans of Ross Welford and Jason Reynolds.
How to Go on an Unplanned Road Trip with Your Grandma:
- Grab a Suitcase: Prepacked from the big spring break trip that got CANCELLED.
- Fasten Your Seatbelt: G'ma's never conventional, so this trip won't be either.
- Use the Green Book: G'ma's most treasured possession. It holds history, memories, and most important, the way home.
What Not to Bring:
- A Phone: Avoid contact with Dad at all costs.
Even when G'ma starts acting stranger than usual. Set against the backdrop of the segregation history of the American South, take a trip with New York Times bestselling Nic Stone and an eleven-year-old boy who is about to discover that the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem - his G'ma included.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Clean Getaway and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Clean Getaway features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Stories about Family and Friends, Featured Books for 11+ readers, Recommendations, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), PSHE: Multiculturalism, Diversity and Inclusion, Featured Books for 9+ readers
Clean Getaway is available in Paperback, CD-Audio, Hardback
Clean Getaway was written by Nic Stone and published by Knights Of Media
Clean Getaway has 214 pages
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