Nic Stone

"For the life of him, William "Scoob" Lamar can't seem to stay out of trouble--and now the run-ins at school have led to lockdown at home. So when G'ma, Scoob's favorite person on Earth, asks him to go on an impromptu road trip, he's in the RV faster than he can say FREEDOM. With G'ma's old maps and a strange pamphlet called the 'Travelers' Green Book' at their side, the pair takes off on a journey down G'ma's memory lane. But adventure quickly turns to uncertainty: G'ma keeps changing the license plate, dodging Scoob's questions, and refusing to check Dad's voice mails. And the father they go, the more Scoob realizes that the world hasn't always been a welcoming place for kids like him, and things aren't always what they seem--G'ma included."--Jacket flap.

Clean Getaway

Sarah Sammis

Clean Getaway by Nic Stone and illustrated by Dawud Anyabwile is about a family struggling with secrets and shame, coming together over an impromptu roadtrip. William "Scoob" Lamar and his dad had plans to St. Simons Island but the trip was canceled after he got in trouble at school. Now he's in a newly purchased Winnebago with his G'ma and he's left his cellphone at home.

Scoob's G'ma is white. She and Scoob's grandfather married as soon as it became legal to do so. Her trip with Scoob is an attempt to recreate the trip she and he took. The trip takes them past a number of Civil Rights landmarks. Each one, rendered beautifully by Dawud Anyabwile.

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Ariel Hackett

This book covers so much, which is why I absolutely adore it! It’s a great conversational piece for families. The journeys each character went through brought healing—true healing of the soul. Stone touched on so much in one book, which is also why I have so much appreciation for this novel. Interracial marriage. Generational curses, burdens, and pain. Grief and Regret. Family and Loyalty. Manhood and Parenthood. These are just a few I wanted to highlight, but there’s so much more I could cover. 

Grab a copy of this book, when you can. Nic Stone is truly a powerhouse, and one of the best novelist of the century.

Flavia Louise

Tatiana Alvarez 

If you are a die hard fan of Nic Stone, then you will really enjoy this book. It is nothing like Dear Martin, so if that’s what you are expecting going into this, I suggest reading a few of her other books before coming back to this one. This is also a middle grade read. 

Scoob is going on an impromptu trip with his grandmother across different landmarks of the civil rights movement. As they drive, she gets to share her history with scoob about falling in love with a white man and eventually marrying him. 

This is a cute concept and I thought it was enjoyable, but sine I have read every other Nic Stone book, I will say that her characters are very similar. She’s like John Green in a sense, where she has two characters made up and recycled them throughout her stories. 

Still, this book was full of Stone’s personality. It is heavily character driven and written like a stream of consciousness. Also true to Stone’s writing, there is a major twist at the end. This one is rather subtle, but I believe that has to do with the fact it’s MG. 

Over all, it’s a good book. I’m coming to realize that I like Stone as a person first and her writing second. It gets repetitive and the storylines follow a similar pattern.

Trigger warnings:(view spoiler)[ racism and discrimination, cancer (hide spoiler)]

This is a gorgeous middle-grade book that is absolutely perfect for the intended audience. Following the road trip of a young boy and his g’ma, the story is fun and kooky. But that doesn’t take away from the really important discussions throughout the story.

From discussions about generational differences within a family to living with racial discrimination throughout different eras – the story is important and hard-hitting without being too much for a younger audience.

Even as an older reader, I really enjoyed this story. Incredibly well-crafted and relevant.

Graham’s narration is ridiculously enjoyable. He carries the humour throughout the story really well. This isn’t the first Nic Stone book that he has narrated (he also does Odd One Out) and there is a reason why he has narrated so many other books that have either won or been nominated for audiobook awards.

He’s just really good at what he does.

Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the audiobook. This does not impact my opinions, whatsoever.

Clean Getaway

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