Car Trouble

August 1, 2005
Like the '49ers before him, 17-year-old Duff Pringle leaves his East Coast home to seek his fortune in California. Obsessed with computer programming, he's been hired, sight unseen, by a Silicon Valley start-up. His $625 car doesn't even make it to the state line. He quickly finds new wheels by checking Internet chatboards and discovering a "drivers wanted" ad, but against his mother's explicit warning, he picks up a hitchhiker, who everyone but Duff will immediately recognize as Trouble. Along the way, Duff loses his wallet, the company folds, and he nearly loses his life when it turns out the car he's agreed to drive contains a cache of loot. He also finds a new technological obsession-alternative fuels. DuPrau (City of Ember) is a smooth writer but Duff's story, like his car, has momentum problems. A self-described geek, Duff is a "slave to shyness," and "tortured by fear"; he's afraid of things as seemingly simple as talking to a girl his age. While this may be an authentic portrayal of a teen computer whiz, unfortunately it doesn't make for a very engaging point of view and the story's moral is "listen to your parents." Ages 12-up.

October 1, 2005
Gr 8 Up -Computer whiz Duff Pringle, 17, has a used car and six days to get from Virginia to California where a job awaits him creating computer games. When he breaks down shortly after he sets out, he finds someone who has a car that needs to be driven to St. Louis. He picks up Stu, a seemingly harmless drifter, who turns out to be a blessing and a curse. During the ride, Duff explains that he doesn't have time for girls, but in reality he simply doesn't know how to talk to them. In St. Louis, Duff meets Bonnie, the teenage daughter of the vehicle's owner, a con artist hospitalized in Virginia. She decides to travel with the guys to California where she can stay with an aunt. Slowly Duff begins to break out of his shell and to have a relationship with her. His transition does not occur with the push of a button; instead it takes place over -real-time, - and even though there's no job when he reaches California, readers know that his life is on the right track. Ending with hope, "Car Trouble" is a good read that is kept moving by strong characters who steer the flow of the story." -Tracy Karbel, Glenside Public Library District, Glendale Heights, IL"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2005
Gr. 7-10. Recent high-school grad and computer-whiz Duff Pringle is on a cross-country road trip, headed from home in Richmond, Virginia, to a California job designing the next-generation something or other for a company that modestly calls itself "Incredibility, Inc." Alas, real life doesn't run as smoothly as a computer program, and, in short order, Duff's battered old Ford breaks down, he meets a fast-talking hitchhiker in a wild shirt, loses his wallet in a scary biker restaurant, finds himself stranded in St. Louis, and, well, that's just the tip of an iceberg of troubles. The author of the well-received sf novels " The City of Embe" r (2003) and " The People of Sparks " (2004), DuPrau also shows a nice flair for humorous, character-driven, realistic fiction. Although there are more smiles than guffaws in this sometimes slow-moving story, teens will find Duff good company and will be glad to go along with him for the ride. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2005, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2006
A breakdown three hours into his planned cross-country road trip to a tech job in California throws "computer genius" Duffy Pringle on his wits. During his unorthodox journey alongside two drifters, he must stand up for himself, develop outside interests (like renewable energy), and talk to a girl. Solid characterization and surprising incidents create a lively tale that speeds past.

(Copyright 2006 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)