06.07.07
Hit the Road by Caroline Cooney
Sixteen-year-old Brittany acts as a chauffeur for her grandmother and Gran’s three friends on their way to a college reunion. This adventure involves lies, theft, kidnapping and lessons that will soon not be forgotten.
Eryn VHS said,
June 14, 2007 at 10:52 am
This was a very fun read. It brings up an interesting issue about how the elderly are often treated like children. In the book, both Brit and “the girls” struggle with feeling out of control of their own lives. Most teenagers wouldn’t think that they have very much in common with their grandparents, but often they are both struggling to be in control of their own lives. Good book!
Elizabeth VHS said,
November 8, 2007 at 1:53 pm
First off I give this book a 9 out of 10. The story took me on a trip of excitement with three little old ladys and a sixteen year old girl. It showed me how “undull” the “old” life can be. The thing about the book that bothered me though has to be Aurelia’s son Aston. Throughout the story there was a combat on going between “the girls” and “the kids” about control of the girl’s freedom. It bothered me that Aston seemed to not really care that his mother was okay in the head. I was shocked by the way he stooped to get her money. I couldn’t believe that he had a wife in one city and a girlfriend in the other ( the girlfriend was his mom’s doctor) and I was shocked that the doctor took his bribes. This story was good but it made me sick to think that people will stoop to get their parents money.
Melissa 2 VHS said,
November 26, 2007 at 4:28 pm
This book was not my favorite i i liked it. I believe that Aston’s claim that his mother has Alzheimers was not true. Throughout the story he did not showone bit of concern or generousto his mother, the girls, or Brit. He tricked his mother and other people with bribes to get money, threaten and nearly destroyed Brit’s life because she got in the way, and even stoop so low as to kidnap Nannie. Also the way the author wrote about his action made it seem like he enjoyed it. Aston was not only motivated by his greed but also had entertained by a person’s helpless position
Gameila RHS said,
December 11, 2007 at 9:30 pm
This book was very good and very crazy. Everyone has their crazy grandma stories and this one was great. After I was done reading it , it made me realize that not only my grandma was crazy =]
Montgomery RHS said,
December 28, 2007 at 2:33 pm
i really enjoyed this book. it was a cute story, with lots of twist and turns that kept you guessing till the very end. a basic story of cat and mouse, yet with a cute twist thrown in with run away grandma, kidnapping old ladies, and an evil son out to stop all the fun. definitely a light read, but nice for lots of people to get into.
Tasneem EJSHS said,
January 26, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I do not think there is any truth to Aston’s claim that Aurelia has Alzheimer’s disease. First, Aston refers to the girls as ‘husks’ when he threatens Brittany after the first visit to Chloe. He goes even further by telling his mother, in a smirk like manner ( as stated in the text), “You cannot be allowed to wander around.” Aston admits that he has no concern for his own mother, telling Brit, “She doesn’t matter anymore. I have the money. That’s all that ever mattered.” His confession proves that he has no concern for his mother and his actions were only for money.
Tasneem EJSHS said,
January 26, 2008 at 4:09 pm
After reading Aston’s e-mails, Coop informs Brit that Response to Elizabeth VHS:
Aston is promising two different women that he will marry them. One of the woman, Dr. White, being Aurelia’s doctor, supports the statement Nannie said early in the text that Aston had probably bribed Aurelia’s doctor into keeping Aurelia in a supervised ward. Coop did not say that Aston had a wife in one city but rather that he has an actual wedding date set with the other woman. I agree with your perspective on Aston and his almost successful attempt to steal his poor mother’s money.
Ashleigh EJSHS said,
February 18, 2008 at 4:19 pm
No, I do not think there is any truth at all to Aston’s accusations. Aurelia had a lot of money, and money can get to anyone’s head. Not everyone is a good person… We all have a little bit of evil in us. Maybe that evil took over Aston’s emotions and he became power-hungry. He was willing to hurt anybody to get what he wanted. I don’t doubt this because of his previous marriages. He was obviously an excellent liar, maybe even pathological. He had so many people fooled; marriages were planned, and threats were given. I would never even consider putting my grandmother (well, mother in this case) into a retirement home, no matter the circumstances. She’s taken care of me my whole life. Maybe Aston should have thought about that one first. And what harm is a college reunion going to do? It would be the last chance they had to say good bye to their lives. How cruel is that to take it away? Even if Aurelia did have Alzheimer’s, she still had all her marbles, as Nannie would say. All Aurelia needed was friends. I highly doubt Aston’s intentions were true, but I do admire his ability to get what he wants, though I would never do something like that. How could someone go that far? I mean, come on! He took Nannie hostage! What would he want with an old lady, as Brit said. Maybe, though, deep down in his heart of stone… Aston really cared. It’s impossible to get inside someone’s head. From the outside, it looks like he wanted some money… lots of money.
Carolyn EJSHS said,
February 23, 2008 at 1:15 pm
3. Technology (cell phones, downloads, computer hacking) plays a large role in the book. Do you think it adds or subtracts from the other themes of the book, and why? Will all of the specific technology references limit the book’s appeal in the long run?
I think that the heavy use of technology adds to the themes of the book. The college roommates are obviously older and as such do not have a great grasp on the latest gadgets, such as cell phones and laptop computers. However, they show great resourcefulness even though they might not understand the technology completely. For instance, when Nannie is kidnapped by Aston, she grabs his laptop and steals it when she believes that it could have evidence against him. The ladies also use cell phones on several occasions, like when Flo calls for a taxi to escape. In these cases, the ladies show that age has not affected their cunning or their ability to take advantage of new things in order to save their friend. They may not know how to use the devices, but they do their best when they hear that something is important to the release of Aurelia. While I think that the technology references will slightly lessen the effect of “Hit the Road”, I think this book will last. The characters do use cell phones and laptops, but the way in which they were described was rather vague and generic, and I think that the book will still make sense and be relevant in the future.
Response to Montgomery RHS-
I don’t entirely agree with your opinion that this book was a light read. While it was fairly short, and the language wasn’t very advanced most of the time, I felt that the predicament of the ladies and Brit brought up too many issues for it to be considered ‘light’. For instance, much of the book revolved around how the roommates were losing a lot of their freedom. The story shows different ways in which the children of the three ladies were disrupting their lives. Gail destroys Nannie’s drivers’ license without ever asking or explaining why, and sells of her car. I think that this brings up a big issue of how much power children really have over their parents, as well as how much power they should have. I think that the questions raised by this story require too much thought and consideration for it to be considered a truly ‘light’ read.
rossshsdoerr7 said,
February 27, 2008 at 7:42 pm
1. If Aston had any concern for his mother, he wouldn’t have pulled some of the things he did. Putting her in a nursing home would show concern if she really needed to be there. But just the fact that he needed her to sign a power of attorney showed that she was still mentally competent. In fact, the things that Ashton said or planned to do to Brit showed how he was genuinely nasty and greedy.
2. The four women were doing some things because they were being treated like they were too old to matter. This made them desperate when they had to help Aurelia. They did not have a lot of options. They decided to do things that were risky, dangerous and seemed irrational to Brit. The generation that made decisions for them did not understand their needs.
Brit was at the other side of being an adult. She was just starting to get adult abilities and privileges, like her driver’s license. She went along with her grandmother’s plans out of duty and love. Sometimes she felt like she was the only one making adult decisions. At the end, she felt like an equal with the women, just one of the girls
The technology in the book serves several purposes. It shows how Brit likes new things and contrasts with her dislike of old and “used” things. Technology is used to provide details about plot and character development. It also gives the characters the information they could not have gotten in earlier times. The way this story develops depends on technology. Without it, the story would have turned out differently.
Technology definitely dates this story. In the future, this technology may seem old-fashioned. But it will give a good sense of how we lived and depended on today’s electronics.
Bridgett VHS said,
March 17, 2008 at 12:40 pm
1. Do you think there is some truth to Aston’s claim that Aurelia has Alzheimer’s? Are his actions motivated exclusively by money, or is there even a little genuine concern?
I don’t believe that his idea that his mother has Alzheimer is true because she remembers that all her son wants to her money. No i don’t believe that Aston is concerned about his mother because he is messing with her docoters head.
Kat H EJSH said,
March 18, 2008 at 8:47 pm
2. Throughout the book, age is a constant factor. What are some of the similarities and differences between Brit and “the girls” in how they act, think, and are treated by others?
Similarities-they are all girls(obviosly), they all felt the same; they all could in a way relate to one another in a sense because they all had to deal with eachother’s company and all took a part in making decisions, Brit and the girls care about themselves, Britt is asked to chauffer for “the girls” to their Reunion that they haven’t ever missed
Differences-Brit’s grandma and the rest of “the girls” are older most definetly with their age, they have to constantly “powder their noses”, they can be quite obnoxious and overbearing at times, and sometimes undecisive-directions wise and with their input on the way to “kidnap” Daisy-which they never ended up accomplishing, Brit can drive and Nanny can’t because of her horrible eyesight
I agree with Eryn VHS about how this book brings up how the elderly can be treated like children at times. And also about how most teens wouldn’t think that their grandparents are actually quite simililar to them with some qualities but can often be both ’struggling to be in control of their own lives’.
It was an entertaining book. I liked it alright, i liked reading about how Britt had to deal with Nannie, Flo, and Aurelia’s nagging time to time. It was hilarious. Really.
Kaelin EJSHS said,
March 19, 2008 at 11:06 pm
3. Technology (cell phones, downloads, computer hacking) plays a large role in the book. Do you think it adds or subtracts from the other themes of the book, and why? Will all of the specific technology references limit the book’s appeal in the long run?
In the story “Hit the Road” technology plays a major role, Britt had to come up with the plan to take her grandmother and her friends to the reunion. She had to kidnap Aurelia, and pick up her other friend. She was sending text messages to her friend trying to come up with a game plan how she would explain what happened to her mother that was out of town. She was also very distracted and almost crashed the car several times. She was trying to grab her phone, and also talking while driving on the highway. In this book the plot would not be the same, technology added a lot of drama to the story.
I agree with Eryn VHS because she makes the point that “Most teenagers wouldn’t think that they have very much in common with their grandparents, but often they are both struggling to be in control of their own lives.” I think that this book represents this very well, and in today’s society this is a very common for both teenagers and for the elderly people. This book was good, not my favorite but it was a good book.
Kaelin EJSHS said,
March 20, 2008 at 11:36 am
3. Technology (cell phones, downloads, computer hacking) plays a large role in the book. Do you think it adds or subtracts from the other themes of the book, and why? Will all of the specific technology references limit the book’s appeal in the long run?
In the story “Hit the Road” technology plays a major role, to come up with the plan to go to the reunion and kidnap Aurelia she was sending text messages to her friend trying to come up with a game plan how she would explain what happened to her mother that was out of town. She was also very distracted and almost crashed the car several times. She was trying to grab her phone, and also talking while driving on the highway. In this book the plot would not be the same, technology added a lot of drama to the story.
I agree with Eryn VHS because she makes the point that “Most teenagers wouldn’t think that they have very much in common with their grandparents, but often they are both struggling to be in control of their own lives.” I think that this book represents this very well, and in today’s society this is a very common for both teenagers and for the elderly people. This book was good, not my favorite but it was a good book.
paola CHS said,
April 4, 2008 at 9:20 am
This book was very good, i recommend.
kaitlinshsdoerr4 said,
April 21, 2008 at 4:13 pm
1. I don’t think that there is any truth to Aston’s claim, if she had alzheimer’s she wouldn’t remember ”the girls”. I think it is all about the money because that is what he told Brit.
2. SIMILARITIES:
* They are alike by both thinking that they aren’t to old to do things(kidnapping).
* They are also alike by acting like nothing else matters but what they want to do(kidnapping).
* They are treated like every other person.
DIFFERENCES:
* Brit acts a little more mature than ”the girls”.
* Brit thinks alot about the laws,safety and problems while ”the girls” are more focused on what they want
3. I think it adds a little to the themes of the book because most of the chapters involve some technology . No, because it dosn’t single out the technology.
Victoria VHS said,
April 25, 2008 at 8:26 am
With Brit and the girls, some of the similarities are:
They’re treated like they’re incapible of doing anything
they are willing to do just about anything to get what they want *Kidnappping*
Differeces:
They have different views on what they think they can do
The girls just want to go to the reunion while brit is concerned about a whole lot more.
Angela EJSHS said,
May 20, 2008 at 8:02 pm
3. Technology (cell phones, downloads, computer hacking) plays a large role in the book. Do you think it adds or subtracts from the other themes of the book, and why? Will all of the specific technology references limit the book’s appeal in the long run?
Technology did play a huge role in the story “Hit the Road”, without the amount of technology that was used the whole book would have to have been rewritten. At the beginning of the story Britt is so very excited about getting her driver’s license; she is excited to get behind the wheel of the car. Her grandmother does eventually say that she can a little later. Through out the story Britt and her friends are text messaging each other or communicating by cell phone or what ever they need to do to keep in touch with on another. Britt does this mainly to give them the plan of what they were going to do. Then, there was the whole situation with the laptop. After Aston kidnaps Britt’s grandmother Britt grabs the laptop to see if there is anything for them to get any evidence or information as to where her grandmother had been taken to. Also, when she was driving and playing with her phone she almost go in to a car accident; this at that point in the story raised the tension to the extreme.
Do I think that the use of technology added or subtracted from the entire story? I can’t say that it really did either but, if I had to choose one of the two I would say that it added extremely. I would say this because, the use of the high tech devices is very easy to relate to the average teenager. Over sixty percent of teens have a cell phone and about ninety percent of teens in the United States have a computer. As you can see technology is very easy to relate to for teenagers these days and that is why I think that the use technology in this story is a good thing for writers to use in their stories. The only downside to all of this is that technology is a never ending advancement in today’s society so, this book can become easily “outdated” because, science has come out with some better thing than a cell phone or a laptop.