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freybrarian 's review for:
Notes from the Midnight Driver
by Jordan Sonnenblick
(My reviews are intended for my own info as a language arts teacher: they serve as notes and reflections for teaching and recommending to students. Therefore, spoilers may be present but will be hidden.)
SUMMARY: I was in between rating Notes from the Midnight Driver a 3 or 4 but ended up with a 'like' minus the 'really' for a few reasons I'll detail. In Notes, Jordan Sonnenblick starts right in the action with protagonist Alex Gregory getting plowed and plowing into (pardon the pun) a neighbor's yard in his mom's car. His original intention, fueled by liquid courage, had been to disrupt his dad's date with his third grade teacher. Of course, the plan backfires and he ends up being sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the form of visiting nursing home resident, Sol Lewis.
Sol is, at first anyway, as derisive as Alex is sarcastic, and the two don't get along. He particularly enjoys playing pranks on fellow nursing home attendants and Alex, and insulting anyone within earshot in Yiddish. As could be predicted, however, the sixteen-year-old boy and old man start to look forward to Alex's visits. They bond over music; Alex plays guitar in his school's jazz band and Sol had been a semi-famous guitar player. Sol enjoys giving Alex relationship advice when Alex brings in his best friend, Laurie.
Character development and growth are Sonnenblick's strengths, and readers can see Alex realistically beginning to take responsibility for his earlier actions and pursuing his guitar playing more seriously. Sol, too, has a softer side that becomes increasingly visible as the book goes along. He tells Alex the sad story of his poor relationship with his daughter, and Alex both realizes that his actions have probably hurt his parents and that drunk driving can have some pretty tragic consequences. In the end,
For some reason, the book had a slow start for me. Arguably, the beginning contains the most action and suspense, but I enjoyed the character building much more. It also took me awhile to appreciate Alex's character. He was sometimes too witty to be believable or likable (I pictured Sonnenblick assembling some of his students' best zingers). But...at times he is downright funny. My biggest problem with the book is the treatment of Alex's parents' relationship. With jokes, they gloss right over how their divorce might impact their son. Even worse, Alex is the only one doing any apologizing! I have little to no experience with divorce, other than what I hear from my friends or students, but this seems totally unrealistic AND a real missed opportunity for Sonnenblick. On the flip side, I think the dangers of drunk driving were dealt with in the right way.
READABILITY: I think most of my male and female students would really like this one. The lexile is something like 930, but it would be an easy, quick read for most readers. Students would absolutely need to be familiar with sarcasm, and how to recognize this verbal irony in text, though.
SUMMARY: I was in between rating Notes from the Midnight Driver a 3 or 4 but ended up with a 'like' minus the 'really' for a few reasons I'll detail. In Notes, Jordan Sonnenblick starts right in the action with protagonist Alex Gregory getting plowed and plowing into (pardon the pun) a neighbor's yard in his mom's car. His original intention, fueled by liquid courage, had been to disrupt his dad's date with his third grade teacher. Of course, the plan backfires and he ends up being sentenced to 100 hours of community service in the form of visiting nursing home resident, Sol Lewis.
Sol is, at first anyway, as derisive as Alex is sarcastic, and the two don't get along. He particularly enjoys playing pranks on fellow nursing home attendants and Alex, and insulting anyone within earshot in Yiddish. As could be predicted, however, the sixteen-year-old boy and old man start to look forward to Alex's visits. They bond over music; Alex plays guitar in his school's jazz band and Sol had been a semi-famous guitar player. Sol enjoys giving Alex relationship advice when Alex brings in his best friend, Laurie.
Character development and growth are Sonnenblick's strengths, and readers can see Alex realistically beginning to take responsibility for his earlier actions and pursuing his guitar playing more seriously.
Spoiler
He plans and plays a concert for the nursing home residents with Steven and Annette (characters from Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie).Spoiler
Sol's daughter re-enters his life (the judge in Alex's case - good twist, Sonnenblick!) and he is surrounded by people who care about him when his emphysema finally gets the best of him. A very sad ending, but the right one.For some reason, the book had a slow start for me. Arguably, the beginning contains the most action and suspense, but I enjoyed the character building much more. It also took me awhile to appreciate Alex's character. He was sometimes too witty to be believable or likable (I pictured Sonnenblick assembling some of his students' best zingers). But...at times he is downright funny. My biggest problem with the book is the treatment of Alex's parents' relationship. With jokes, they gloss right over how their divorce
Spoiler
and later rekindlingREADABILITY: I think most of my male and female students would really like this one. The lexile is something like 930, but it would be an easy, quick read for most readers. Students would absolutely need to be familiar with sarcasm, and how to recognize this verbal irony in text, though.