Summer on Wheels
- Author Gary Soto
- Narrator Anthony Perez
- Publisher Blackstone Publishing
- Run Time 2 hours and 59 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Children’s / Teenage fiction: Action and adventure stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: Family and home stories, Children’s / Teenage fiction: General fiction, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Boys and men, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Places and peoples, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Families and family members, Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Friends and friendships.
Titles Purchased
- 1-5
- 6-10
- 11-15
- 16-20
- Over 20
Price p/Title
- $13.95
- $12.95
- $11.95
- $10.95
- $9.95
Listen to a sample
What to expect
Hector and his amigo Mando are looking for adventure as they hit the road on a leisurely bike trip from their East LA neighborhood to the beach in Santa Monica during summer vacation.
They have just set out when the fun begins, as Hector literally stumbles into a starring role in a TV commercial. Then he turns out to be the one-millionth fan at a Dodger game—and is escorted to a private box and treated like a VIP! Before arriving at the beach, the boys record a rap song, paint a mural, and have a good laugh pretending to be wax figures at the Hollywood Wax Museum. But it's the people they encounter along the way who make the trip special—from nerdy cousin Bentley (whom they teach to be cool); to a girl who wants to be an Olympic star and lives in a Beverly Hills mansion complete with two tennis courts and three swimming pools; to Mando's streetwise cousin, Puppet.
In this sequel to the highly praised Crazy Weekend, popular author Gary Soto combines warmth and humor in a lively story of friendship and family.
Critics Review
-
“The two
Children's Literature
Mexican-American friends encounter interesting people on their excursion. The
story is spiced with a mixture of English and Spanish and peppered with humor.
Young teenagers will relate to the witty street-wise boys and their antics.” -
“Two
ALAN Review
thirteen-year-old amigos, first introduced in Gary Soto’s Crazy Weekend, have the mid-June doldrums. Hector persuades Mando
to join him on a bike trip from their East Los Angeles barrio to the Santa
Monica Beach. Hector’s plan is to pedal several miles a day and then stay over
each night with one of his various relatives who live along the way. A
disparate and colorful family unfolds as do many serendipitous adventures. In
the course of their trek, the boys encounter a spectrum of lifestyles and
occupations, plus a genuine brush with street danger. This is a humorous story,
warm, with a theme of family unity at its core, which middle-school and
junior-high students will enjoy…the occasional Spanish words and phrases lending
an authentic and lively cadence to the prose.” -
“Readers
Horn Book Guide
will wish they could go along on the boys’ adventurous ride. Soto’s story is an
engaging and entertaining light summer read.” -
“The plot
School Library Journal
is rollicking, with some dream-come-true aspects, touches of reality, and
humor, emphasized by the boys’ banter and enhanced by a sprinkling of Spanish
words and phrases. Soto’s descriptions make the journey vivid and, throughout
the boys’ scuffles and escapades, they maintain a deep respect for their
elders, a love of family, and a healthy curiosity about life.” -
“Their
Booklist
urban adventure is upbeat, told with a casual narrative and irreverent dialogue…The
combination of slapstick and affection draws you in (“Aunt Teresa warned
the boys that if they drowned she would be really mad at them”). Great for
reading aloud, the story captures the physicality of the boys’ experience…There’s
no great drama, but that’s precisely Soto’s strength: he embraces the ordinary,
messy connections of a happy home with ‘kids, parents, relatives, neighbors,
dogs and cats, even chickens nearly falling out of each open window.’” -
“Anthony
School Library Journal (audio review)
Perez does an excellent job with the narration, distinguishing the voices of
numerous characters and perfectly pronouncing Hispanic terms and slang. The
production quality is first rate in this exuberant tale of friendship and community.”
More from the same
Narrator
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