Module 7: Rules of the Road

Book cover image:

Book Summary Jenna expects to spend her summer selling shoes and hanging out at home, but finds her plans unexpectedly changed when the owner of her shoe store, Mrs. Gladstone, hires her to drive her around to all the different stores in the chain over the course of the summer. During the trip, Jenna lends her keen eye for selling shoes to evaluate the other stores and helps Mrs. Gladstone brainstorm ways to keep control of the shoe store chain out of the hands of her cheapskate son, Elden. Throughout the summer, Jenna learns a number of valuable lessons as she travels the country with Mrs. Gladstone, particularly when it comes to dealing with her alcoholic father.

APA Reference of the book: Bauer, J. (1998). Rules of the road. New York: Putman's

Impressions: This book was, interestingly enough, shelved in the adult section of my public library. However, I think it could fit in just as well in the teen section as the protagonist is a teenager, albeit a very adult-like one, and is dealing with issues some teens will be able to relate to, like having an alcoholic parent, or gaining some independence from home for the first time. Throughout the story, I could relate to the character of Jenna, and understand what she was feeling and thinking, even though I have not necessarily experienced her struggles myself. I also enjoyed her relationship with Mrs. Gladstone, and how she learned over time when to listen to what she had to say, and when to speak up for herself, or in some cases, for Mrs. Gladstone herself. Overall, I greatly enjoyed the book, and finished it almost in one sitting.

Professional Review: "YA comedy? You might have thought it an endangered species, but here's Joan Bauer with a fast and funny tale of one big-boned (and big-hearted) gal's summer of discovery on the road. Jenna, newly armed with a driver's license, thought she had her summer all worked out--until the imperious Mrs. Gladstone, owner of the national shoestore chain where Jenna works in Chicago, shows up and asks Jenna to be her driver. To Texas. And on the way, there will be a little spying, both on the other Gladstone's outlets and on the competition, for Mrs. Gladstone (think of Lou Grant's boss Mrs. Pynchon) is battling a merger engineered by her slimy son Elden. Jenna is a great shoe-seller ("Told her nonjudgmentally to think about clipping her big toenail so it wouldn't push against the shoe and ruin the fit") and an ebullient raconteur ("I love traveling and meeting new people. I met a retired couple from Canada who said that talking to me made them feel good about American teenagers. I said talking to them made me feel good about Canada, although I'd never had a reason not to"). Her badinage with Mrs. Gladstone recalls some of Richard Peck's spirited cross-generational dialogue, and the story runs as smoothly as Mrs. Gladstone's plush Cadillac. A subplot about Jenna's alcoholic father (and his counterpart, a bluff and hearty shoe salesman-cum-AA counselor) is a little heavy-handed but does not impede the pedal power; Jenna is a heroine who, along with providing a story with plenty of mileage, has some good shopping tips--don't buy another pair of shoes until you've heard her out."

Sutton, R. & Adams, L. (1998). [Review of Rules of the Road by J. Bauer]. Horn Book Magazine, 74(3), p. 339. Retrieved from: http://www.hbook.com/horn-book-magazine-2/

Library uses: This book could be used to discuss discovering independence with students or in a display of books about summer. It could also be used to discuss the issue of having an alcoholic parent.