In the Path of Falling Objects - Hardcover

Smith, Andrew

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312375581 ISBN 13: 9780312375584

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 2009

Synopsis

Jonah and his younger brother, Simon, are on their own. They set out to find what’s left of their family, carrying between them ten dollars, a backpack full of dirty clothes, a notebook, and a stack of letters from their brother, who is serving a tour in Vietnam. And soon into their journey, they have a ride. With a man and a beautiful girl who may be in love with Jonah. Or Simon. Or both of them.

 

The man is crazy. The girl is desperate. This violent ride is only just beginning. And it will leave the brothers taking cover from hard truths about loyalty, love, and survival that crash into their lives.

 

One more thing: The brothers have a gun. They’re going to need it.

 

About this title

About the Author

Andrew Smith is the author of Ghost Medicine and The Marbury Lens, both of which were named American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. In addition to writing, he teaches high school advanced placement classes and coaches rugby. He lives in Southern California with his family, in a rural location in the mountains.

Reviews

Jonah and his younger brother, Simon, have it pretty tough, and it’s about to get tougher. Their junkie dad’s in prison, their mom’s abandoned them, and their older brother is off fighting in Vietnam. The brothers hit the road and hitch a ride with Mitch, a sociopath, and his pregnant companion, Lilly. After an intense opening murder scene, the book only grows bloodier during the journey through the southwestern desert. The story unfolds from multiple viewpoints, including missives from the brother in Vietnam that become increasingly more unhinged. This counterpoint effectively mirrors the brothers’ increasingly violent and desperate plight, unable to either stop or get away from the lunatic at the wheel. Like all great psychopathic characters, Mitch steals the show for much of the story, but Smith also deftly layers in sibling dynamics that are both supportive and combative. A relentless, bleak thriller that nails the claustrophobic sense of being totally out of control, and moving fast. Grades 10-12. --Ian Chipman

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The car was a 1940 Lincoln Cabriolet, black and white with broad white-walled tires. Its top was down, and, as it neared, crunching and kicking back the dirt of the road, I saw a man at the wheel and a pretty yellow-haired girl sitting in the front, and there was also what appeared to be a third person sitting bolt-upright in the back seat.

It was as out-of-place in that desert as a sailboat would have been, and it was the kind of car you knew had to carry stories with it, but I had no intention of finding out what those stories told.

“Let’s start walking,” I said. “Just don’t even look at them.”

“We should ask them for a ride.”

“No.” I looked at Simon, then put my head down like I didn’t even know or care about that car coming up alongside us. I began walking forward, just looking at the ground, listening to our feet, the scattering sounds of tires on the gravel and dirt of the road.

I warned Simon again, “Don’t even look at them.”

So I just concentrated on not paying that car any attention. I could hear Simon following along, scooting his feet in the rocks and dirt. And it wasn’t until later, until it was too late for both of us, that I found out Simon was sticking a thumb out to beg a ride.

Edition details

• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312375581
• ISBN 13: 9780312375584
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336