Stranger on the Road
by Caroline Crane
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Book Summary Information
Author: Caroline CraneEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1971-10-12
ISBN: 0394821483
Number of pages: 180
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of Stranger on the Road
Book Review: Loved this book at age 12
Summary: 4 Stars
I loved this book when I was 12, and 13, and 14 and 15 in the mid-1970s. I would certainly recommend it to teenage girls, although it may be dated somewhat by now. I have learned my lesson about re-reading books I loved as a teenager.
The girl lives with her alcoholic mother in Pennsylvania...her (divorced) father lives in California and she hasn't seen him since she was very young. Here was an inconsistency in the book...if the mother was an alocholic, why did the father, who is portrayed as pretty nice guy, virtually abandon the child?
"Stranger on the Road" paints very well a picture of what it is like to be a 15-year-old-girl who has had no training from her mother on how to be a girl. At a party, she doesn't know how to flirt or dance. When face to face with her crush in his kitchen, her lack of social skills is obvious.
The girl is at a crossroads in her life where she can become a strong, independent young woman or follow her mother down the path of alcohol. She appears to be leaning toward strength. Finally disgusted with her and her mother's life; although she seems to exagerate things, as most teenagers do; she spends her summer vacation hitchhiking to California.
The book is half about her life in PA and half about her adventures on the road. I enjoyed it very much and related well to the character.
The ending seemed tacked on. It seemed like Crane didn't know how to end the book, so she picked the easiest one. That's why the book got four stars instead of five.
**SPOILER** The ending, however, didn't make much sense to me, even in the 1970s. When offered a chance for a better life with her father and step-mother in California, she turns it down to return to the alcoholic mother...who doesn't appear to want to overcome alcoholism.
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