Notes From The Midnight Driver

Alex Gregory is upset the night his mother, recently seperated from his dad, goes out on a first date. His choice? He gets drunk on a bottle of his dad's old vodka, hops in a car, and starts to drive to his dad's new house to try and catch him with his new romantic interest-- one of Alex's elementary school teachers. However, Alex only gets halfway down the block before he decapitates a yard gnome and runs into a tree. He's ordered to serve community service at a nursing home by 'hanging out' with the meanest old curmudgeon on the planet, Leo. Alex bemoans his fate, but eventually comes to like the old man-- and winds up learning a lot about life in the process. Despite the serious nature of the topic, this is one of the funniest books show more I read in 2007. Sonnenblick's first person narrative in Alex's voice is well-paced and laugh-out-loud funny. This is a book I'm highly recommending to my high school students; it was in my top 10 for 2007. show less

I enjoyed this book better than Drums, Girls, and Dangerous, but the highlight was the very end like the first book from Sonnenblick. I find teenage boys insufferable, but once they learn to be considerate, they're alright. Like the first, I'm sure I'm not the intended audience (i am no longer in middle/high school, and I am not a know it all boy), but this was pretty alright. There are some dated words in this book, though, which threw me for a bit of a loop.

After drinking what is left of his absent father's liquor, stealing and crashing his mother's car in the process of which he beheads a garden gnome, Alex Gregory is sentenced to community service at the local nursing home so he can learn some “valuable life lessons.” He winds up having to spend time with cranky Sol Lewis, who is suffering from emphysema but has a very interesting and surprising past, which will help Alex with his own guitar playing. The notes of the title come into play when in addition to his community service, Alex is required to write letters to the judge about his progress with Sol. During the course of the book, Alex discovers he has growing feelings for his best friend since childhood, Laurie, a “terrifying show more goth pixie” who practices karate and Chinese hand-weapon combat. He is unsure if she feels the same way about him, but know-it-all Sol makes them a couple by calling her Mrs. While some of Alex's life lessons and plot resolutions are a bit predictable and unrealistic, this touching, funny book is fast-paced and enjoyable. show less

Alex Gregory has made a huge mistake. During one night of desperate anger at his parents' divorce, he drunkenly crashes his dad's new car into a neighbor's lawn, decapitating her lawn gnome. As punishment, Alex is assigned to do community service at a nursing home. In particular, he's assigned to spend time with the King of Crotchety Old Men, Solomon Lewis. At first, Alex hates Sol more than he can adequately express, but his pleas to be reassigned are diverted and Alex slowly comes to realize that there's more to the old man than meets the eye. Throw in some guitar playing, a possible crush on his best (girl) friend, and a cameo by some of the characters from Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and you have yourself one hell of a novel. show more

Laugh out loud funny and utterly heartbreaking (sometimes at the same time), I loved this second novel by Jordan Sonnenblick. It's got a slightly different tone than his first book and I think it's aimed at a slightly older audience. I was literally laughing out loud in the lunchroom at work. And I was literally reaching for the tissues when I finished it at home. Highly recommended. show less

While his mother is out on a first date, 16-year-old Alex decides to get drunk, steal her car, and drive to his father's home, hoping to catch him romancing one of Alex's former teachers. His goal? Revenge. Reality? A damaged car, a decapitated gnome, a drunk driving charge, and community service. He is ordered to serve his 100 hours visiting Solomon Lewis, the meanest, crankiest resident at Egbert P. Johnson Memorial Home for the Aged. Alex discovers that Solomon is also witty, intelligent, and a fighter--an old man who has lived all the joys, sorrows, and regrets of a long life. Sonnenblick has created a memorable cast of characters: acerbic Sol, a former famous jazz guitarist who is now dying of emphysema; narrator Alex, a budding show more guitarist with a tendency to make excuses rather than assume responsibility; and Alex's best friend Laurie, a tiny, pixielike karate master whom Sol refers to as Alex's "wife." Even minor characters, such as Alex's parents and the judge, take on a heft and weight uncommon in YA literature, and teens will easily connect with Alex's epiphanies: "You can't just throw someone out of your life when they displease you," and, "We're all free to choose some people to love, and then do it." It all adds up to a funny, bittersweet tour de force. Category: Books for Older Readers--Fiction. 2006, Scholastic, $16.99. Starred Review show less

It rarely happens, but every so often I start reading a book and realize on the first page that this is a book I am really going to enjoy. This is one of those books.

Alex is a 16-year-old who is angry at his parents for splitting up. So he decides to shake them up a little by driving to his father's house and telling him off. Unfortunately, Alex has also been drinking and ends up beheading a neighbors lawn gnome.

Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of service at a senior center where he is assigned to their toughest resident, Sol Lewis, a wise-cracking, hard-as-nails man who completely confuses Alex by calling him names in Yiddish. Slowly and realistically, Alex and Sol begin to bond through their guitar playing and humor.

The writing in show more this book is zingy, sparkling and energizing. It is pure pleasure to read the wry observations of Alex that play off of Sol's insults. The adults, from Sol to the nurses to Alex's parents, are well-drawn and fleshed out. The novel speaks to the power of music, forgiveness of family members, and the forging of new connections. But it is not heavyhanded because of the infectious humor. There is no sex in the novel and the only violence comes from a beheading of a lawn ornament and Alex's best friend Laurie's anger at a headboard. Teens with a sense of humor, and that is most of them, will enjoy this book.

Readers are sometimes warned to have a tissue ready, but in this case make sure you are reading where you can laugh out loud. This one makes it on to my top five of the year. Solidly. show less

When Alex drives drunk in a crazed daze to visit and annoy his dad while his mother is on her first date, he runs over a garden lawn and is sentenced to do 100 hours of time with an old man. Then he starts seeing his best friend in a different way, has to get ready for a concert with his guitar, and put up with his parents, even though they live in different houses. How much can one person take at a time?
I loved the format of this book, how the characters reacted to each other, and the ironic comicalness to it. I also liked how the author incorporated music into the book.