REVIEW for Destroy All Cars

A huge, huge thank you goes out to Nikole at Scholastic Books Canada for sending me this great book!

TITLE: Destroy all Cars

AUTHOR: Blake Nelson

GENRE: YA

RATING: 4 Stars

Okay, I had no idea what to expect with this book - except for the fact that I am a big fan of "no cars" as much as possible. Yes, this YA is about banning, or trying to, ban cars, but its alot more than that - its really the thoughts, emotions and (at times) somewhat slithly silly musings of a young man who seems to have lots of thoughts but a lot less willingness to put it all into action.

The book is a mixture of manifesto and journal entries, sprinkled with conversations and although I was a tad worried about the various formats merging well together, author Nelson does a great job of making it all seamless. What we end up getting is a funny, sometimes touching picture of a young man who has a cause and isn't afraid to rant about it.

However, the most interesting part of this book for me is the message behind the entries - which make me feel as though this book is about much more than just the obvious - but is rather of a young man who is insecure, unsure of himself and chooses to express himself in this somewhat odd manner. Although some might think this book is militant, it really isn't - because most of the entires are either funny or a tad sad and touching. I especially loved the entry about bowling - when James explains why he dropped the ball....."my ball holes were sticky".... loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.