The book has a lot of action. AHS/CP

From the author of Inside Out ( a truly harrowing novel) this book, No Right Turn, looks at how suicide affects those who are left behind. In this case, it is 3 years since Jordan heard the gunshot that ended his father's life, and he has never spoken about it to anyone; prefering to becoming "invisible" to all those around him as he struggles to deal with the pain and the guilt and blame. His mother, however, has had counselling and has moved on to start dating a man called Doug, who's only endearing feature (as far as Jordan is concerned) is the fact that he owns a 1976 Corvette Stingray. Jordan is so obsessed with the car that he takes to "borrowing" it from Doug's gargage on the nights he is out of town, and hooning around the small American town he lives in. One night, he helps a girl who has broken down by the side of the road ; who is only one of the hottest cheerleaders at school no less; and he lets her believe that the Corvette is his own car. The more lies Jordan tells, the more tangled the web becomes until it all comes to a head.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Terry Trueman's books, so I won't waste time praising his virtues. Although come to think of it, he might appreciate that. Still, the story of sixteen-year old Jordan, the main character of NO RIGHT TURN, should hopefully be praise enough.

Suicide is never pretty. But when you're a teen, and the last thing your father says to you before he shoots himself is "it's all such bullshit," suicide becomes something bigger than a simple death. It's the thing you think about all the time, and yet never talk about. You wonder, almost constantly, why your father would apologize, then take himself out of your life forever. You wonder which part of life was bullshit--the fact that he was married to your mother?; that he had you as a son?; that his life was boring and predictable with a job and bills and a family to weigh him down?

Several years later, Jordan still doesn't have any answers. All he knows is that his dad is dead, and by his own hand, and that there's no joy in his life. Actually, Jordan doesn't have much of a life at all. All of that changes, though, when his mom starts dating Don Lugar, a guy who owns something that Jordan suddenly can't live without--a 1976 Corvette, a Stingray with a custom paint job, tinted windows, big tires, and a cool canister of nitrous that will really make that baby go.

The first time he goes for a ride in the 'Vette with Don, Jordan realizes that going 110 mph in that car is the first time in a very long while that he can remember feeling alive. The first time, in fact, that he doesn't feel like a walking zombie. So Jordan comes up with the brilliant idea of taking the 'Vette for a drive--by himself--one Wednesday night when Don is out of town. Just one time, one drive by himself, is all he needs to recapture that feeling of being part of the world.

But one time isn't enough, of course, and it doesn't help matters when he meets cheerleader Becka Thorson, one of the most popular girls in school, during one of his clandestine drives. Now the girl of his dreams thinks he's some cool guy with a custom 'Vette, and Jordan's desperate to keep up the image he's created. Once wasn't enough with the car, and he doesn't know what will have to happen to come clean to Becka--and to Don and his mother.

NO RIGHT TURN is another winer from Terry Trueman. Heartfelt, emotional, and full of true-to-life characters, this is a story for anyone who has ever felt like their world has been turned upside down--and for those who don't know how to put it back right-side-up. Definitely a recommended read. ( )

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In this forceful novel, a Michael L. Printz Honor author powerfully exposes the fragile and resilient spirit of a boy desperate for a lifeline to hold on to after his father commits suicide.