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Escape Velocity

by Robin Stevenson (Goodreads Author)

2.97 of 5 stars 2.97 · rating details · 30 ratings · 5 reviews

Lou's dad has been addicted to painkillers since an accident left him unable to work. He's a good, loving dad, but kind of useless. Lou's mother, Zoe, a successful novelist, abandoned Lou at birth and showed no interest in her until three years ago, when Lou was twelve. Their relationship since then has been strained, but when Lou's dad has a stroke, there is nowhere else...more

Paperback, 232 pages

Published October 1st 2011 by Orca Book Publishers

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Jan 22, 2012 Lanora TM rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, young-adult

Review is located here: http://onreading.tumblr.com/[return][... introduce Lou. Lou is a teenager living with her father. She is extremely unhappy about her entire existence, her job – social life – living situation and of course her father and mother. Her mother is an eccentric famous poet that felt raising a child wasn’t for her, so Lou was pushed on to her father were she has been exposed to drugs and alcohol growing up, until her father became sick and is now the general house care taker whe...more Review is located here: http://onreading.tumblr.com/[return][... introduce Lou. Lou is a teenager living with her father. She is extremely unhappy about her entire existence, her job – social life – living situation and of course her father and mother. Her mother is an eccentric famous poet that felt raising a child wasn’t for her, so Lou was pushed on to her father were she has been exposed to drugs and alcohol growing up, until her father became sick and is now the general house care taker where she cooks clean and works to provide for their tiny home. Lou’s father becomes worse when as he has a stroke and has to remain the hospital for an extended period of time. She is then forced to stay with her estranged mother. The story begins with Lou’s curiosity as she reads her mother’s newest book. [return][return]What I liked about the book[return][return]I enjoyed the author’s writing style a bit more than the actual story. Robin has a profound way of writing where I did not actually feel like I had to rush or slow down at some parts. I felt the author did an excellent job at keeping the set mood of the book. I also feel for some teens that this book would be easy to read due to this. It is easy NOT to miss anything in the book. I am known for skipping lengthy descriptions because the speed of them does not match my reading rhyme. I did not have that issue while reading Robin’s book at all. [return]Another thing that I enjoyed was the awkward social interactions between mother and daughter. I felt that it helped shape the difficulty that Lou was experiencing.[return][return]What I didn’t like[return][return]I did not like Lou. I do not think that is her fault that I didn’t like her, but I didn’t really feel anything for her. I didn’t care about her. I also felt that the situation with her father was expressed in a way where I felt sorry for him – that is until midway into the book Lou brings up the fact that her father’s best friend molested her. My thoughts – OMG – why wasn’t this brought up earlier? This would have allowed me to at least understand Lou a lot more. As someone who has been in difficult situations, I feel that there is always a back glass behind you where you are looking in. Bringing this information forward would have allowed me to understand Lou a lot more and why she felt it was so important to understand her mother.[return][return]Do I think teens will like it?[return][return]No, I don’t. I think teachers will like it and I think they will love the conversations that this book can bring up. I also think this book would be great for book clubs, as it is short enough to read over a few days and the style does not change enough for teens to want to feel that they have to skip parts. The buildup though is a bit dull and I think that some teens will have a lot of difficulty relating to this type of story.(less)

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Nov 30, 2011 Jasmyn9 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, arc, young-adult, contemporary, family, canada

Lou is a teenager living in Alberta with her father, and she's miserable. She has no life, no friends, and her father's deteriorating health and prescription drug addictions are driving her mad. Her mother, a famous poet and author, left minutes after she was born. They reconnected when she was a older, but things have happened since that makes it difficult for them to speak to each other. When the unthinkable happens and Lou's dad ends up in the hospital after a stroke, she is shipped off to li...more

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Sep 13, 2011 Shelley Daugherty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lou is fifteen and is basically in charge of taking care of her father who hurt his back in a work accident. Many times it is hard to tell who the real adult is. Due to unforeseen circumstances with her father's health, Lou must suddenly uproot and stay with her mother who abandoned her as a baby and she has little contact with. She only knows that she basically cramps her mother's style and can't wait to go back to her dad's. Then a mysterious woman appears at her mother's book reading and Lou...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Kara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, canada, contemporary, own, the-tough-stuff, young-adult

Blurb:

It’s the end of a long hot summer in Alberta’s Badlands, and fifteen year old Lou is dreaming of escape. Then an unexpected crisis turns her dream into reality and Lou is forced to leave Alberta and stay with the mother she has never known. Lou is overflowing with anger, hurt, and, most of all, unanswered questions. Why did her mother never want her? She is convinced the answers lie hidden in her mother’s novels, and is determined to find the truth… no matter what the cost.

Review:

You know...more Blurb:

It’s the end of a long hot summer in Alberta’s Badlands, and fifteen year old Lou is dreaming of escape. Then an unexpected crisis turns her dream into reality and Lou is forced to leave Alberta and stay with the mother she has never known. Lou is overflowing with anger, hurt, and, most of all, unanswered questions. Why did her mother never want her? She is convinced the answers lie hidden in her mother’s novels, and is determined to find the truth… no matter what the cost.

Review:

You know what? It's been a couple of days since I finished this book and I'm honestly having a hard time remembering anything about it. It might be because it's such a quick read and I finished it in a few hours and those types of books tend not to stick with you, but whatever the reason, I'm having a really hard time writing this review.

Here's what I do remember: I was extremely disappointed in the ending. We were given all the reasons why the mother took the actions that she did in leaving her newborn baby with the father, but I felt that she was let off the hook too easily. Just because your own parents treated you like crap does not give you a license to treat your own kids like crap. Break the cycle and be different. I had no sympathy for her situation and I think maybe that's why I liked the book less than I possibly should have. I'm not sure the author really knows what this situation is like because I find it hard to believe that the mother's behavior would be justified in this way.

The writing was good, perhaps a bit simple, but it was certainly easy to read. The characters could have been developed more, especially Lou. I didn't feel as connected to her as I could have. I just felt really sad for the characters. The book was depressing. There was little happiness to be found in these pages. Even the ending was bittersweet. Which is fine I guess, but I didn't really expect that from this book.

Bottom line: It was a decent read, but there are a lot better books out there. It was good, not great. And I do hope the publishers fix the exorbitant amount of typos in the published novel. This was an ARC, but I always worry about that. (less)

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Jun 10, 2012 Sunnie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned

Check out my review here: http://www.examiner.com/review/escape...

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May 19, 2013 Anna added it

Shelves: books-on-my-shelf

Mar 16, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mar 06, 2013 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jan 27, 2013 Micaela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Jan 12, 2013 Michelle marked it as to-read

Nov 09, 2012 Jocelyn marked it as to-read

Nov 08, 2012 Jessie rated it 2 of 5 stars

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Oct 17, 2012 Morgan Forry rated it 5 of 5 stars

Oct 15, 2012 Paleyellowstar rated it 3 of 5 stars

Oct 12, 2012 Hall Library added it

Shelves: new-books-general-october, new-books-general, new-books-ya

Aug 25, 2012 Zoe rated it 2 of 5 stars

Aug 17, 2012 Hammu rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: one-alone

Aug 14, 2012 Shannon Hughes marked it as to-read

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Jul 20, 2012 Brenda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jul 15, 2012 Andrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Jun 18, 2012 Katrina rated it 1 of 5 stars

May 24, 2012 Leah marked it as to-read

Shelves: young-adult

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May 15, 2012 Jenny Watson marked it as to-read

May 04, 2012 Jasmine rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Apr 08, 2012 Alia' rated it 2 of 5 stars

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About Robin Stevenson

Robin Stevenson is a Canadian author of thirteen novels for teens and children. She grew up in Ontario and now lives in Victoria, BC, with her partner and son.

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