Escape Velocity

by Robin Stevenson

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 for her to go while he recovers. Lou struggles to find her bearings and figure out why her mom left her all those years ago. She is convinced the answers are in Zoe's fiction, but when Lou's grandmother, Heather, appears at a reading, Lou realizes she may have misjudged her mother.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Robin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.

Reviews

[Lanora TM · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 starts to wonder how this odd woman could be connected to them. But she finds much more than just a simple answer, she finds her and her mother's past. It may be the one thing that can unite them.

Stevenson's work here is difficult to describe. You are drawn into the character of Lou who only feels that she really doesn't belong anywhere. But then she starts to realize there must be something more than the every day monotony she calls her life. How many other people seems to just be content with 'getting by'? The frame work of this book is beautifully laid out that each action seems to emphasis the growing relationship and mutual respect which begins to evolve between Lou and her mother, Zoe. I love the idea of simply implanting an anonymous, and odd person to trigger questions which never would have arose as the moved through their time together. The book covers developing mother/daughter relationships as well as reaching out for friendship. It also leaves the reader feeling connected and invested in the future of the characters. Even upon finishing the book, I felt I wanted to know how their lives progressed. The book also covers coming of age issues, and self discovery as well as acceptance. We can't always be the perfect person, or have the perfect parents, but we can learn what we can when we can and move on from there. Well done.

Other than some language this book is very clean. I would recommend this book for ages 13 and up.

[Hot Stuff for Cool People · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Escape Velocity’ by Robin Stevenson is a teen book about Lou, a girl who, after her father falls ill, must move in with her estranged mother. Her mother abandoned Lou when she was just a baby. Lou is incredibly nervous about having to stay with a woman she hardly knows, but hopes the opportunity will allow her to connect with or learn more about her mother.

There was very little, technically, wrong with the book. The writing was strong and clear. The storyline was quite well thought out, and everything was paced just right. I never felt either rushed or bored. The plot was interesting, and I was definitely entertained the entire time I was reading. I found that most of the characters were pretty well fleshed‐out as well.

The notable exception to the nice characterization was the main character, Lou. I felt like I didn’t really know her, aside from obvious things, and therefore never felt really connected to her. She’s upset and confused about her mom, who abandoned her, and worried about her dad, who’s sick. These are rather obvious feelings, nothing surprising. As for more personal feelings, her moods kind of flip throughout the book. At first she seems really happy with her father, then she starts listing a bunch of things that are not just semi‐wrong, but really uncomfortable. She seems to want to befriend Justine, but no heartfelt or honest connection is ever made there. She can’t stand that her mother abandoned her, but wonders why her mother doesn’t feel warm and fuzzy, in return, toward her own mother.

Overall, the book held my attention, but nothing about it reached out and grabbed me on a personal level. I never felt really connected to the characters or what they were going through. I liked it enough, and I love the beautiful cover, so I’m happy to have read it and have it on my shelf. But I probably won’t read it again.

[Jasmyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 live with the mother she hardly knows. Lou decides to make the best of the situation and tries to figure out why her mother left. She is convinced the answer will be found somewhere in her mother's writing, but the conclusion Lou draws is not a happy one.

Lou rubbed me the wrong way. The author seemed to be trying to make her optimistic and hopeful, but it just didn't seem to come across the pages right. She had few original ideas and it often seemed like she just didn't get it - any of it. The situation between her and her father seemed extremely unrealistic and I had a hard time relating to them. The strain between Lou and her mother really held the story together for me. With both of them trying to figure their lives and themselves out, they keep missing what really matters most in their relationship.

I saw most of the final twist coming, but it was a bit more dramatic than I anticipated. The book ended nicely for me - it left things open to continue in the imagination, but closed enough to give me resolution.

3/5

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was touching, and i could realate in many ways. Lou's, father has a heart attack, so she has to go live with her mother who left her as a baby. While she lives with her, she goes to meet her grandmother, who is crazy. She beleived that if she found out what happened between her and her mother, she would find out why her mother doesnt like her.

[Terri]

Tough story

I could totally relate to this story on so many levels. It is a good story for someone who grew up with an absent mother. This story reminds you that you are not alone and gives you a brief view of mental illness.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a family where Mom took off, leaving Dad and daughter behind. And how they reconnected, finding out that Mom had major issues with her own mother that she had never tried to heal.