Damage

by Robin Stevenson

It's an ordinary nightmare of a family trip until Theo realizes that the beautiful girl beside the hotel pool is his childhood babysitter—and his first crush. Theo hasn't seen Ronnie for five years, but when she invites him to go with her—and her toddler son, Zach—on a road trip, he leaps at the opportunity to ditch his parents and head to Hollywood. They've only gone a few miles before Theo begins to regret his impulsive decision. Zach cries nonstop, and when they get pulled over by the police, Ronnie is clearly terrified. She says her ex-boyfriend is a cop and that he is looking for her. Theo wants to trust her, but he suspects she is hiding something. And when they reach Los Angeles and she disappears, leaving him to look after Zach, he needs to find out the truth—and decide where his loyalties lie.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Canada

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

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

[Heather Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was rocky from start to finish. It was a strange book it started oddly and ended abruptly. It was weird how the author started the book with Theo in an argument with his parents and then end it with a resolution with his ex-babysitter, girl crush. This book wasn't relateable at all. I don't think anyone would just leave their parents out of the blue with their ex-babysitter who he hasn't seen since he was about 5 years old. No one does that. and no ones parents are that ok with it. Although this book was mainly downhill I did like some parts in it. Like when Theo was in the apartment waiting for Ronnie to return and he sneaks in her purse and talks to her babies father Max, and gets all the details on her secret crime.

[Hunter Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was so good you get so attached to a character named Theo. Theo leaves his family with his old babysitter that he loved. They get pulled over and then Ronnie who is the babysitter has a son named zach and there both crying and you think they did something horrible. They get to LA and meet up with ronnies friend whos a mess and they stay for a long time ronnie and theo make out. She then got upset and went partying and got drunk and didn't get home for along time this was very suspenseful. It didn't say what ronnie was doing or what she did so you got worried for the character.
Theo finds Ronnies phone and realizes the kid he was holding was kinda kidnapped Ronnie was the mom but the dad had custody so she took zach and ran. Ronnie figures out runs and then theo waits for the man to get his child and then the nock on the door made you sad as you thought you would never see zach or ronnie. IT WAS RONNIE she came back and said ''theo we do this together'' I LOVED this book i would read it again and again.

[Deisy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damage by Robin Stevenson is one of the best book that I have read even though it's really short, but it a great book. When I first started to read this book a lot of stuff was going through my mind. First, let me give you a little summary about it and then I would tell you to want I think about it, dislike, like, improved, and what life lesson I can learn. What I dislike about this book Damage was that Theo decided to go with Ronnie and that he knew her from a long time since Theo was little kids. That is what I dislike. Another side of the story what I like that he want to find his love but it didn't turn and that is how life is because what we want it never turn right.
What Damage by Robin Stevenson book can improve that tell the story with more detail and make it little long so I can enjoy it the little bit more. That would be a better and great book if it can be longer. Well, I learn a life lesson is that never chose something fast because you don't have time to think about, and you can just yes because you want to have fun but at the end, you don't know what would happen to your life. I would share this book with any teenager, so they can learn them a life lesson.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theo is on a road trip with his parents to visit his perfect older brother and his wife. Both his dad and brother are dentists and he believes they want him to be a dentist too. He is also having a hard time with his parents since his best friend was busted for selling pot. He doesn’t smoke pot but he’s having a hard time convincing his parents of this fact. He sees a beautiful girl at the motel pool who coincidentally turns out to be his former babysitter, Ronnie, his first crush. Theo impulsively agrees to go with her and her toddler son, Zach, to Hollywood. As they are traveling, Theo wonders what he got himself into when they are stopped by a cop and Ronnie tells him not to mention her or Zach’s name. Astute readers will figure out what Ronnie is running from but Theo takes a bit longer. This is meant for reluctant readers and the short length and reliance on dialogue may appeal to them but they may think the ending too pat and hokey.

[Amone Pendergrass]

Theo tried, but he couldn’t stop looking at the shockingly beautiful girl in the red bikini, and he found her to be so familiar. How did he know this girl? Theo realizes that this girl also has a young child named Zach. Who is this girl? Theo comes to realize that the girl was Ronnie, his old babysitter that he had a major crush on when he was a kid. In the novel, Damage by Robin Stevenson, Theo gets an opportunity to run away to Hollywood to pursue his dreams with Ronnie and her son Zach, but he barely knows her anymore. He jumped at the chance, even though he was leaving something behind; his parents. Theo originally came to the motel with his parents, and they were going to Santa Rosa to see his older brother, Darrell. Theo was the complete opposite of Darrell. At twenty-seven, Darrell had graduated from dentistry school, had gotten married, and had followed in his father’s footsteps to become a dentist. Theo’s parents always gave him a hard time about his friends, his future, and his attitude. The family’s conversations were always on edge, and something was always wrong with what Theo did. Ronnie asks him to go to Hollywood to pursue his own dream and not his father’s dream for Theo to become a dentist. Theo leaves with Ronnie, but he quickly realizes that she is hiding something. Throughout the novel, you follow Theo, Ronnie, and Zach to find out Ronnie’s past.
This novel was very enjoyable, and a very easy read. The book is very short, but it grabbed my attention. Although, the one thing I would change about the novel is the length. The novel was very pleasing, but it would have been more entertaining if it went on in the story. One of the main messages of the story was to face your demons. Ronnie was running from something for so long, and she was constantly under pressure. By the end of the novel, she realized she couldn’t run her whole life, so she stopped. Another message in the story was to not judge a book by its cover. Theo thinks, “Sure, Ronnie had been my babysitter-but that was six years ago, when she was an eleventh-grader. I knew nothing about this girl sitting behind me. She could be anyone. A car thief. Or worse, a drug dealer.” Theo didn’t know if Ronnie was dangerous or not, and he could have been risking his life. Theo took any opportunity to leave his parent’s after a big fight he had with them, but he didn’t know what was ahead of him. Ronnie seemed like she was an open book, but in reality, she was the complete opposite.
Damage is a very entertaining novel that I would recommend to anyone looking for a quick, adventurous read because it’s very exciting and hard to put down. The book was a bit short in my opinion, but overall it was an interesting novel for any young adult readers.

[Larry Williams Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book review
Damage

Larry williams
May 20th, 2019

In this book, a boy named Theo decides to run away and go on the road with his babysitter from like 10 yrs ago (Ronnie), because his parents are always harassing him about drugs and the people he hangs with. I personally think that is dumb. Y, like your parents are always going to be on you about things they’re worried about, but that doesn’t mean run off with people you barely know. But anyway, she gets him into a deeper situation with her son Zach, and then he finds out that she has been lying to him the whole time. and then Sshe drops him and her son off at her friend’s house then she just disappears for days. TheThen, then ending just leaves off on a cliffhanger.

I connected to this book because, like Theo, my mom is always on me about the people I hang out with. And also, when Theo has to take of Zach, it reminds me of when my mom makes me watch my little brother when she has to go to work. As far as connections to world goes, I think this book connects to the world when Theo finds out that Ronnie lied to him, because it shows that you shouldn’t run with people you don’t know that well because you never know what situation they’re in. This book also connects to the world when Theo is left to watch Zach, because it shows that life is hard and has a lot of responsibilities.

I would give this book a 3/5 because, despite me not agreeing with the choices some of the characters made, I still feel like the story line was interesting overall.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Orca Soundings consistently produces engaging novellas for reluctant teen readers. This is author Robin Stevenson’s fourth book for the series. Stevenson creates believable characters who face challenges to which her readers relate.

In “Damage,” Theo’s life is changed by a chance encounter by a hotel pool with Ronnie, his former babysitter and childhood crush. Theo has not seen Ronnie for years, but when she invites him on a road trip to Hollywood (along with her toddler son, Zach), Theo doesn’t hesitate to join her. He abandons his own family (on a road trip to visit his brother) without a thought about the consequences of his actions.

Theo soon regrets his impulsive choice. Ronnie is acting oddly and seems to be hiding a secret from Theo. Zach cries and cries. When the unlikely group reaches Los Angeles, Ronnie ditches the two boys and Zach needs to grow up quickly. Ronnie must care for Zach, discover the truth, and decide what course of action to choose.

Fast-paced action combined with an unpredictable plot result in a brief, satisfying story.

[Arianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the book Damaged. They never went off topic, and it was the type of book that i never wanted to stop reading it i just wanted to keep reading it until i was done. The details that were put into this story was amazing it really made the story come together. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone!

[Shawn Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tight little novella with a complex message. I really like Robin Stevenson's work. She shows depth, looks at issues, and does so with brevity. The theme of this one is that you have to face your problems, not run away from them.

[Kaleigh O'donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was okay and it was pretty easy to read. It is about a kid who is tired of getting lectures from his parents, and goes on a journey with a girl he thought was his first love. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys fiction and a quick and easy story.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this Orca Soundings novel for reluctant teen readers, Stevenson keeps the pace moving and the characters believable. Damage is vivid, unpredictable, and satisfying.