Big Rig

by Louise Hawes

Hitch a ride with eleven-year-old Hazmat and her dad in their eighteen-wheeler, Leonardo, for a feel-good road trip across America that keeps on trucking!

Life on the road with Daddy is as good as gets for Hazmat. Together, they’ve been taking jobs and crisscrossing the US for years. Now Daddy’s talking about putting down roots—somewhere Hazmat can go to a real school and make friends. Somewhere Daddy doesn’t have to mail-order textbooks about “nature’s promise to all women.” Somewhere Mom’s ashes can rest on a mantel and not on a dashboard.

While everything just keeps changing, sometimes in ways she can’t control, Hazmat isn’t ready to give up the freedom of long-distance hauling. Sure the road is filled with surprises, from plane crashes and robo trucks, to runaway hitchhikers and abandoned babies, but that all makes for great stories! So Hazmat hatches a plan to make sure Daddy’s dream never becomes a reality. Because there’s only one place Hazmat in the navigator’s seat, right next to Daddy, with the whole country flying by and each day different from the last.

Award-winning author Louise Hawes writes with an easy, conversational voice and an “I’ll never grow up” spirit that cheerfully thumbs its nose at traditional coming-of-age narratives. This heart-tugging, laugh-out-loud portrait of a father and daughter is a satisfying journey across modern America you won’t want to miss.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Road Trip, Family, Childrens, Audiobook, Adventure

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 9, 2022

About the author

I live in North Carolina, where time moves more slowly than it did in New York. That means my day can include writing, working with new writers, yoga, and hanging OUT with my sweet teacher, Mother Nature.

I have two grown children, both teachers. They are, deliciously and, to me always surprisingly, among my two best friends on the planet.

I'm a teacher as well as an author, serving proudly on the faculty at Vermont College of Fine Arts in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults Program, and at Mainely Writing, an intensive week-long writing retreat on the coast of you know which beautiful New England state.

What's new? A collaborative graphic novel, A FLIGHT OF ANGELS, comes out from Vertigo/DC Comics in November!

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to go on adventures across the U.S.A? Join Hazel and her dad in their 18-wheeler Leonardo as they roll along, “loaded up and trucking”!
Great coming-of-age story, with many interesting twists. Hazel started traveling with her father, an English teacher-turned-trucker, when she was four. He’s educated her all along the roads they’ve travelled, and she can’t imagine living a different life. Lately, though, it seems that her father has been dropping hints about possibly settling down, staying in one place. And Hazel will use any means necessary to make sure they don’t put down roots, but stay on the roads.
This is geared toward a middle-grade audience. However, there is some mild adult language to be aware of.

[Marjorie Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rollicking road trip, a home school in a semitruck, a bereft dad and daughter, a box of mom's ashes on the dash to talk to about girl stuff. Riveting, funny, moving, and fresh. I'm getting a copy for my grandaughter!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Give this to fans of books like The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart or the Kate Dicamillo's series with Raymie Nightingale, Louisiana's Way Home, and Beverly Right Here.

[Christine Indorf · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second time reading and I did enjoy this book a whole lot more. The ending is not believable but the rest of the book makes up for it. This book would be for your older middle grader because there is language and sexual talk. I still would recommend it!

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you've never learned about the realities of trucking in 2022, you'll probably enjoy this book more. In all honesty, as a historical fiction novel set in the 1970s, it would have been a better story.

[Amanda M (On The Middle Shelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure story featuring Hazel who is traveling the country with her trucker dad. She doesn't want to grow up or establish roots anywhere and is enjoying her time on the road. While this book did have some Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise vibes I found it a little chaotic at times and the story didn't captivate me as much as I would have hoped. Over all a good one though.

[Jami Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the characters, especially Hazmat, and the story. Truck drivers are a vital part of our society and I don't think they get enough respect. This cute take on a father/daughter trucking duo is the kind of tribute they need.

[mikayla mae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hazmat has been trucking since the age of four, with her father and their trusty truck. But now that she’s growing up, her father has been putting more emphasis on finding a place to settle down, where he doesn’t have to order their textbooks through the mail, where she can have her own room and make friends, and more importantly, her mother’s urn can rest on a mantle instead of the dashboard. But Hazmat isn’t ready to give up her dream life just yet. So she hatches a plan, and with the help of old friends, new memories and one adorable kitten, she’s determined to make her father change his mind.

I adored Big Rig, and I’ll be making everyone I know read this once it comes out. While it is middle grade, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hazmat is a character that I wish I had when I was younger, and I can’t wait to see the next generation of girls grow up with a character like her.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, PeachTree and the author for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Sharon Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a lot of heart. It keeps things interesting and moving constantly through various road trip adventures--plane crashes, runaways, abandoned babies, a sinking school bus--while dealing with themes of grief and growing up. The sheer amount of crazy events that happened in the book felt a little unrealistic for a realistic fiction, but it kept it exciting. I think it would appeal to kids who love both realistic fiction (particularly those who enjoyed The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise) as well as those who like adventure without fantasy elements. They do spend a bit of time discussing periods and vaguely implying talk of "S-E-X" (which is exactly how they refer to it in the book, spelling it out each time). It was super mild and nothing any girl who's been through 5th Grade Health wouldn't already have heard, but a good thing to be aware of when recommending this book to younger children or parents who would be concerned about that content.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big haul trucks. Most drivers dread getting behind them, or next to them, or having to pass them on the road. They're like the sharks of the interstate...big, powerful, and let's be honest, kinda scary. That will change for anyone who reads this book because Leonardo, Hazmat, and her dad welcome you into their close-knit and supportive world with open arms.

This book is a road trip adventure in the truest sense—readers will visit the Peabody Ducks, the St. Louis Arch, and a Hollywood movie set...but be warned, traffic will be the least of your worries as Hazmat gets into a bit of trouble as she tries to hold tight to the life on the road that she loves so much.

Hazel is a brave, smart, sweet girl on the cusp of a lot of change in both her home life and her body; Big Rig shares this coming of age transition in a unique and honest way. I'll never pass another semi and not think of these characters.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big Rig is a heartwarming and hilarious story of Hazel and her father and their adventures of trucking. The author balances the tricky subjects of growing up and fighting for your dreams with a great cast of characters and humor. Several times I found myself laughing over the antics of Hazel and wanting to comfort her in her moments of doubt. With so many adventures, chaos, and quirky side-trips, it was easy to get lost in the story.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The semi trucks that crisscross our country are a vital ingredient in our supply chain. We have truck drivers of varied stripes in our extended family, so I was very interested to read this juvenile fic title featuring a girl and her dad as long haul partners. Hazel (Hazmat) is every bit of eleven years old. She has loves kittens and horses and has dreams for her future. Her daddy drives the truck and homeschools Hazel on the road. Hazmat is their trusty navigator. I loved their partnership and the ways they kept the memory of Hazel's mother Glory alive while out on the road. Open this book and you will find truck stop tales, kitten rescuing, a harrowing escape from a school van, a cowboy boot fiasco, and so much more. As a kid in the 70's I loved the song "Convoy" and trucker movies like "Smokey and the Bandit." We would ride our bikes up and down the road pretending we were truckers talking to each other on our CB radios. Good times! This book brought back some happy memories.

[Ashley Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute!

It reminded me of one of my all-time favorite middle grade books, “Clean Getaway” by Nic Stone. Just a fun but emotional road trip between two family members, one adult and one child. Bonding and adventures and meeting new people and learning about each other.

Love it.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hazmat navigates for her trucker dad, who is also her home school instructor. Surprises await at every truck stop and around street corners in this warm coming-of-age story. It's chock full of heart - think kittens and kids needing rescue, and the choice between dreams and fame. I love this book! I'll be gifting it to my granddaughter and her big rig driving instructor dad!

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever wonder what life on the road as a long distance trucker would be like? Well then, catch a ride with 11-year-old Hazmat and her dad in their 18-wheeler, Leonardo, for a feel-good road trip across America. Author Hawes has written a novel where you will feel you are sitting high on the road, not a care in the world. Well almost…

Life on the road with Daddy is as good as gets for Hazel, trucker name, Hazmat. . Together, they’ve been taking jobs and crisscrossing the US for years. Mama died only a week after Hazel’s birth. Now Daddy’s talking about putting down roots. He feels it’s time Hazmat go to a real school and make friends her age, somewhere Mom’s ashes can rest on a mantel and not on a the dashboard of an eighteen wheeler. Her father is a former English Literature teacher and as a result Hazel’s education has not suffered. Her on the road education has actually been quite advanced.

Even as things change and Hazmat is coming of age, she isn’t ready to give up the freedom of long-distance hauling where the road is filled with surprises. In her short life she has had many unique experiences… plane crash rescues, robo trucks, runaway hitchhikers and abandoned babies to cite a few. This sounds like the basis for an exciting movie plot. On a long haul to Hollywood, Hazmat hatches a plan to make sure Daddy’s dream to settle down never becomes a reality. Because there’s only one place Hazmat belongs: in the navigator’s seat, right next to Daddy, with the whole country flying by and each day different from the last.

While not a fast paced, page turning novel, it is a heart-tugging, adventurous portrait of a father and daughter on a journey across America

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleven year old Hazel, aka ‘Hazmat,’ lives on a truck with her dad, who’s a big rig driver. She loves life on the road, seeing lots of the country, and homeschooling. The green box with her mother’s ashes accompanies them, and Hazel and her dad sometimes direct questions to that box when there’s a big decision to be made. Hazel dreams of one day driving her own rig, but talk of future self-driving robo-trucks starts to worry her. And, as readers see the many adventures and human connections that Hazel and her dad make while they’re on the road, it does seem like their way of life is worth preserving. They help a young runaway teen stay safe; they rescue a kitten from the side of the road; they find an abandoned baby in a box at a rest stop; and they rescue a full bus of kids with disabilities that are caught in a flooded parking lot.

This is a fascinating look at a truck-driving family – I’m not aware of any other recent middle grade novels that center the plot around life on the road. It’s also a nice look at a father/daughter relationship. Hazel is just at the age where she is starting to have secrets from her dad, and readers will enjoy the suspense of whether her secret efforts to promote trucking – posting a dance on ‘JimJam’ and writing a movie screenplay – will have an impact. The awkwardness around learning about “S.E.X” and menstruation will resonate with readers who do not have a mom. The family’s best friends, a Black couple, fill the void when they need a place to rest between jobs or another friend to talk to.

[Donna Metler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recieved an eARC of this book so I could read and review it.
Hazel, who goes by HazMat on the road, is a trucker, She’s grown up on the road with her dad, who started driving after her mother died, she’s been road-schooled, too. HazMat loves the road and their adventures, and is worried that her Dad feels she needs a more normal adolescence, with more regular friends, school, etc. What's more, HazMat is concerned about the future of trucking, and whether her dreams of having a truck of her own will ever come true with the rise of autonomous vehicles.

I loved this book. First of all, it's a slice of life that many kids have little or no experience with, but is necessary to our survival. It also models that careers outside of the traditional college path are vital and helpful. It is refreshing to see homeschooling portrayed without the whole focus being "kid goes back to school", and that HazMat is shown as actually getting an education. It is refreshing to see that HazMat's father changed his career midstream (from being an English professor to a trucker) and that this works for him and for his family. And I love that HazMat is a kid taking a non-traditional path of her own.

I think kids who love trucks and machines will enjoy this book, but I also think every kid who yearns for the road not taken will appreciate it, and I definitely think it's an awesome homeschooling book,

[Danielle Kohs · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A feel-good road trip.”

Big Rig has a unique storyline that caught my attention while scrolling through Netgalley looking at all the new releases for spring/summer 2022. It is a middle-grade book about an eleven-year-old girl Hazel (Hazmat) who lives with her father on an eighteen-wheeler truck. Her father drives for a living and together they’ve been traveling the US out of it since she was only four. Hazel lost her mother when she was a newborn, and she and her father bring her mother's urn with them on the road feeling as if she is there with them traveling as a family. The author was creative with her plot and characters. I have not read any middle-grade books, YA books, or even adult books that center around this idea. I think it's a fun read for any age and middle-grade readers will get a kick out of the humor and banter of Hazel and her father. The book is a good length for grade levels 3-7 at around 300 pages. It touches successfully on coming-of-age and how children can cope with the death of a parent.

Big Rig will be available on August 9th, 2022.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an early reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Sally Kruger]

I was truly excited about this book when I heard about it. It did not disappoint!

Hazel is better known by her "handle" Hazmat. She has been riding with her trucker father since she was four years old. Now at age eleven she is indispensable. She helps keep the record books and acts as navigator as they travel back and forth across the country.

There is a third passenger Hazel and her father often consult. She rides in a green marble box on the dash. The box contains the remains of Hazel's mother who died just after Hazel was born. Hazel lived with the Shields until she was four when she joined her father on the road. She has been homeschooled by her dad and together they frequently discuss decisions with that green marble box making it feel like her mother is still with them.

The adventures as the big rig Leonardo carries driver, passengers, and cargo are many. Runaways, an abandoned baby, dangers of a flash flood are just a few. Each adventure brings Hazel and her father closer as it solidifies that life on the road is better than any other.

Author Louise Hawes combines trucking, unique characters, and loving relationships to capture readers on page one. BIG RIG is on my top ten list for middle grade books of 2022,

[Katie Reilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author and publisher for sharing an early copy with #bookexpedition.

Told through Hazel’s (road name: Hazmat) point of view, this hilarious and heartwarming story takes readers on the adventures found in trucking life.
Hazmat and her dad have been hauling freight and crisscrossing the US for years. But now that Hazmat’s getting older, her dad’s been talking about finding someplace to put down roots - a place for her to go to public school and make real friends.

But Hazmat loves the freedom found in trucking life and isn’t ready to give it up. Their journeys are filled with surprises, such as plane crashes, runaway hitchhikers, abandoned babies, and a sinking school bus, and Hazmat’s convinced these adventures will make for great stories or even a movie!

With an amazing cast of supporting characters, this middle grade novel reminded me of Gemeinhart’s The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise.
Publishing August 9th!

[Lonna Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven year-old, Hazel (handle, Hazmat) and her long-haul trucker dad, former English professor (handle, Prof) drive together in a 1999 long-nose Peterbuilt 18-wheeler across the country. It's just the two of them since mom died a week after giving birth. Seven years and and over 560,000 miles later, we get a glimpse of their singular viewpoints in a remarkable travelogue. Their adventures, including a genuine flash flood rescue of special ed kids on a submerging school bus inspire Hazel to write a prospective movie script. Along the road, she learns her home-school lessons, but also finds wisdom in a black kitten, an abandoned baby, and loyal friends. Filled with many unusual yet unforgettable characters with heart, complexity, and relatability, this would make an enjoyable summer read.

[❁Zeynep❁ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5
••e-ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review••
A very unique and intriguing concept. I found this book to be just the right amount of middle grade that pretty much everyone can read, and enjoy joining Hazmat and her dad's many adventures on the roads. The sub-stories were all pretty interesting, and fun but also cover a variety of important topics and life lessons. Overall a very fun, adventurous, and enjoyable book definitely would recommend checking it out!

[Orinthia Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet story about Hazel (Hazmat) with her Dad. Their trucking journey is so fun. I can understand why Hazmat doesn't want a change. She used to live on the road since very young, so the idea to live in a real house and normal life doesn't interest her. It's a recommended middle-grade book!

Thank you, Netgalley and Peachtree for providing me this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Bryan Laprise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is unlike any book I've read. It opened my eyes to an important part of our society that people don't really know about. Although being a light read, anyone can learn from this book. The characters teach us important lessons in what it truly means to be a family, and most of all the true meaning of a hero. It isn't flying around saving people, but it's being someone who cares about people and does the best they can. Big Rig is well written and a book that can be enjoyed by all ages.

[Nita Ankrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book! I enjoyed the author's style of writing, as well as the way she portrayed the unconventional family life of Hazel and her dad. It also made me think a bit deeper about the effects of technology across the board.

[Dorothy Pensky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming and exciting!

[Ms. Nigeria Nigeria Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't imagine having to be a child going through all these trials and tribulations on an 18 wheeler. Geesh. But the infant being left behind had to be the saddest part other than her mother dying.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by the publisher

Hazel and her father have been on the road since she was four, traveling together as the father delivers cargo for his friend Mazen's trucking company. Because her mother died shortly after she was born, when Hazel was younger, she would stay with Mazen's wife Serena when her father, a former college English professor, was on the road, but now the two are a good team, listening to audiobooks, watching trucker movies at reststops, and working on a homeschool curriculum. They return to Mazen and Serena's between trips, and the father is thinking about giving up trucking and settling down to another job so that the pair can live in a house. Hazel, whose handle is Hazmat (even though they don't have a CB radio), thinks this is an awful idea, as she wants to grow up and drive a truck herself. The concern is that trucking is a dying career, with the advent of self driving trucks. Driving is always an adventure, and Hazel and her father make decisions together, consulting her mother's ashes, which they keep in a green marble box in the cab. After the two pick up a runaway, Willow, Hazel learns a bit about social media and newer movies than the ones she and her father watch, and comes up with the idea of writing The Great American Novel about life on the road. Willow is quite troubled, and tells them that she is running away because her father is abusive, but when the father tries to get her help from social services, she leaves them and gets a ride with someone else. While on the road, there are a number of exciting things that happen; the two find an abandoned baby at a truck stop whom they care for before turning over to the authorities, the rescue a kitten from a plane crash near the highway, even taking the cat into a hotel where there is a parade of ducks. This does not end particularly well. When Hazel is interested in film making (because she wants to turn her novel into a movie), her father adds the history of films to their curriculum. In Chicago, they try to find Charlie Chaplin's original studio, and get caught in a storm and have to rescue children from a bus from a special needs school that has gotten stuck in the downpour. They are even extras in a movie! There are smaller adventures as well, like repeated visits to favorite stops along their route, Hazel's foray into a unit on human reproduction that raises a lot of questions about periods, and exciting news from Mazen and Serena. When someone in Hollywood is interested in Hazel's story, but wants her and her father to consult on the film, which would mean settling down in California, will Hazel decide that fulfilling her dreams means leaving the road?
Strengths: As someone whose family took month long trips across the midwest with a travel trailer to visit friends and relatives, I loved this look at being on the road in a truck! Hazel's interest in trucking as a way of life lead to lots of interesting information being discussed, from how daily life is conducted on the road (showers in truck stops, how cabs are fitted out, even how cargo is unloaded) to the role of women in the trucking industry to the future of trucking with new technologies. Her relationship with her father is solid, and her homeschooling comes up frequently. It's great to see that while her father is sure to cover the basics, he does expand her curriculum when a topic of interest, such as the history of films, comes up. There are lots of adventures that are treated realistically, and Mazen and Serena are a nice foil, and show that Hazel does understand the kind of life her father wants for her, even if it's not one that she finds appealing. This is an especially good choice for readers who haven't had much experience travel and want some vicarious thrills, but also good for readers like me who have been many of these places and now just really, really need a bag of sour balls, a car bingo sheet, and a burger from the Carlock Diner in Carlock, Illinois, the only actual restaurant my family would stop at!
Weaknesses: If Hazel never met her mother and is still having such problems processing her grief, she and her father should probably get some counseling. I've read more books about children dealing with divorced or absent parents, which seems more realistic, but Big Rig was part of a recent batch of books that had not only long dead parents but also boxes of ashes. Just never my favorite, personally.
What I really think: Fans of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise Lang's Wrong Way Summer, Downing's When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie, Cavanaugh's When I Hit the Road, and Bradley's The Road to Wherever will enjoy this road trip book, which has the added bonus of being the only middle grade book I can think of that addresses long distance trucking as a way of life. Almost made me miss going out to western Iowa and stopping by the Iowa 80 truckstop.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Rig: three stars. Comparisons to the Coyote Sunrise books are very apt here, though Hazel/Hazmat's tale is a little more lighthearted (but not younger-feeling like I expected--there are multiple references to sex) and focuses on the long-haul trucking world.

It's also, to be honest, not quite as well-written as Coyote Sunrise. Or maybe it's an editing issue? The transitions between scenes are often a little abrupt/confusing, the motivations behind secondary characters' actions are not always well-explained, some plot threads seem to get dropped, and it's unclear whether we're meant to interpret the story as wholly realistic, or as having touches of fantasy. There are a variety of random events that should be given more weight and nuance but seem to be thrown into the book purely for drama/suspense rather than to contribute much to the themes or character development. (Particularly the melodramatic scene involving an imperiled group of disabled kids, which I disliked for multiple reasons--the kids seem to be in the narrative only to make Hazel look more competent in comparison, which feels rather exploitative, and the logistics of the rescue are not clearly explained at all!) There are also a couple of completely-unnecessary Harry Potter references (this is a book from 2022), and (a personal peeve of mine) overuse of a specific kind of grammatically-incorrect construction with the phrase "on account of"--I don't get why some authors get oddly attached to this specific type of sentence when trying to depict precocious kids.

But despite all that, I also have to say that I did enjoy reading this book. Even with the aspects that bothered me, Hazel's lively voice and the fast-paced, hard-to-predict plot were very engaging. When the story pauses the melodrama and breathes for a bit, it dips into interesting explorations of family, parenthood, and growing up. The adult characters are unusually well-developed for a kids' book, and the trucking details are genuinely fascinating.

So, not the most technically well-done book, but a fun upper-MG option which could unite readers of action-based books and those of emotion-driven tales.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This big-hearted, romanticized version of life on the road for a family of semi-truckers features a relatable heroine in eleven-year-old Hazel Sampson. Hazel--her trucking handle is Hazmat--has accompanied her father on his long hauls ever since she was four, and she loves just about everything about life on the road. Even though she hears talk about truck driving being taken over in the future by robots, Hazel still dreams of getting her commercial driving license and following in her father's footsteps. But lately, he's been talking more and more about getting off the road and settling down, maybe in North Carolina where his business partner, Mazen, and his wife Serena live. This is definitely not what Hazmat wants. After meeting a runaway with Hollywood dreams, Hazmat starts taking notes about their adventures in hopes of making a movie. There's plenty of material available to her as she and her father befriend that runaway, find an abandoned baby crying in a rest stop, rescue a kitten after a small plane crash, and save a flooded bus filled with youngsters with special needs. When they finally arrive in LA, Hazel has to make some hard choices. Fans of Coyote Sunrise will probably like this as may some readers fascinated by the trucking lifestyle. But for me, the story went on for too long, and I found it hard to believe that so many exciting things could happen to Hazel and her father on their runs. The fact that Hazel was being homeschooled by her father, a former college professor, and continued to talk to her deceased mother adds to the story's appeal, but there are many negatives to this way of making a living that aren't addressed. The book makes it seem as though every other mile offers exciting adventure when driving for those distances, especially repeatedly, gets quite tiresome. Still, points to the author for focusing on a very different way to grow up. There are abundant picture books featuring trucks but not so many chapter books about them or their passengers for older readers.