The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys

by Scott William Carter

While bullies are beating up Charlie, his ex–best friend Jake pulls up in a bright red ’67 Mustang—the principal’s car—and tells him to get in. It’s a choice between a broken nose and the risk of a lifetime, and Charlie, a self-described straight-A student and grade-A geek, decides to take a chance. Now the two teens are on a mission to find Charlie’s absent father and avoid arrest for car theft. An eventful journey puts Charlie in the middle of a court case 1,000 miles from home. And in the courtroom, he will have to make the ultimate choice of his life.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult

202 pages, Hardcover

First published April 6, 2010

About the author

Scott William Carter’s first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut” and won an Oregon Book Award. Since then, he has published many books and short stories, his fiction spanning a wide variety of genres and styles. His book for younger readers, Wooden Bones, chronicles the untold story of Pinocchio and was singled out for praise by the Junior Library Guild. He is the author of the popular Garrison Gage mystery series set on the Oregon coast, as well as the provocative Myron Vale Investigations, about the private investigator in Portland, Oregon who works for both the living and the dead. He’s also the cartoonist behind the Run of the House comic strip.

If that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, in his “day job” life he works as an Instructional Designer and Digital Production & Publishing Specialist at Western Oregon University, where he manages the Digital Media Center and provides training and expertise to the campus community on a variety of topics, including Web page creation, digital video production, print-on-demand and ebook publishing, and many software applications related to publishing, distribution, and education in all its forms. He also teaches occasional classes for both the English department and the College of Education.

In past lives, he has been an academic technologist, a writing instructor, bookstore owner, the manager of a computer training company, and a ski instructor, though the most important job — and best – he’s ever had is being the father of his two children. He currently lives in Oregon with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Sam Mason]

Student Name: Sam Mason Date Submitted:
Book Title: The Last Great Getaway Lexile: 780


Personal Response: I think this is a good book. It has very funny moments and very serious ones. There is a lot of detail that went into writing this book. It was a fun read and wasn’t very hard to understand.

Plot Summary: Charlie is the main character and goes to a normal school living a normal everyday life. He is not very popular, but not really picked on. One day, he asks a popular kid’s girlfriend to a dance and was threatened to be killed by him. His ex-best friend from Elementary school comes in and helps him out. They end up on a road trip to find Charlie's dad.

Characterization: Charlie the main character, is a high school kid that was pretty average. His best friend from elementary school, Jake, is more of a slicked back sleazy type. They meet many other people along the way, some strange, some nice, and some full out bad.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to high school boys that don’t want a hard read, and like adventures. Some girls may enjoy it too, but a lot of it boys would relate to more. Some middle school-aged kids might enjoy as well.

[Nathan Togstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

** Spoiler alert ** The Last Great Getaway of the water balloon boys is a book about Charlie learning about how being smart is not the only thing that decides if you’re a loser or not. Charlie is not popular at all in his school. He doesn't even have any real friends. When Leo, a jock that never really liked Charlie in the first place, found that Charlie wrote to his girlfriend asking her to prom. Leo was going to beat the snot out of Charlie but Charlie has great luck. Jake, his old friend that broke his Gameboy, stole the principal’s mustang and Charlie got in the car with him. This is where the story begins.
They left town and picked up Jake's girlfriend and one of her friends. Then they raced Jake's Girlfriends ex and were chased by the cops. When they ran they found one of their friend’s old houses. That’s where Jake saw the portrait that Charlie drew for his dad. Charlie’s parents were divorced and the only time that he heard from his dad was over the phone on the holidays. Jake was convinced that they were going to Denver to see Charlie’s father.
Jake's girlfriend’s brother was going to drive them so they could get on the bus. They stopped at a house party where Charlie smokes marijuana. He called his mother after and within minutes the cops were after them again. They ran into town and got a hotel room. They met a girl next door that was going towards Denver. They got a ride with her. When they got there they saw in her diary that she was going to commit suicide, so they took her gun. They left and found her mother and patched things up between the girl and her mother.
They went to the train station and took a nap in the food court. Charlie had to use a bathroom and left his backpack with all the money that Jake had along ($5000). Someone stole the backpack and the train tickets that they bought. They only had enough money left for one ticket and Charlie took it.
He went to his dads and gave him the drawing. His dad didn't even care about the drawing. Charlie left while his dad was calling his mom and was surprised to find Jake. They were walking and saw a corvette in a garage. Jake broke into the house and was trying to find the keys. A man with lots of cocaine in his system ran down stairs and started beating on them. He was going to kill Jake and Charlie shot him with the gun they took from the girl.
Charlie was going to testify that Jake killed the guy. Jake told him to do it because he had a bright future. He confessed he killed him and got jail time. After 5 years they met again in college and Jake gave Charlie the Game Boy that he broke when they were little.
The only thing that Charlie knew at the beginning of the book is that nobody liked him. He thought that he would be further ahead in life because he was really smart and he could go to college. He had pity for himself because nobody liked him. He held a lot of grudges and anger. When he saw Jake for the first time he saw him as a loser. He didn't think that Jake was going anywhere in life. His view of people changes over the course of the book. He sees that Jake is a better person than him.
This book is great for teens of either gender that are wanting to do their own thing. They want to not do everything that their parents want them to do. I personally would not go as far as Charlie and Jake went, but the book does speak to you.
I liked this book a lot because the action was always there. There were no boring parts while they were riding the trains and buses. Some of the stuff they did in the book is going to the more extreme side of things; however, it does motivate you to making your own choices.

[Wes Flease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Response: I think this book was a very good book because it kept me interested the whole time. The book had lots of action in it, and I like action. I think this book was so good because the plot changed a lot so it kept my interest and I didn't get bored. I also liked that they kept adding and getting rid of characters I feel that makes the book more interesting. The author also had the main characters go through lots of struggles which I liked.

Plot Summary: This book was about a boy named Charlie who is having troubles at school. One day he is in trouble with another group of kids, but something happens that will change his life. The next thing you no Charlie and his old friend Jake are on the run in Mr. Harkins mustang. Little do they no that there lives are going to change a lot. The two boys meet other characters along the way that help them or sometimes get them into more trouble. In the end the boys find themselves in a bad situation and it doesn't end good for either of them.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a book that will keep them interested. I would recommend it to them because it has lots of action. It has lots of different characters so if you don't like some characters they keep adding more. There is also a big plot twist at the end of the book.

[Lupe Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Response
I enjoyed this book, not only because it was interesting but also because of all the cliffhangers it had in each chapter. It is a good book if you're interested in realistic type books. It has a lot of things going on that can happen in the real world. For example, the main character "Charlie" runs away in a car. Plot Summary
The book basically talks about Charlie running away and him facing a lot of people and doing things he's never done before. He steals his principal's car so he can run away. At the very ending he kills a person and Charlie's dad blames the murder on himself so Charlie can have a good future. Charlie and his dad then go to court and Charlie admits that he was the one who committed the murder. Overall this book is really good if you are into the realistic type books. I enjoyed it because this could happen in the real world.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to 9-12th graders because they might enjoy reading it more than middle schoolers would. I recommend them this book because they might be interested in realistic type books, because they might want to know things that have happened before. They might also be interested in reading some of these books because the books are interesting and have a lot of cliffhangers.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a single line in this book that made it a good book for me. The part where Charlie says 'I believe in waiting for marriage for that kind of thing' made him a hero in my eyes.

But other than that, this book was AWESOME!!! A bit of cussing, but it was great! The whole premise of the story was sweet, and I liked the girl who wanted to make out with Charlie, I can't remember her name at the moment, but she was funny.

[Codi Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review- “The Last Great Getaway Of The Water Balloon Boys”
By Codi Bryan


“The Last Great Getaway Of The Water Balloon Boys” By: Scott William Carter is about a student who is kind of nerdy. He really doesn’t have a lot going for him. He is not good at sports, doesn't fit in with the popular crowd, and he can’t really talk to girls, which is what gets him into more trouble than ever. He accidentally gives, Tessa Boone, a love note he wrote for her. There are two problems. One is that she is one of the prettiest girls in school and the other one is that her boyfriend is one of those kids that could snap Charlie Hill in half with his pinky. So he runs in to a tough situation, but just in the nick of time his long lost friend comes to the rescue and picks him up. The only problem is that the car he picked him up in was stolen; stolen from the principal of the school.

This book reminds me a lot of the world we live in today. I see this happening all time in everyday life. A nerdy kid tries to get with a hot girl and it turns out bad for that guy. The author makes it feel like I am in the setting following these characters around as they go through their journeys in the story. If I close my eyes I see it all in front of me from when he is getting beat up, to when they are running from the cops. The book takes place in a flashback. He is at a modern day high school in the beginning of the story but as the story progresses he travels across country to complete his “quest”, as they call it in the book.

Scott William Carter makes it all seem so real. I think it’s because it is something thing that could happen. It’s not just that the narration is so perfect. The way he uses the dialect and how he makes each character speak, the language is high school slang appropriate. They sound like real high school students and I love it. I like all the characters because I can connect to them on an age basis. The way the characters think and talk is the way I often do. It definitely changes the way I feel about the book in a positive way. If I don’t connect with the characters then the book won’t be as exciting to me. Charlie, the main character in this book, does something that he regrets, he looks back and then thinks about the opportunity he had to make a better decision but like me, he doesn’t. Jake, who is a friend of Charlie, is always trying to get Charlie to do something daring, to take a risk and to “live a little” he once told him.

I think the author is trying to get the message across that you need to do what is in your heart and you need to fulfill your passion , no matter how long you have to go to do it , or how hard the journey is going to be. I think the theme of the book is a human experience. He makes this clear as both of the main characters are on a “quest” and they have to go through crazy obstacles to get there. They go through everything from running so the police don’t see them to staying in a cheap motel. It reminds me of how you should never give up on your dreams and “A Dream Differed” is useless. The theme is very clear throughout the whole story.

I love this book. I think it is was very realistic and entertaining. I liked how the author used dialogue between the characters to show that, that was how they talked and the words they used. I also liked how when you think they are safe and good, something happens to mess it up and it excites you and makes you want to read on to see what happens. It’s like I never want to put down the book.

[Karen Keyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

“If you want to read a nice, happy little story where everything turns out all neat and tidy in the end, you should read some Hardy Boys or something, this isn’t that kind of story.” - Charlie Hill

Charlie and Jake were friends once, a long time ago. Back before both their lives changed, before divorces and everything that goes with them. They were BEST friends, in fact, when throwing water balloons at unsuspecting motorists was the height of entertainment, before Jake broke Charlie’s Game Boy and refused to admit it. Now that it matters anymore, because that was a long time ago, like I said. Now, in the second half of high school, it’s so long in the past that Charlie doesn’t even have to avoid Jake’s eyes in the hall and pretend they’re strangers. They ARE strangers. Which just makes what happened, what started it all, that much more surreal.

Charlie had pretty much resigned himself to the beating Leo Gonzalez was in the act of giving him when Jake pulled up in the stolen car - the classic, cherry-red ‘67 Mustang also known as Principal Harkin’s pride and joy. He probably could have done something else - given what happened in the end, he probably SHOULD have done something else - but at the time, it seemed to Charlie as if he had only two choices: jump in the stolen car and worry about the wrath of Principal Harkin later, or stay where he was and get beaten to a pulp right now. Charlie chose the car and that’s how it started. - the crazy, random road trip that ended in a courtroom, several states away. But to truly understand, to wrap your mind around all the things that went wrong, you really have to begin with that choice.

This is one of those unexpected, amazing novels that is impossible to describe without giving too much away. I don’t want to do that, because then you lose the chance to discover this book for yourself and you MUST read it. Although Scott William Carter is an accomplished short story writer, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys is his first published novel and it is stunning. If the classic American road trip is about looking at things differently, about appreciating what you discover and learning, growing and changing along the way, then this is a first-rate example. It’s heartbreaking in its honesty and breathtaking in its lyricism. Okay, I’m not saying anything else, just read it. Go on, shoo! Right to the bookstore or the library to pick it up. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

[Peter lok · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought this was an incredible book. it was about two guys, jake and charlie who take an adventure out to go give charlie's dad a drawing of him. while on this adventure, they go through many ups and downs. this was all because charlie had to decide from getting beat up or riding in a car stolen from the principle. my favorite part about this book was when jake and charlie became the water balloon boys again. before this, when they were in fourth grade, they were the best of friends and used to through water balloons at people and have much fun with each other. but they grew apart when jake said charlie's gameboy was broke when he returned back to him and said that he got it broken. my favorite part was when they wanted to have fun before they reached their destination. this was when they began bond. i liked this a part because i liked the thought getting back together with old friends and creating a greater friendship with that.
what i learned from this book was that people shouldn't wait for things to happen to them but instead make things happen. in this book, charlie was a guy who got straight a's and etc. he waited for things to happen to him until the day jake saved him from getting beat up and told charlie to get into the stolen car. he got in the car. in the end of the book charlie killed a guy and jake was willing to take the blame for it. this was when charlie had to make a choice, let jake take the blame or say he did it. this was when he changed from a straight A student to someone who made things happen. he didn't let jake take the blame and because of this he was able to get a fresh start from the life he have before. one with him being a trouble maker, smoker, and etc. also, when the book ended, the guys were still good friends and still the water balloon boys.

[Ryley Hofferber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlie is dealing with many problems. Charlie is angry that his mom decided to marry her new boyfriend. Charlie is also being bullied by a kid named Leo, because he asked his girlfriend to prom. After school he is about to get in a fight when Jake saves him. Jake is Charlie's ex-best friend. Jake drives up in the principal's car, and Charlie gets in. This brings nothing but more trouble Charlie's way. Now they are both on the run from the cops. Later they end up hitching a ride with some suicidal girl that they met on the side of the road. To make matters worse they end up killing a guy too. Charlie apparently pulled the trigger in self-defense. During this book Charlie and Jake regain trust in each other, and work on their friendship.

Charlie is a sensitive guy and is very artistic. He is known as a good guy who does not get into trouble often. If he is so "good", then why does he never leave Jake? Maybe deep down Charlie has a bad side.

Jake is a bad guy. He does drugs and smokes. He's known for getting a lot of girls too. Jake is a bad influence on Charlie.

I give this book three out of five stars. This book was very thrilling and entertaining. Although I liked this book, it was a little confusing at times. Sometimes there was too much going on at one time and I could not follow it. This book includes stories of dealing with troubled family situations. I would recommend this book to teenage guys. I don't think girls would enjoy this book as much. It just has all boy stuff in it.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great example of a three-star book. Not bad, not great, some good points, some flaws. In many ways, it suffers from being a buddy-road-trip story. This can be done in fresh and remarkable ways (see Adam Rapp's Punkzilla), but Carter offers up fairly usual, at times trite stuff.

To its credit, there are some good moments in the book. The opening is solid. The pace is fast and prose easy to read.

On the down side, there are many twists that I thought defied belief, so much so that I was looking for a "Sixth-Sense" sort of climax.

While the prose was easy to read, I kept stopping and groaning at lines like this one on p. 10, describing Jake, the 'bad boy' of the road-tripping duo: "He wasn't at school much, getting suspended for one reason or another. Smoking. Pulling Pranks. I heard he hung out at the pool hall downtown." OK, so maybe smoking is cliche characterization, but 'pool hall' was cliche - in the fifties.

Although there is mention of sex and drugs (not to mention the stealing of a car and the homicide revealed in the first opening paragraph) I will offer this to teens looking for a PG-13 read that isn't too demanding.

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie makes a HUGE mistake. He asks someone else’s girlfriend to the prom, now Leo is going to beat him senseless. He is rescued by Jake who spirits him away from school in the principal’s stolen car. This starts a chain of events that spiral out of control. Charlie can’t make himself break free from Jake, and he learns a lot about himself, Jake, and what it takes to grow up and be a friend.
I could not put this book down. It’s like watching a train wreck. Things just keep getting worse, you want Charlie to break free and STOP, but you always understand why Charlie makes the decisions he does. The ending is satisfying, but thankfully not “happily ever after”. I think teens will really like it, but….warning, there is plenty of profanity, and lots of “what NOT to do”. Charlie and Jake are not exactly role models.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite reads of the year. Forget the YA label, the character is young, but the interior monologue and dialogue are hysterical and the language realistic. Worth reading for the humor alone. Brisk pace shifts almost immediately into high gear and never lets up. Teachers and librarians will find this a good boy book.

I discovered this accidentally while looking for new suspense novels by Jack Nolte, which I strongly recommend for any John D. MacDonald/Travis McGee fan. Carter is now writing under his own name (Scott William Carter).

[Aaron Byers · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the positive side, this book has moving action, endearing themes and a touch of anti-establishment emotions. On the negatives side, this has casual drug use, property destruction, suicide (referred to) and murder. I'd let my older sons read this, but probably not my younger sons. I can see the author's desire to make it realistic, but the problem I see is it is too kid to adult and too adult to be kid. I liked it but I'd be very careful about recommending it to the general populace.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, yes, I do love me some good road trip lit., and this one's no exception--great writing...great story...great charactiers. An all around delightful debut. (And, I'm sensing a trend here -- so far my faves this year are all by untainted auhthors. Interesting...)

[Khalid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and it keeps you guessing and wondering whats going to happen next and what a ending and i won't give it away you will have to read it for yourself but overall a 5 star good read and definitly a for sure recomendation.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fast and enjoyable read. A little more serious than I expected at some points, but a worthwhile read.

[Jamison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good road trip story for guys.

[Carrieuoregon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this novel to go in one direction, but it went in a bold, different direction. Quite satisfying in the end.

[Jack Ji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with a great plot!