Clean Getaway~ Nic Stone

I am so thankful that my last read of 2020 was a hit. Clean Getaway is definitely getting a front-and-center spot on my bookshelves because I know students will love it. 

William (Scoob) Lamar was sick of how tough his dad was on him. Every little thing that went wrong was an excuse for Scoob’s dad to launch into a lecture, and it was getting really old. But when Scoob got into a fight at school, and was then caught helping some kids cheat on tests, his dad was furious. No one made him feel small and inadequate quite like his father.

So when Scoob’s G’ma randomly asked him to take an RV trip with her (and without asking his dad first), Scoob jumped on the chance. Sure, it was a little strange that his grandmother had just sold her home and bought a Winnebago without telling anyone first, but Scoob was desperate to get out of his house and off punishment. 

But very early on in the trip, Scoob notices that something (or many things) are off… His grandma is very vague about where they’re going and why, she keeps calling Scoob by his grandfather Jimmy’s name, and she often falls into random bouts of crying. To top it off, she won’t pick up any incoming phone calls from Scoob’s dad. Their stops through several southern states also prove to be less welcoming than Scoob expected. Was it because Scoob is black and his grandmother is white?  Suddenly, Scoob misses the structure and predictable routines of home… and even his dad. 

Buy it here!

Maturity: 1/4

This novel is ideal for age 10+. The novel doesn’t contain any mature content, but it does explore some of the sad history of African American rights (or lack thereof) in the United States. 

Pages: 223

Lexile: 780L

Lexile is a score that helps educators and parents match students with an appropriate text. A Lexile score is a measure of both a child’s reading ability and a text difficulty. However, Lexile does not take into account the content of a novel. So, pairing readers with a text is a complex process, and knowledge of a novel’s themes and plot is necessary to make a high-quality recommendation.

If you are curious about the grade-level equivalent to Lexile scores, check out the conversion chart here!

Happy Reading!

♥ Kara & Riley