Rules of the Road (Rules of the Road, #1) by Joan Bauer

Rules of the Road (Rules of the Road, #1) Reviews

• 
  Sarah

  This is the kind of book about women that the world needs, which is to say it is in no way chick-lit. The protagonist is an ugly-duckling teenager who loves to sell shoes and chaffeurs her 70-something boss around the midwestern and southern US. The majority of the book is spent with this teenage girl, who is anything but frivolous, and a hard-as-nails septuagenarian. There are a couple kind-hearted shoes salesmen and a drunken father, but these are just bit parts. At this book's heart is a story about business and ageism--romance is but briefly mentioned and brushed aside. These women are business-minded and empathetic in a way rarely seen in female characters. Both Jenna and Mrs. Gladstone show that women can be brutal businesswomen without being stone-cold bitches.
  
  Proof that not all books about females are about female concerns. Books about women can be, in fact, books about the world just the same way books about men are. If only more people would write books about women that weren't romances that perpetuate stereotypes.
  
  Updated to add: Passes the Bechdel Test, handily:
  http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php...
• 
  Jenna Marie ~Scheming Scribbler~

  Jenna is anything but a regular teen girl. She stands taller than most boys at 5'.11", she is obsessed with her job at a shoe store, she only has one friend, her father is an alcoholic, and her home life is spent trying to protect her younger sister. So, when Jenna is offered an anything but regular job to drive the owner of the shoe company she works for, Gladstone Shoe Stores, to Texas to stop her son from forcing her to retire, Jenna is eager to accept. She can finally escape the troubles of her life, and find new experiences on the road.
  
  The further she drives with old Ms. Gladstone, though, the more wrapped up Jenna becomes in the transfer of the shoe company. For the first time, Jenna begins to understand how to stand up for what is right, both on the road, in Texas, and perhaps even in her own home.
  
  Jenna started out as a kind of dorky characater, and I loved watching her turn into the strong, fearless girl the book ended with. I loved the author's attention to detail on the fine points of the shoe company, and the fight for quality rather than profits in the profit-oriented economy was on point. Watching Jenna learn how to deal with her alcoholic father and how to help him, and herself, was a fantastic sub plot, and it was written very well for a touchy topic.
  
  Those of you who know me, know that I'm not the biggest fan of travel books. However, I had high hopes for this book, considering the character has my name, and this book did not disappoint! One star taken away because the character's personalities didn't blend well with mine, but that is totally a preference thing. Definitely recommend as a quick, enjoyable read!
• 
  Lisa

  Jenna Boller, a 16 year old high school student, has a part-time job at Gladstone's Shoes. When her father comes to the store drunk to make one of his sporadic visits to her, she is afraid that she will be fired. On the contrary, it is the beginning of a journey of self-discovery that she will make with her boss.
  
  This YA novel is told with compassion and good humor and is a great primer for teens struggling with issues of co-dependency and low self-esteem. Even as an adult, I found the book enjoyable with good life lessons along the way.
• 
  Cheryl

  Jenna learns that she's more than her height, and learns how to cope with her alcoholic father, and Mrs. Gladstone learns some things too. Unfortunately, the details of the shoe business and the road trip read as if the author researched them at a distance; they don't feel authentic. And they're as key to the story as the characters, so that's a problem. Still, Bauer's always worth reading if you're into realistic MG and young YA.
  
  At least here there's no romance, much less triangle or choice! Definitely passes the Bechdel test!!
• 
  Katherine

  Best book ever!!! Highly recommend it - a new favorite!
• 
  ~~

  I thought that this is one of Bauer's best books yet! I love how she transforms what people consider a lowly job into something of interest.
  Jenna is normal, and one thing I love is that the author doesn't emphasize on what she looks like. She works at Gladstone's, a shoe store, where she is passionate about selling shoes. As the book went on I began to wish that I sold shoes too. Jenna has a sister, Faith, a witty mom, and an alcoholic dad. Her mom, Jenna, and Faith left her dad years ago, yet he comes back every now and then. He is always in worse shape than before, and Jenna is ashamed of him. Her sister Faith, still doesn't get why her dad can't stay away from alcohol, since she was too young to remember how bad her Dad was when he had something to drink. When Ms. Madeleine Gladstone offers her a job as a chauffeur to drive her to visit other Gladstone stores, Jenna decides to accept. She just wants to leave home, where her dad has decided to come back and stalk them some more. Her trip is one that changes her life, her view of Ms. Gladstone, and gives her the strength to face her father and save Gladstone stores from being sold to Ms. Gladstone's no good son, Elden.
• 
  Nikki Hendricks

  Not nearly as good as I hoped it would be. Can't figure out how this book won any awards. I have some students who chose this as the book they wanted to read next and so they are, but I doubt I will ever include it on a book list again. Characters are too weak and shallow and there were few if any notable passages that were uniquely written.
• 
  Amy

  I first read this about two years ago. It was just as good as I remember.
  
  The characters are interesting, witty and relatable. The dialogue is witty, believable, and hilarious. And I mean hilarious!! There are some definite laugh-out-loud moments, and with such strong characters with diverse personalities it was thoroughly enjoyable to read :D
  Also, there was plenty of wisdom and strong life-lessons in the book. I kinda felt that I grew along with Jenna in her journey.
  And I could easily relate to Jenna. I often feel ugly and self-conscious, and when I saw myself in some of her situations, I learnt from her actions.
  It was very well written.
• 
  Kelly

  4.25 stars—Once again, Joan Bauer does not disappoint. Alternately humorous and touching in all the right places, with beautifully stated and illustrated wisdom.
• 
  Karen

  I'm still on my nostalgia tour through my middle school reads. I think one of the reasons that I became a librarian is all the books I read in the summers when I was still too young for a summer job, aside from baby sitting. I loved the library, it was my haven and escape.
  
  Anyway, Rules of the Road was a great summer read when I first read it. Sixteen year old Jenna Boller works part-time in the Gladstone shoe store, and is a natural shoe salesperson, with great interpersonal instincts. She loves her job. Her family life is difficult because her father is an alcoholic, who refuses to change. When she is offered the job of driving Gladstone's owner, Madeline Gladstone for the summer, she jumps at the chance to escape her circumstances for a while.
  
  
  
• 
  Maria Copeland

  Recommended by a friend. A quick, fun read with some cute quirks and the occasional surprising twist. I loved Jenna's shoe-sense. Caution: her father is an alcoholic, and the impact of that is pretty clear, which is probably why this book is classed YA.
• 
  graclyn

  I absolutely loved this book! I found that parts of it were relatable in so many ways to things I have been through in my life, and even some of the things I’m still going through now.
  “So much sadness. So much pain. But remembering the good things — that’s what keeps anyone going.” - Rules of the Road ❤️
• 
  Hunter

  LOVED IT CANT WAIT TO CHECK OUT SEQUEL!
• 
  Pamela Myers

  This is one of of the trade books that we can read for our new curriculum. I LOVED THIS BOOK!
  One of my favorite quotes from it, “Now I see that it isn’t the problems along the way that make us or break us. It’s how we learn to stand and face them that makes the difference. “ ❤️ I’m all for classical literature, but we need literature to address what our sweet, resilient students are going through - I love stories that encourage students to push past their fears and be bold.
• 
  Sallie

  A charming and uplifting young adult novel.
• 
  Ellie

  3.75
  
  Nothing will ever beat Hope was Here, but this comes pretty close.
• 
  Heidi

  Solid 3.5/5 stars.
  
  I read this at some point with my mom and brother in elementary/middle school and remembered liking it. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it this time around. While it's got a lot of heart and touches on heavy topics, the author has a great sense of humor. I rarely laugh aloud at books, but this one had me giggling quite a bit. Fun, heartfelt, easy read. Also learned a lot about buying shoes.
• 
  Athornton

  I read this to help some of my students who are reading it. A good book that covers a variety of deep topics and focuses on the strength of people.
• 
  Ellie Grove

  This book made me feel pride in my tallness
  😝
• 
  Kira Nerys

  I've struggled to read throughout the pandemic. This was a breath of fresh air, much more about the importance of shoes than any lessons on highway driving, with a protagonist you rooted for with every mile she traveled. I loved her shoe-salesperson-centric philosophy about the world. The ending was perhaps a bit too optimistic for my cynical 2020 perspective, but I'm looking forward to returning to this book in a few years, just as I have with
  Hope Was Here for the past 15 years or so.
• 
  Dakota Smith

  Strong girl who overcame her past... and her treatment for the elderly was so nice. 👞👢👡👟🥾
• 
  Mookie

  I think Joan Bauer is one of the best YA authors out there. This book was tight. Great 80's vibe, cool characters, fun adventures, a heroine growing into herself while dealing with some dad issues. The only cringe moment I had was when she did a eulogy for a man she knew for a month. But there was something nice about this competent young woman working an interesting job in a well described cityscape. Also, the dialogue.
  
  "I held up my license and chirped out, "My passport to new worlds, Murray. Adventure. Romance. Freedom."
  
  "The romance dies, kid, the first time you're wedged between two Mack trucks at rush hour on the Eisenhower Expressway."
• 
  Madelyn Novosad

  This book taugh me about shoes, life, driving, and a little bit about being a stalkholder. It is about a girl named Jenna. She is a great shoe salesman, but she has no idea how to deal with her dad who is an alchoholic. When the president of Gladstone Shoe Stores, Mrs. Gladstone, invites her to be her chauffeur for the summer she agrees, mostly because her dad is in town and he is stalking Jenna and her sister, Faith.
  Jenna and Mrs. Gladstone visit all the Gladstone Stores in between Chicago and Texas. Jenna meets Harry Bender who teaches her how to deal with her dad. Jenna even wishes that Harry Bender were her dad, I think because he is the only father figure she's ever had. She meets Alice Lovett, a retired shoe model, who gives Jenna fashion tips which help her with her self esteem. As she passes a shop window she thinks, for the first time, now there is a pretty young woman. She even gets to be a spy for a while!
  Soon after Jenna meets him, Harry Bender dies. At the stockholders meeting Jenna makes a speech which convinces everyone to vote for Mrs. Gladstone to stay wth the new company. Mrs. Gladstone gains complete charge of quality control, and Jenna finally tells her dad how she feels about him being an alchoholic after reporting him for drunk driving. Jenna and her grandmother go on the picnic that Jenna promised they would go on.
  It was a nice story. I loved the fact that it was well written and you couldn't tell what was going to happen next. The way Jenna talks about it, being a shoe salesman actually sounds fun, and I caught myself imagining myself as a shoe salesman!
• 
  Melanie Dulaney

  Librarians and believers in bibliotherapy listen up--this is a book for that young lady who doubts that she has anything to offer to anyone, a teen who has a substance abusing parent, a young person that thinks money is the answer to everything and for anyone that could use a fabulous book that will grab their heart and give them a chance for a good cry! Jenna's story is all that and more as she struggles to deal with an almost always absent or drunk father, a single parent home, and now a cranky old woman who needs a driver and help fighting a corporate takeover. I loved this one and am now having trouble ranking Bauer's books because maybe this one needs to be my favorite, but that would mean moving Almost Home and Soar and Squashed and Sticks and so many other around on list of terrific "sad-happy heartbreakers" by author Joan Bauer. She truly is a master at creating fabulous lead characters with real life crises and teaching lessons to that character as well as to the reader who is likely to be fully invested in the story. I have already downloaded Jenna's second adventure, "Best Foot Forward" and can't wait to see what we all can learn from that one! This librarian recommends this book for readers of both genders in grades 6 and up and warns that tissue will be required in at least two scenes towards the book's conclusion.
• 
  Linda Lipko

  Dealing with the very tough topic of alcoholism and the way in which it impacts those in contact with the alcoholic, Bauer appears to know this topic well.
  
  As the oldest child of an alcoholic father, Jenna has learned the games involved, the lies, the deceit and the shame. She has learned all too well how to feel responsible and guilty. When her near do well father breezes into town drunk once again, she decides to take advantage of a unique opportunity.
  
  Working as a shoe sales person in Gladstone Shoes, when the owner and elderly Mrs. Gladstone requests that Jeanna drive her throughout the country to some of her shoe stores, Jenna gladly accepts the challenge of life on the road behind the wheel of a large Cadillac.
  
  Meeting a host of likeable characters who together work to defeat Mrs. Gladstone's slimy son who attempts to take over the company.
  
  When Jenna returns home, she is richer for the journey and is able to confront her father. Sadly, as is the case with some with addictions, daddy loves the bottle more than his family.
  
  Jenna learns to put a stop sign in front of the man who has harmed her and her father.
• 
  Christina

  This is a charming coming-of-age story. Jenna loves working at Gladstone Shoes. An unexpected visit from the elderly owner of the company lands her a chaeffuer job. While driving her elderly boss across the country, she finds the courage to stop running away from her own problems and maybe help solve some of Mrs. Gladstone's too.
  
  This was incredibly sweet, perhaps too sweet. There are moments where you must suspend your belief, but it ultimately proved to be a worthwhile read. I will admit that it took me a long time to get through this novel. It's not something I would normally pick up and took a while for me to get into, but overall it was really enjoyable and it hits varying emotional points. Bauer plays with some serious topics such as alcoholism and greed and manages to make them lighthearted and thoughtful at the same time. It's filled with fantastic female characters and a very interesting bond forms between Mrs. Gladstone and Jenna. I've also never thought selling shoes would be so meaningful, but I was drinking the Gladstone kool-aid early on in the book, just like Jenna. I would recommend this for young adult readers who enjoy clean realistic fiction.