Details

Length: 223
Story Build: Quick
Character development: Solid
Age Recommendation: 5th grade and up  
Reasoning: main character is in 7th grade 

Summary and Review

This book seems like an appropriate one to post about right now. As I sit and type this review, I am really exhausted from the intake of information from the news and social media. I am saddened by the current world and struggle with how best to address this with my students. So I continue to come back to the novels that I have read this year and the influence they have had on my kiddos and on my own life. 

Nic Stone’s latest is a prime example of a text that I have thought about lately (I read it and finished it a week or so ago). You know Nic Stone– she wrote Dear Martin, and her main character in that book struggled to understand how to live out Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideals in the modern world. Much like that novel, this one grapples with issues surrounding race; however, it is geared for the middle grades reader. 

In the book, the main character, William (AKA: Scoob), is on an RV adventure with his G’ma, basically his favorite person ever. Scoob essentially ran away from home after a fight with his father, so this trip came at the most opportune moment. However, Scoob isn’t quite sure what his G’ma is up to as she begins to hint at various mysteries over the course of their travels. 

The topic of race is at the heart of the novel for many reasons. For starters, Scoob is a black 7th grader who is traveling with his very white grandmother. They endure odd looks and questioning glances throughout the adventure. Secondly, G’ma and Scoob’s grandfather were a biracial couple, which was essentially taboo at the time of their budding relationship. Over the course of the novel, G’ma outlines, for Scoob, how their relationship was typically unheard of during those years. Finally, Stone also weaves in the Green Book and the safe places written in it for blacks to find safety during their travels in the US during that epoch. Scoob has his grandfather’s copy, which his G’ma gives to him after explaining that they are driving the route she once tried to do with G’pop. 

There’s also mystery. The reader and Scoob are mostly kept in the dark as to where G’ma is taking them and why they are on this trip in general. Furthermore, there are many questions surrounding G’pop’s imprisonment, which is where he died before Scoob or his father could ever meet him. Stone also throws some robbery and humor in for kicks! 

The novel is really perfect for middle grade readers, especially those in fifth and sixth grade. It also weaves in our country’s racist history for a young reader to grasp and understand, which is so vital, especially now. Stone brings up the themes of racism, biracial families, identity, forgiveness, and love into Clean Getaway, and I’m so glad Jason Reynolds convinced her to write for middle grades (see her Acknowledgments at the end!) because she is a voice we desperately need to continue writing for our youth.  

Celebrations

I really liked the illustrations that Stone had included in the text. They were cute and added lightness to the text. Furthermore, she added such suspense in the plot, which kept my attention and desire to find out what happened next. I also must applaud her inclusion of the history in her book. Incredibly informative.

Hesitations

 I really don’t have any… I just think everyone should read it.