Roadside Attraction

Synopsis: Themes: Realistic Fiction, Rural, Responsibility, Mental Illness, Divorce, Teen Runaways, Teen, Young Adult, Emergent Reader, Chapter Book, Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo Books, Hi-Lo Solutions, High-Low Books, Hi-Low Books, ELL, EL, ESL, Struggling Learner, Struggling Reader, Special Education, SPED, Newcomers, Reading, Learning, Education, Educational, Educational Books. Logan’s grandparents own a store in the middle of nowhere. He’s devoted to them, even to the point of giving up his own dreams. Until one hitchhiker changes it all. Brooke. She’s young. Too young to be alone. As Logan watches, she shoplifts. After chasing her down, he realizes hitchhiking is the least of Brooke’s issues. Not knowing why, Logan is drawn to her. He insists on driving the young teen to her grandmother’s in Oklahoma. What begins as a road trip ends with life-altering realizations. About family. Obligations. Forgiveness. From the Great Plains to the borderlands to the Mississippi Delta, rural America is struggling. The population is shrinking. And the economy is shifting away from agriculture. Without a safety net, rural families struggle with depression, drug abuse, alcoholism, and other problems. Gravel Road Rural addresses the contemporary issues affecting rural America in an unflinching way.