Destroy All Cars by Blake Nelson
I’m starting to think that getting a young adult book published is a pretty easy task. There seems to a pretty specific formula. Start with a youth (that’s pretty obvious), perhaps a teen, who is either ostracized for one reason or another or has a dysfunctional family. Give said teen a best friend. Maybe throw in a sibling, younger or older, doesn’t really matter. Introduce said teen’s love interest, past, present or future. Mix in a bit of a teacher, some homework and an extra curricular activity in there. Establish something for the youth to either complicate before resolving or rebel against. Wrap it all up and throw a bow around it.
Clearly what I’m driving at is the fact that Destroy All Cars is pretty formulaic. That doesn’t mean it’s bad but it also doesn’t mean it’s astonishingly good. Each of the above elements of the formula are evident in the story.
Fortunately there was one facet of this story which set it apart from the others. Although the main character James seemed like a bit of a misanthrope to me, he has a dogma which almost lets me give him the benefit of the doubt. You see, as the title of the book clearly states, James hates cars and wants to see them all destroyed. Why? Well, he recognizes the harm that they do to the environment and therefore wants to rid the planet of em. His main of way of expressing this thought is through his high school English papers wherein he repeatedly writes of his dislike for the car driving populace. It’s a pretty idealistic view for a teenager and a somewhat relevant one given our current circumstances, I mean, I think we all know what we’re doing to the planet. But honestly, the odds of me giving up my 4×4 aren’t very likely. At least I can say that I don’t really drive it very often. Whatever you do though, do not call James an “activist” cause that would put him in same category of do gooders as his ex-girlfriend.
See what I’ve just done? In a single paragraph I managed to give you nearly each of those elements I presented to you minus one or two. I only left the others out cause I really couldn’t find a good way to incorporate them into the paragraph, and it’s 9am and I don’t feel like trying.
I do want to take the time to thank James for justifying and making me feel better for my reluctance to go to an “organic” salad bar at lunch. Everyday that I don’t bring lunch to work I head to Focaccia on Sacramento to get a salad. Well, just the other day I was told that I should instead be going to Mixt Greens because their foods are organic. Well, to that I say, no thank you. I mean, I like organic but it’s not worth it for me to spend an extra $5 or $6 to get the same exact thing that tastes identical. Back to the point, James has no qualms presenting the fact that “organic salad bars are not going to refreeze the North Pole.” Therefore I deduce that going to Focaccia is just fine.
Lastly, although it really has nothing to do with the book at all I thought I had to throw this in here. James lets you and I know that Sadie Kinnel, his ex-girlfriend (the activist), is thought of as “the solution,” thanks to all her activism. Well, while perusing the interweb the other day I came across someone else who has been deemed “the solution.” Have a look for yourself, I would start at the 1:20 mark unless you want to watch and listen to these morons spew up extra garbage (sorry, there is an ad):
Yep, that pretty much says it all.
