Novella Review: Deadly Drive

Deadly Drive

By: Justine Fontes

Published By: Lerner Classroom

Publication Date: May 1, 2013

Page Count: 103

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via NetGalley

Audience: Young Adult - Contemporary

I read this in pretty much a single sitting; at 108 pages, it wasn't long and it was engaging enough to keep my flipping those pages along. Deadly Drive is the story of an afternoon of fun which turns into a nightmare when a group of friends cut class and get involved in drink-driving. Rob, Gabi, Adam and Vera just plan on going to hang out in the woods and make out a bit, but things spiral when the guys bring some alcohol to get the girls "warmed up", pressure to conform and be cool end up with a series of bad choices that results in someone dying.

There are plenty of really sound messages within this short story; the obvious ones being the importance of seat belts and not driving drunk. I also liked the examination of the consequences for the people involved in the crash.  There is a very vivid description of the dead person, another character has to cope with a custodial sentence, and someone else faces a long hard physical recovery from the crash. Friendships are realigned and lessons learned. I don't have many more things to say really as I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the events in Deadly Drive, but I found the style very easy to read and the story was unlike any I have read recently so it felt pretty fresh. It reads like every parent's worst nightmare and, for that reason, might be just the thing to gift to young drivers out there! It would make a good assigned reader for a driver's ed class too. 

Summary:

Everything can change in an instant. Rob Ramirez thinks he's in love. Gabi Montoya is beautiful, smart, and maybe a little wild. But when Rob and Gabi skip out of school with two friends, the group makes a terrible mistake. Rob and his friends end up in a deadly accident, and suddenly Rob's world has changed. The girl of his dreams is even blaming him for what happened. Will Rob be able to deal with the pain?