Destroy All Cars: A Review
A quick, fun summer read for the occasional humanitarian.
Destroy All Cars is the latest book by Young Adult author Blake Nelson, known for publishing other novels, such as Girl and Paranoid Park. I picked up this book at the local library after having heard about his books from various sources. Though I haven’t read any of Blake’s other books, I was excited, because Destroy All Cars sounded like an interesting read. Though I was let down.
The story is told from the perspective of one James Hoff, and the main accounts are from his journal. Blake is very liberal all throughout the book, and the title comes from one of his essays (more of a rant) which he describes how little we are doing to really help the environment, and that we should destroy all cars in order to actually make a difference. Many times throughout the book it’s hard to take him seriously. He is a very whiny, teenage angst ridden boy, and his radical political views don’t help either. While his views do present a chuckle at times, they more or less correct. I remember one section in the book where he brought up the fact that such things as can food drives were only a “band-aid solution” to the real problem at hand. I considered this for a little while, and realized that to some extent, what he was saying was true.
Another main point of this book is his puppy love for one Sadie Kinell, another junior. He and Sadie dated, as she was another activist for green rights, and saving the Earth in general. Though they had quite a mutual break-up, James is hung up about it through the entire book. He does present some jealously for Will, her new boyfriend, and Jedediah, a freegan hellbent on letting people not waste their food. Though I was convinced that the statement that Jed was making was completely accurate, James is convinced that “we should be able to waste our food if we want to”, just like one Jill Kantor at his school newspaper. Though the love is an interesting plot mixer, the things he does to try and get Sadie back with him are a little extreme, such as volunteering for a Save the Wetlands petition in order to stop a local lake from being drained in order to build condominiums.
He also refuses his parents on one of their main points. They’d let him go to college, full ride, if he got a car. It seems like a win-win for James, but of course, him being anti-Consumer American (as he calls them in his journal, often times in capitals) he refuses his parents offer, and ends up riding around in other people’s cars.
In addition to the perspective of the journal being interesting, another liberty is taken in ways the story can be told. Many times throughout the book, the story is told through the papers he writes for his AP English course, and his teacher, Mr. Cogweillwer. The two do gradually become closer and closer as his essays gradually improve throughout the year, and he becomes one of the several signatures that James ends up getting for his Save the Wetlands campaign.
I’m not going to spoil many of the key parts of this book, as it does have some minor twists toward the end, but I will say that it definitely was a satisfying read. I’d check it out if you’re someone who feels the same way about the Earth as James does, or someone who just wants a nice quick, funny read over the summer. Let’s do a little run down:
Pros:
- The way the story is told is interesting.
- James’s beliefs do present a laugh every now and then.
- The problems that he has with his love life do become a central part of the story as the book goes on, and do become quite interesting.
Cons:
- Sometimes James’s belief about Consumer Americans are just too radical, and aren’t funny.
- The novel is quite short, rounding out at about 210 pages.
Overall:
I’d recommend this book to guys looking for a summer read. After this, I’m definitely going to check out more of Blake Nelson’s work.
Grade: A-
