Deadly Drive [Hardcover]

David Patneaude (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005 | Grade Level: 6 and up

Nine years ago, a hit-and-run driver killed Casey's mother. Casey swears revenge if she ever finds out the driver's identity. Every year Casey receives an anonymous envelope full of money. Is it blood money--from her mother's killer?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8–Casey Wilde gets an envelope with cash every year around the time her mother was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The teen and her father have spent the last nine years trying to understand who is sending the money and why. As Casey turns 15, she gets a new neighbor, Autumn, who wants her to join her AAU basketball team. She also meets a man named Rex who seems helpful, but is he? Unfortunately, by the time the mystery is solved, readers won't care. The pacing of the book is odd and segues unconvincingly from basketball to the mystery to other plot threads. The writing is geared to a low reading level, but there is little in the way of suspense or action to entice reluctant readers. The basketball scenes are unconvincing, and anyone familiar with AAU ball will find the player rotation and games unrealistic. With two main plots that don't generate excitement, this will be a hard book to sell.–Amy Patrick, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. In classic sports-story fashion, Patneaude tucks subplots involving friendship issues and family tragedy around plenty of high-velocity basketball action. Nine years after her mother's death in a car accident, Casey is still recovering from her own injuries, but has blossomed into a star athlete while continuing to nurse revenge fantasies against the never-identified motorist. Fresh challenges arrive: Casey's best buddy, Lisa, turns standoffish even as a new friend nets Casey a tryout with a Seattle AAU team primed to go for the state championship. Readers will be pulled into the old mystery when new hints surface that someone close to Casey has been keeping secrets, but it's the hard-fought, well-described games, founded on clear demonstrations of the value of practice and teamwork, that will be the strongest draw. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807508446
• ISBN-13: 978-0807508442
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,425,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Patneaude finally heeded the advice, "It's never too late to have a happy childhood," and began writing seriously (more or less) in the mid 1980's. His first novel, SOMEONE WAS WATCHING, winner of South Dakota and Utah book awards, was published in 1993. His books have been placed on young readers' lists in more than thirty states and honored by the New York Public Library (THE LAST MAN'S REWARD), the Society of School Librarians International (FRAMED IN FIRE), the Winnetka (Illinois) Public Library's "One Book, Two Villages" program (THIN WOOD WALLS), and the Washington State Public Library (THIN WOOD WALLS). His newest book, EPITAPH ROAD, was published in March 2010. When he's not sitting in a coffee shop writing, or at a school or library or conference talking about writing, or out on the running trail thinking about writing, he's at home in Woodinville, Washington with his wife Judy, a junior high librarian.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A moving story of discovery and revenge, July 6, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadly Drive (Hardcover)

Casey is driven to succeed: not only on her new basketball team, but to find the hit-and-run driver who killed her mother nine years ago and changed their lives forever. Every year on the anniversary of her mother's death, someone sends Casey a valuable gift: can the perp be someone Casey loves? A moving story of discovery and revenge.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-level sports novel, June 2, 2006

By 

Kirby Larson "Write Sister" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadly Drive (Hardcover)

I love this strong girl jock character and her bewildering mystery -- who is sending those envelopes of money every year on the anniversary of her mother's tragic death? The action keeps you turning the pages and the characters stick with you long after you finish the book. This was a hit with my basketball playing nieces.