From Publishers Weekly
The humorous, self-deprecating voice of 16-year-old narrator Martin ("Marty") J. Miller strongly propels Wyss's (Here at the Scenic-Vu Motel) novel. His mother's remarriage to Mr. Joe Wonderful in Seattle forces Marty to move from his beloved Winnemucca, Nev. But after she leaves on a three-month honeymoon and his stringy-haired stepbrother Burgess, also 16, throws his belongings out of the second-floor window, Marty runs away. Marty's trusty Jeep runs low on gas in Red Rock, Idaho, so he takes a job at a burger joint and enrolls in school. The title refers to Marty's realization that "No matter where I found myself in the cities of the world New York City, Istanbul, Athens, Seattle, or Red Rock I would always be just ten miles from Winnemucca in my heart." His comic take on events keeps things on an even keel, despite impending starvation, poverty and a chorus of critters in his illegal camp (e.g., when he is out of money and has nowhere to sleep, he says, "On the outside I was normal But on the inside I was Help Wanted"; "trust fund" makes his list of "additional necessities"). After his solo journey, the ending may be a bit of a letdown, but Marty's quirky take on life and his boundless resourcefulness will keep readers entertained. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Martin J. Miller, 16, had no complaints about his life in Winnemucca, NV, until his mother's remarriage to wealthy Mr. Joe Wonderful of Seattle brings unwelcome change. The couple leaves for a European honeymoon, and in short order Martin's belongings are jettisoned from the second-story window of Joe's house by his stringy-haired new stepbrother and his cronies. Martin loads his beloved red Jeep with his bike and belongings and hauls off down the road until hunger and a nearly empty gas tank land him in Red Rock, ID, a place as good as any other. Demonstrating fair ingenuity, he soon enrolls in school, secures a job slinging burgers, and lives in his Jeep, which he secrets on a back-canyon road. His unlikely new life includes a covey of little critters at his campsite as well as an unsolicited girlfriend, Diantha Dragon, a vision in black whose freewheeling style both repels and attracts him. But for all his success in achieving a marginal existence, thoughts of what and where home truly is tug at Martin, and he ultimately decides to return to Seattle. This is a pleasing, well-paced story with a sympathetic, resilient protagonist who has considerable reader appeal.
Sylvia V. Meisner, Greensboro Montessori School, NC Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
