The Outside Groove

by Erik E. Esckilsen

Casey LaPlante wanted nothing to do with racecar driving.What was so impressive about making a bunch of left turns, one after another? But from what she had seen as the sister of Fliverton's newest... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618668543
• ISBN13: 9780618668540
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 10 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 7

Customer Reviews

The Outside Groove

On the surface, this well-written, fast paced book is about the amateur race car circuit. Beneath the surface is a story about family. High school senior Casey LaPlante is the younger sister of Wade "The Blade" LaPlante, an up and coming stock car star. Everything in Casey's family revolves around Wade, his racing and the opportunities to move into the big leagues. With all her parent's attention on Wade, Casey feels invisible. Her achievements and acceptance to the college of her choice are not even a blip on the family radar screen. Her announcement that she wants to enter a stock car race, just to see what it is like, is greeted with skepticism and ridicule by her father and brother. Readers quickly connect with Casey and her attempt to be known as more than Wade's sister. She is a strong minded, goal oriented girl in a man's world and she lets nothing, including the ridicule of other drivers and her father's attitude, stop her. She enlists the aid of Uncle Harvey, her father's estranged brother, to help her train. Readers who know nothing about motor sports will have a greater appreciation of the strategy involved in racing and the geometry and physics that drivers use to find an edge as they careen around the track. The descriptions of the races are exciting, authentic and put the reader in the front seat with Casey. As she begins to win races, Casey's successes may jeopardize Wade's chances to move up the circuit. Wade's realization of the importance of family at the end of the story seems manipulated, but it's something that Casey has known all along. This story is unusual in that it features an independent female character in a sport where women are in the minority and it has appeal for a wide variety of readers beyond the obvious NASCAR fans.