holidays suck
when there’s no one
to hang out with
don’t even ask
where my best mate Dave is –
it’s no place I can go.
Chris has lost his best mate, Dave, and it’s hard to feel good about anything. the only thing that cheers him up is his obsession with cars. When Josh Carter comes to town, and tells everyone his dad is a famous racing car driver, Chris finds renewed interest. But Josh is hiding something, and hanging out with Josh is more problematic than it ever was with Dave. Josh is a motormouth – and when he opens that mouth Chris finds it hard to know what to believe.
Motormouth is an easy to absorb verse novel about friendship, about truth and about healing. Chris is trying to cope with losing his bets mate in a car accident, and Josh has his own problems to deal with. Young readers will find the issues interesting but won’t be overwhelmed, with the verse novel format making them both accessible and digestible. there is much to be discussed here, making the novel great for classroom use, but as a story it is also wonderful or private reading.
Sherryl Clark is an outstanding verse novelist, and Motormouth is a perfect verse novel.
Motormouth, by Sherryl Clark
Puffin, 2010
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