I remember reading this book back in high school or junior high along with some of Felsen's other hot rod novels. At the time I thought it was really an action-packed story about a young man and his hot rod and how he was able to drive better and faster than anyone else in the small town he lived in. I didn't remember a whole lot more about the book but I came to find out that Felsen wrote it specifically to emphasize to young readers the dangers of driving. The book was first published in 1950 (the year I was born) and apparently at that time there were no driver's training classes taught in high school. After WWII a lot of young people turned to cars and souping them up as hot rods to get the thrill of racing down the highway at high speeds. This was also prevalent in the movies of the time such as Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean. Hot Rod tells the story of Bud Crayne who works in a garage and lives for his souped up car that he built from pieces of other cars. Crayne was idolized by the young people in the town and bragged that he could drive to Trenton in a half hour. This was a thrill ride in the novel and one of its highlights. But this idolization also led to tragedy for some of the other young people in town as they tried to outdo Bud. The local highway patrol and school were trying to get kids to drive safely and to get drivers education taught in the school. But would they succeed and would Bud succumb to their wishes and learn to drive responsibly?
I didn't really remember the safety issues that were emphasized in the novel from when I first read this. But it really is a good book for young drivers to read to show what can happen from reckless driving. I enjoyed this second reading and the driving part was still thrilling after all these years. I wasn't really into auto mechanics in high school â probably because I didn't own a car. But I did take drivers ed when I was 15 and I remember some of the films shown during the class showing the results of dangerous and irresponsible driving. This was really a nostalgic read for me.
I didn't really remember the safety issues that were emphasized in the novel from when I first read this. But it really is a good book for young drivers to read to show what can happen from reckless driving. I enjoyed this second reading and the driving part was still thrilling after all these years. I wasn't really into auto mechanics in high school â probably because I didn't own a car. But I did take drivers ed when I was 15 and I remember some of the films shown during the class showing the results of dangerous and irresponsible driving. This was really a nostalgic read for me.
