The Car
by Gary Paulsen
Fourteen-year-old Terry Anders is a 1990s Huck Finn, with parents as neglectful as Pap. Like Huck, he escapes, not on a raft but by constructing a kit car. "Besides evoking a type of independence and tough-mindedness that will appeal to teens, this provocative novel introduces and explores some interesting philosophies of life while stressing the value of learning from experience."—Publishers Weekly