The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle - by Christina Uss (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Selected for the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year

A determined 12-year-old girl bikes across the country to meet her idol. She's ready for an adventure-- but she can't imagine all the surprises in store.

Introverted Bicycle has lived most of her life at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C.-- and she likes it that way. But when her guardian, Sister Wanda, announces that Bicycle is going to attend a camp where she will learn to make friends, Bicycle says no way. Determined to prove she can make friends on her own, she sets off on her bike for San Francisco to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, certain he will be her first true friend.

Who knew that a ghost would haunt her handlebars and that she would have to contend with bike-hating dogs, a bike-loving horse, bike-crushing pigs, and a mysterious lady dressed in black. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, Bicycle discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems.

For more quirky middle-grade fun, don't miss Colossus of Roads, also by Christina Uss!

A Junior Library Guild Selection!

Review Quotes

★ "An extraordinary pilgrimage featuring several fantastical characters and an unforgettable adventure to boot."--Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

★ "'Pedal headfirst' into this terrific adventure."--Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ "The story elegantly blends elements of mystery, adventure, and fantasy."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

""Readers who enjoy action and adventure with a dose of magic will happily go along for the ride."--Booklist

"A heartfelt celebration of the zen of cycling and a sympathetic portrait of an atypical kid who struggles to learn the art of friendship." --The Horn Book

"[Uss] mixes realistic fiction with supernatural and farfetched fantastical elements."--School Library Journal

About the Author

Christina Uss has written about bicycling and travel for many magazines and newspapers. The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle was inspired in part by her own experiences while biking across the United States, once widthwise and once lengthwise. She is also the author of Colossus of Roads, a middle-grade featuring bicycle conspiracies, terrible traffic, and one carsick boy's grand plan to save his family business.