Rules of the Road - by Joan Bauer (Paperback)

About the Book

Sixteen-year-old Jenna gets a job driving the elderly owner of a chain of successful shoe stores from Chicago to Texas to confront the son who is trying to force her to retire, and along the way Jenna hones her talents as a saleswoman and finds the strength to face her alcoholic father.

Book Synopsis

Meet Jenna Boller, star employee at Gladstone Shoe Store in Chicago. Standing a gawky 5'11'' at 16 years old, Jenna is the kind of girl most likely to stand out in the crowd for all the wrong reasons. But that doesn't stop Madeline Gladstone, the president of Gladstone's Shoes 176 outlets in 37 states, from hiring Jenna to drive her cross country in a last ditch effort to stop Elden Gladstone from taking over his mother's company and turning a quality business into a shop-and-schlock empire. Now Jenna Boller shoe salesperson is about to become a shoe-store spy as she joins her crusty old employer for an eye-opening adventure that will teach them both the rules of the road and the rules of life.

About the Author

Joan Bauer is the author of thirteen books for young readers. She received a Newbery Honor Medal for Hope Was Here, and the L.A. Times Book Prize forRules of the Road. The Christopher Award was given to both Hope was Here andClose to Famous, which also received the Schneider Family Book Award. Joan is the recipient of numerous state awards voted by readers.

School Library Journal says, "When it comes to creating strong, independent, and funny characters, Bauer is in a class by herself."

Joan Bauer lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at www.joanbauer.com.