From bestselling author Nancy Rue comes a YA contemporary novel that combines coming-of-age drama with a rom-com series of adventures as one girl deals with her complicated family and first love.

Jesse Hatcher is used to keeping everything together-from trying to manage her thoughts amidst her ADHD to helping her mom through bipolar "phases" and keeping the reality of the highs and lows-and their living situation-a secret. But when her supposedly dead father, Lou, appears and her mother becomes suicidal, her taped-together life comes undone.

Soon Jesse is placed in Lou's temporary custody, where she has everything but control. As she works her Dad-mandated job learning to make sushi with a chef intent on torturing her, she concocts a plan to get back to her real home. But then a cute boy named Rocky and the thrill of riding his motorcycle complicate things, and the book she found seems to have all the answers she doesn't want to hear. Torn between what her mom wants and a life she might actually enjoy, Jesse is forced to make a crazy decision.

Motorcycles, Burritos & One Strange Book:

• features a vibrant and witty protagonist dealing with the realities of a divided family and mental illness
• is a Christy award-winning novel that explores the ideas of self-worth and empowerment
• provides an inspirational message for those dealing with tough circumstances
• is the first book in the Real Life series

About the Author
Nancy Rue has written over 100 books for girls, is the editor of the Faithgirlz Bible, and is a popular speaker and radio guest with her expertise in tween and teen issues. She and husband, Jim, have raised a daughter of their own and now live in Tennessee.

Reviews
"Rue creates likable, believable characters who are coping with life's challenges." * Frances Bradburn, Booklist, June 1, 2010 *
"Rue takes a predictable arc - troubled girl is rescued by her reformed, born-again father and biblical truths - and freshens it with a hugely sympathetic protagonist-narrator, mostly genuine supporting characters and a well-realized setting (a St. Augustine motorcycle shop and environs) ... Here's hoping the next entry in this new series lives up to the standard set here." * Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2010 *
"When Jessie's long-lost father calls her out of the blue one day, she'd just as soon he vanish again, but finds herself stuck with him anyway when her bipolar mother attempts suicide. On the flight from Alabama to Florida she picks up a beat-up old book and despite herself---her ADHD has not helped to foster a love of reading---finds it has something to offer. So does her newfound dad, his bratty daughter and his crew of friends, including a sushi chef and his wife and an appealingly gap-toothed boy. Rue takes a predictable arc---troubled girl is resuced by her reformed, born-again father and biblical truths---and freshens it with a hugely sympathetic protagonist-narrator, mostly genuine supporting characters and a well-realized setting (a St. Augustine motorcycle shop and environs). The smart-mouthed "Real Life" book is both a Bible in teenspeak and a character "speaking" to Jesse and uncannily anticipating her needs. At the end, Jesse leaves it for another needy soul to find. Here's to hoping the next entry in this new series lives up to the standard set here." * Kirkus Reviews May 1, 2010 *


Awards
Winner of Christy Award 2011 (United States).



Book Information
ISBN 9780310714842
Author Nancy N. Rue
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint ZonderKidz
Publisher Zondervan
Weight(grams) 213g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 19mm