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Chasing Tail Lights Frequently Asked Questions
about Chasing Tail Lights |
Patrick's Books: Chasing Tail Lights Comment from myspace: I just finished Chasing Tail Lights. And it's forever burnt into my heart. I am going to get as many people as I can to read it because I think everyone should stop and fall into it. It's my favorite book and I think I died a little when I read the end... I learned that the word "Innocence" is just a word. And this book helped me understand even more that you can have the courage to give up or live, and it when it comes down to it, living is our only real choice. Thanks so much for writing this book. peace. Booklist review: "Since her father’s death and her oldest brother Robert’s imprisonment, 17-year-old Christy has lived in fear of her brother Ryan’s anger and leering advances, which her overwhelmed, alcoholic mother refuses to acknowledge. Her only escape is the book that a teacher, Ms. Chapman, recommends and her surprising friendship with privileged, equally angry Anne. Jones has tackled a lot in this gutsy, difficult-to-read,difficult-to-put-down novel of drugs, poverty, and violence. Writing in Christy’s first-person voice that alternates between past and present, Jones paints Flint, Michigan’s dismal hopelessness and its struggling inhabitants without reverting to stereotype. The sexual violence is implied, rather than explicitly detailed, but Christy’s terror is palpably clear. Hope and courage surface in unexpected people— Christy’s teacher Ms. Chapman, her friends Glen and Terrell, and her young niece—and in unexpected places: the public library, Anne’s PT Cruiser, and even prison. Gritty and authentic, Jones’ novel is a challenging portrait of a teen trying to come to terms with shocking brutality and the ultimate family betrayals."  Before he died, Christy’s daddy used to
say that when you feel lost, follow the tail lights of
the truck in front of you, and they’ll get you somewhere safe. Christy keeps chasing those tail lights, but somehow, she’s always still lost in Patrick Jones revisits his hometown of
Flint, Michigan and the darkness that have overtaken this impoverished city
in a novel that reveals the chilling reality about growing up on the wrong
side of the tracks in America today. Published by Walker Books for Young Readers “When
you feel like nobody from nowhere and you have nothing left to lose, when you
get pushed too hard against the wall, sometimes something bad happens.
Christy gets pushed too far and too hard. You'll
never forget this ending.” - Gail
Giles, award-winning author of Dead Girls Don't Write Letters, Playing in
Traffic, and What Happened to Cass McBride. “This
is a brave novel which makes an
important contribution to the young adult literature of abuse. Patrick Jones has created a believable and
likable character in Christy, the type of teen who is underrepresented in
young-adult literature, but well-represented
in our nation's classrooms. With deft prose, he takes the reader on the roller coaster
ride of Christy's senior year, hurtling
toward a surprising and satisfying ending.” - Alex
Flinn, award-winning author of Nothing to Lose, Breaking Point, and
Breathing Underwater. Playlist for Chasing Tail Lights When writing Chasing Tail Lights, I
listened to about twenty songs by three artists: Tracy Chapman, John Mellencamp, and – of
course – Bruce Springsteen. While
unlike in Nailed, the chapters and songs don’t match
up, this is the soundtrack for Chasing Tail Lights.
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