Notes From The Midnight Driver

The pictures are horrible. The book was published in the 80's.

There are much, much better books on idioms:
Tedd Arnold- Parts, More Parts, Even More Parts
Super Silly Sayings That Are Over Your Head, Catherine Snodgrass
There’s a Frog In My Throat, Loreen Leedy
Idioms for Kids series, Drorit Metuki
Scholastic Dictionary of Idioms, Marvin Terban

Notes From the Midnight Driver is a young adult novel by Jordan Sonnenblick. It is told through the diary of Alex Gregory, a high school student whose parents have recently separated. Alex is a good kid, but has recently gotten into trouble.

At the beginning of the story, Alex is angry. His father has been dating his third grade teacher, while his mother is on a date of her own. Alex goes into the liquor cabinet and comes up with the brilliant idea of going to break up his father's date. Unfortunately, he ends up on the lawn of a neighbor, running over her valuable imported lawn gnome, and is taken in by the police.

As a result of his actions, Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of community service. He is specifically assigned to spend time with a man named Solomon Lewis at a nursing home. Sol is ornery and unfriendly at first, but he and Alex gradually develop a relationship. They eventually find that they share a love of music, as Alex plays guitar in the high school jazz band, while Sol had music in his past. Sol also gives Alex advice about his longtime friend Laurie, whom Alex has begun to notice in a different way.

Notes From the Midnight Driver shows what can be learned from a mistake. Alex grows a lot over the course of the book, and Sol changes from a burden to a true friend. Along the way, there are many serious moments, as well as funny ones, adding up to another winner by Sonnenblick.

Home alone, 16-year-old Alex Gregory, enraged over his parent's separation and fuming about his dad's involvement with Alex's former 3rd grade teacher, gets drunk and sets off in his mom's car to confront his father and "that woman." He doesn't get far, but he's lucky. The only victims of the resultant accident are a decapitated French lawn gnome and the cop he barfs on when he's arrested.

To Alex's dismay, a judge sentences him to 100 hours of public service, assigning him to visit some cantankerous old guy at the home for the aged where Alex's mother coincidentally works. Obligatory progress notes to the judge punctuate the action and raise interesting speculations as Alex gets to learn something about, and from, old Solomon Lewis. Sol's severe emphysema and apparent abandonment by his only daughter, have not suppressed his chutzpah, Yiddishisms, or zest for pulling "Gotcha" surprises on everyone. Without preachiness and with much humor, the story will appeal to middle schoolers as Alex is transformed, accepting responsibility and change while learning - and teaching -- forgiveness.

As for Jewish content: Alex, his best gal pal Laurie, and their families are not Jewish, but both old Sol and the judge are. The most overtly Jewish aspect of this book springs from Sol's frequent use of Yiddish, the wisdom underlying his wisecracks, and the basic Jewish values such as family, community and accountability, which shape the story.

Alex's initial behavior and some minor scenes might make this problematic for some very traditional schools. For ages 12-14. Reviewed by Rita Berman Frischer

I purchased this spelling dictionary back in 2013 when my then six year old daughter was in First Grade; even though the recommended age range for it is 8-12 years, Grades 3-7. The beginning of the book does give a 4 step method to help you look up words that you don't know how to spell. However, with the English language being such a complicated one, this 4 step method quickly becomes convoluted after just the first step! After reading it, my head was spinning and I realized that there was no way my 6 year old would be able to grasp all the grammatical rules, necessary to use the method. I quickly decided to find a more simple, straightforward method to teach her how to use the dictionary. We simply used the first and second sounds, and when there was a word that is a little less straightforward, like "psychology" which has the beginning sound of an "s," but actually begins with a "psy," then I help her. My method didn't allow allow her to use the dictionary completely independent of help, but she still found the dictionary useful.

Now that she's almost finished Second Grade and has been using this dictionary for almost two school years, she is much more proficient at finding words on her own. She still needs some help every once in a while, but that's usually with the more complicated words...like with words that look nothing like they sound! LOL She really enjoys the fact that the spelling dictionary gives her more independence when spelling words. As she said "I love this book. It helps me." Take it from 7 12/ year old. This spelling dictionary is an awesome resource for Elementary School children. Maybe children 8-12 will have better success navigating the book on their own, but I would still recommend it for younger children in First and Second grades.

After Sonnenblick's incredibly touching first book, Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie, I was wondering if his second book would make me feel as much as his first book did. I am happy to report, I gained even more from this book.

Alex is your average high school junior--anticipating getting his driver's license, worring about the SATs, dealing with family and girl issues. That is until he decapitates his neighbor's lawn gnome after getting drunk on his absentee father's vodka and sealing his mother's car for a joyride. But he's the only one who doesn't feel lucky when the judge sentences him to 100 hours of community service at the local nursing home.

There he meets Sol, a crotchety old man who's determined to take Alex down a notch or two and help him see he's destined for more than a drunk driving conviction at sixteen. Sol also wants to help Alex become a better guitar player, learn some dirty Yiddish phrases and kindle a romance with his best gal pal Laurie.

The book has the classic elements of a good read with some great jazz history, a good plot-twist or two and a little romance. Alex's biweekly letters updating the judge on his "progress" also help to show Alex's development from a troubled teen to a young man willing to take responsibility for his mistakes.

With great dialogue and a smart plot, Sonnenblick puts heart and humor into a sad tale of learning to be accountable for your mistakes. Fan's of Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie will be excited by the cameo appearances of Steve and Annette, but new readers will fall hard for Alex's quick whit and development. This is a great read, and the lively characters keep the book light even when the harsh realities of the plot threaten to give the book too dark a tone.

A great read for middle/high school students dealing with divorce, death of a grandparent, minor legal infractions or just life.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. I purchased it for my 13 year old son who is reading it as part of his 7th grade English class. We listened to it in the car and I fell in love with the story. The audio version is spectacular. The book itself is incredibly well written with a splendid mix of humor and sensitivity. Many life lessons are beautifully taught between the lines. I highly recommend it for the whole family. This is a great story to listen to together on a long car trip.

In Notes From the Midnight Driver, the titular "Driver" is Alex Gregory, a teenage boy with divorced parents, who in a fit of bad judgment takes a drunken drive to his father's house, resulting in Alex's arrest and the decapitation of a lawn gnome. As punishment, Alex is sentenced to community service with the elderly and ailing Solomon (Sol) Lewis who is notoriously hard to put up with. Alex's daunting task is to both teach and learn a "life lesson", but Sol seems only to want to criticize and mock his newest volunteer. Eventually, however, the unlikely pair open up to each other. Through a series of letters between Alex and his sentencer, Judge Trent, Alex's progress towards maturity is revealed. He loses his selfish exterior and is able to understand friendship, love and family in a way that creates a ripple effect into the lives of his friends, his parents, and even the rough-talking Sol Lewis.

Jordan Sonnenblick, author of Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, proves once again to be an expert at mixing serious and sad situations of teenage life with dry wit and sarcastic humor to provide an engaging and powerful story. Sonnenblick's teenagers are detailed and realistic and he does a great job of creating likable characters that are easy to relate to, while avoiding cliches and stereotypes that run rampant in other young adult novels. Though not a true sequel, Steven and Annette from Sonnenblick's Dangerous Pie also make an appearance as back up characters in Midnight Driver and the theme of music as an outlet for teenage emotion also runs through both novels. Overall, the mixture of laughter and tears, sadness and sarcasm make the book a delightful and poignant story.

And you think your life is tough. Sixteen-year-old Alex Gregory miscalculated the consequences of his anger when he decided to teach his father a lesson. Nothing good can come of a poorly thought out plan, especially when it entails stealing your mother's car, driving drunk and obliterating a poor unsuspecting lawn gnome.

Alex thought it was a great idea at the time. The police and the judge, well, not so much. He was sentenced to hundreds of community service hours in a nursing home, catering to Sol, a cantankerous old curmudgeon who's writing the last chapter of his life.

While Alex is doing 'hard time' in a nursing home, his parents are separated, and dad's dating his third grade teacher, he's discovered his childhood friend, Laurie, is pretty 'hot' and the judge isn't buying his written declarations that he's not qualified to help with Sol's problems. It's enough to send a guy to his room to play the blues (or maybe jazz) on his guitar.

Never underestimate the power of tough love. Alex and Sol navigate the generation gap and forge the relationship of a lifetime. Personal responsibility and giving people (especially parents, because they really are trying) a second chance is the lesson of the day. And you'll never see the twist coming, and it'll warm your heart.

Sonnenblick delivers a great story with snappy patter wrapped up nicely in a life lesson.

I laughed and I shed some tears. And I decided Notes From the Midnight Driver is a must read.

Armchair Interviews says: Nice to have more quality books for young adults.

Come ride along with Alex. Frustrated by his parent's divorce, Alex "borrows" his mother's car to pay a surprise visit to his father, who just happens to be dating Alex's former third-grade teacher. To work up the courage for this visit, Alex has had a bit too much to drink. His midnight drive ends in the neighbor's yard and involves a decapitated lawn gnome and vomit on a police officer's shoes.

Community service at a nursing home is Alex's punishment. His mother arranges for him to spend time with Sol, a resident in the facility where she works. Sol is the most contrary patient at the home, and he outdoes himself in making Alex miserable. Alex's complaints to the judge handling his case are dismissed with comments about how Alex and Sol will be good for each other and can both learn from the experience.

Alex and Sol do find they have a few things in common. When Alex brings his guitar along one day, he discovers Sol likes jazz and finds the old man does have knowledge to share. As the visits continue the two develop an unusual friendship.

NOTES FROM THE MIDNIGHT DRIVER is Jordan Sonnenblick's second book. For any fans out there, Sonnenblick ties this new book to his first, Drums, Girls, And Dangerous Pie, by bringing back several characters. Also, as in his first book, Sonnenblick works in a little romance along with music and some great humor. He captures the zany, frustrating emotional roller-coaster of the teenage experience.

Reviewed by: Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"

Jordan Sonnenblick keeps getting better. NOTES is the story of an angry adolescent - even angrier than most! Alex's parents have gotten divorced and after drinking an excessive amount of vodka, he's going to just drive over and tell his dad how angry he is. Luckily, he doesn't hurt anyone when he crashes the car, but now he is even angrier, because he has to spend time at an old folks' home talking to possibly the crankiest man in the whole place - Sol. Sol's tough love is hilarious, poignant, and ultimately effective. Great book, great read, great for kids just starting to drive or even just thinking about starting to drive. I'm using it with my ninth graders right now, and they love it!

If you ever wonder where the silly sayings like "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" or "straight from the horses mouth" come from, you must get this book. Filled with many examples, accompanying cute illustrations, and a detailed explanation of what the idiom means and where it came from is all included in this short, but sweet book.

Notes from the Midnight Driver is narrated by your average teenage boy (Alex)- its bound to be funny. But when an accident brings Sol, a grouchy man, into Alex's life, the story takes a heartwarming turn. At first Alex and Sol don't see eye to eye- Sol constantly verbally slams Alex, they argue- but after a while they find one thing that holds them together- music. It's a good read for all ages- it's got old people, cars, a little romance, and lawn ornaments.

Great start - teen drunken driving then charged... plot twist that sends him to a senior home is for those who connect to grandpas or really love high school band.
A five star start - a two star finish.

Notes From the Midnight Driver was a summer reading book and a RI Teen Book Award nominee, so I picked it up to see what all the hype was about. Honestly, I am not one to read about teen drinking or deviants, but this book had me laughing so quickly I couldn't put it down! It inspired me to read Jordan Sonnenblick's other books, but I think this one is the best BY FAR! I would reccommend it to ANYONE- just a GREAT read!

Cute book, great black & white drawings. I found more fun than my 3rd grader. Would have been nice to have origins of idioms - but does give explaination in kid terms. Many idioms are the same in other books, so only buy one at a time.

This is helping our child understand when we and other adults use idioms while it expands her vocabulary. My 5 year old (who reads on a 3rd grade level) loves it and reads it as a joke book while leaning things far ahead of her time. Terban includes the origin of the idiom and the cartoon picture drives home the message. This is a reference just a necessary as a dictionary.