The Other Way Around

After a particularly disastrous Thanksgiving (his cousin wets Andrew's bed; his parents were too chicken to tell him his grandmother died), Andrew accidentally (on purpose) runs away and joins the circus. Kind of. A guy can meet the most interesting people at the Greyhound station at dinnertime on Thanksgiving day. The Freegans are exactly the kinds of friends (living out of an ancient VW camper van, dumpster diving, dressing like clowns and busking for change) who would have Andrew's mom reaching for a third glass of Chardonnay. To Andrew, five teenagers who seem like they've found another way to grow up are a dream come true. But as the VW winds its way across the USA, the future is anything but certain. The path of least resistance is a long, strange trip.

About the Author :
Sashi Kaufman is a middle-school teacher and an author. She lives in Portland, Maine, with her family. Visit her online at www.sashikaufman.com.

Review :
Road-trip rebellion with romance. A sophomore at the mostly girls' boarding school where his mother is headmistress, Andrew is not living up to his potential. Not that he's cared about much of anything since his parents split up, but when pushed too far at Thanksgiving, he runs away from home. At the bus station, Andrew hooks up with an unusual group of young folks who are traveling in a van and living effectively hand to mouth with what they can muster from busking, Dumpster diving and handouts. With the Freegans, as they call themselves, he journeys from home in upstate New York to New Mexico. While it's not a particularly new plot, the characters become compelling. There's anarchist Lyle, who is hiding something. Pudgy Asian-American Tim is an odd addition to a troupe of acrobats. G, the lesbian who first approaches Andrew, is ironically the straightest of the bunch, while Jesse, the driver, leader and master of ceremonies, is always positive and inclusive. However, it's Emily, with her blonde dreadlocks and bare stomach, who captures Andrew's attention and lust. The dynamics of the group, combined with quirky characters met along the way, provide a certain fascination for both readers and Andrew. Readers captivated by the characters will have a chance to appreciate Andrew's somewhat slow growth from a wimp with a dick into someone with a spine and a brain. Though it doesn't blaze new trails, it's an enjoyable-enough ride. --Kirkus Reviews -- "Journal" Andrew is not living up to his divorced parents' expectations. A series of disastrous events send Andrew over the edge. He decides he's going to visit his grandmother but his parents have neglected to tell him she died. At the bus station he meets five teenagers who have found a different way to live life. They are traveling around in a dilapidated van, dumpster dive, dress like clowns, and perform for money and places to stay. When his mother finally tells him Mima has died, he decides to join the Freegans. They take off and Andrew adjusts to this life. I had a hard time getting into this book at first but it picked up steam about halfway through. Nonconformist teens will be able to identify with these characters and will find that the grass isn't always greener on the other side. --Library Media Connection -- "Journal" Freegans, dumpster diving, and a van named Shirley. I seriously would follow this motley crew of performers anywhere. Andrew's journey across the country, into love, into friendship, into a community unlike any he's ever seen, was riveting . I am so glad Andrew got in the van, and I feel so lucky to have had the chance to ride shotgun. His is a thrilling reminder that sometimes we have to leave home to find ourselves. --Adrienne Maria Vrettos, author of Burnout -- "Other Print" Life with an uninvolved father and a perpetually disappointed, workaholic mother makes Andrew West feel like he's 'disappearing little by little, ' but it never occurred to him to actually disappear. After a disastrous Thanks-giving, 16-year-old Andrew heads to the bus station with plans to visit his grandmother. While there, Andrew finds out that his mother has kept important news from him, and he falls in with a group of Dumpster-diving 'freegans'. Andrew has always kept a low profile, but getting caught up in the freegans' lives and witnessing their sincerity and sense of themselves starts to change him. Debut author Kaufman does a great job of depicting young people who have opted out of conventional middle-class values. Andrew's position as outsider and observer, coupled with the fact that he hasn't yet figured out who he is or what he cares about, means that, at times, he fades into the background, but Kaufman patiently builds the insights and experiences that make him more dimensional, not only to readers, but to himself. --Publishers Weekly -- "Journal" Sixteen-year-old Andrew is overwhelmed. His parents? They're divorced, and he's in the middle. His school? It's primarily a girl's school, and he can't get a date. What's worse is that his Mom's the principal. His education? He's repeatedly told he's not applying himself. His outlook? Uninspired. At Thanksgiving, Andrew's jerky cousin visits, declares him gay, and wets his bed. There's only one way to end the madness: to run away. At the bus station, Andrew meets a group of older hippie-esque teens who live life on terms that would make his mother chug her wine. They busk for cash, dumpster dive for food, and live in an old camper van as they travel across the country. Andrew takes off with them, expecting to have an interesting if not uplifting adult-free adventure. As the troupe goes from town to town, he learns about making choices and dealing with their consequences; gaining and losing a person's love and trust; and, ultimately, accepting responsibility. In the process, the weight of others' expectations is lessened by discovering what he expects of himself. Kaufman offers an interesting twist to the coming-of-age story by combining Andrew's re-reading of Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild with an on-the-road tale. Often frank, other times startling, always filled with the familiar wanderlust most every teen experiences, this book has wheels. --starred, Booklist -- "Journal"