Train I Ride

December 12, 2016
At 12, Rydr (as she takes to calling herself) has known only hurt, loss, and upheaval. She never met her father, witnessed her mother’s fatal drug overdose, and moved in with her stony grandmother, where life was “comfortably dreadful.” Mosier sets his piercing debut novel on the train carrying Rydr from Los Angeles to Chicago to live with a great-uncle she’s never met, following her grandmother’s death. Rydr’s frank internal monologue and the friendships she forges with fellow passengers shape an emotionally expansive and deeply affecting story. Among those who help Rydr overcome her anger at the family that failed her are the compassionate young man running the snack counter, who ignores her sticky fingers, and a thoughtful boy traveling with his scout troop, who shares his vulnerability with Rydr, as well as his cherished copy of Allen Ginsberg’s Howl. Through understated storytelling, Mosier movingly shows how Rydr’s bitterness gives way to self-acceptance, a willingness to trust others, and hope for the future. Heartbreaking and unforgettable. Ages 8–12. Agent: Wendy Schmalz, Wendy Schmalz Agency.

Starred review from October 1, 2016
Rydr, as she calls herself, is trying to put a brave face on a journey that feels much like doom.The 13-year-old, hungry and broke, is the daughter of an addicted mom who used to have public embarrassmentsbut now shes dead. Her reluctant grandmother (also now dead), whose best quality was her excellent pancakes, was her next not-quite-a-caregiver. Now the girl, battered by life but always resiliently and often cleverly struggling forward, is on a long train trip from Palm Springs to Chicago, where shell be placed with an elderly great-uncle she doesnt know but whose monthly check will get bigger when she arrives. During the journey shes under the care of, then befriended and perhaps even saved by, Dorothea, an Amtrak escort, Neal, a gay snack bar worker, Carlos, a traveling poet, and an antipathetic Boy Scout called Tenderchunks who touches her heart. Along the way Rydr will savor her first kiss, run away from the train and her memoriesbut returnleave the burden of her mothers ashes in an Iowa wood, and nearly destroy a restroom while trying to cope with her excruciating recollections. Her pluck and her perceptive narrative voice combine to make her brief yet deeply affecting connections with caring strangers plausible although occurring over the course of just a few days. Race and culture are implied in naming convention and speech patterns, with characters defaulting to white. A harrowing, moving, immersive, and ultimately uplifting debut novel. (Fiction. 11-16)

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November 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Rydr is Chicago-bound on an Amtrak train from Palm Springs, CA. Leaving her recently deceased grandmother, Rydr travels through the West and Midwest toward an uncertain future with a distant and unknown relative. Rydr is used to making her way through life solo and is still working through her mother's struggle with drugs and subsequent death. Armed with her SpongeBob wristwatch and subsisting on a diet of doughnut holes and veggie burgers, Rydr spends her journey meeting a variety of passengers and avoiding Dorothea, her assigned chaperone. Through her interactions with Carlos, a writer paid by the train company to put pen to paper, and Tenderchunks, a poetry-loving Boy Scout, Rydr finds comfort in words and gains a new outlook on her future. In this debut novel, Mosier gives middle grade readers a character who battles life's challenges with extreme honesty and doesn't sugarcoat her inner battles. VERDICT A tale that will stay with readers long after they reach the final destination. A strong purchase for middle grade collections.-Claire Moore, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2017
Grades 5-7 *Starred Review* While some journey hopefully toward a destination, Rydr's expectations are decidedly low. Following her grandmother's death, she's traveling by rail to meet her next guardian, a great-uncle she has never met. In the meantime, the train becomes her home. She befriends a couple of passengers as well as her Amtrak chaperone and the snack-counter attendant, while the train travels from California to Chicago. Along the way, she celebrates her thirteenth birthday, deals with a personal crisis, and forms a strong bond with a boy. Each of these occurrences has an element of the unexpected as well as a feeling of inevitability. And in the end, this tough, smart, vulnerable kid leaves readers with the conviction that wherever she's headed, it's going to turn out OK. Written in a style that is simple and direct but not without nuance, the novel introduces Rydr as an initially enigmatic narrator whose story becomes more intricate and more involving as the many complications of her journey elicit memories from her past. While there's tragedy in Rydr's background, her way forward is lit by insight and hope. In his first novel, Mosier offers a cast of well-drawn characters, an unusual setting, and a rewarding reading experience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)