In the Driver's Seat: A Girl's Guide to Her First Car

In the Driver's Seat:  A Girl's Guide to Her First Car by Erika Stalder

ISBN: 9780980073249
San Francisco:  Zest Books, 2009

Subject Matter - In the Driver's Seat is written for girls to learn the ins and outs of owning, driving, and maintaining a car.  It includes information on how to buy a first car, how to judge the quality and honesty of a mechanic and to be taken seriously by him or her, how a car basically works, and how to fix common problems.  The author includes advice on not allowing things to happen that don't need to:  draining the battery, running out of gas, or straining the inner workings of the engine from lack of oil.  And of course, if these things happen, there are step by step directions on how to most efficiently, safely, and cost-effectively take care of the problems.  Stalder goes beyond the workings of the car itself, as well.  She includes an entire chapter on dealing with difficult driving situations with a level head and a ready stock of ways out.  The book is peppered throughout with information about women automotive inventors and drivers in addition to fun lists of car movies and songs about cars.  There is even an entire chapter on styling a car without shelling out megabucks on custom wheels or shaded light covers.

Critical Evaluation - In the Driver's Seat is just plain fantastic--a must read for girls and women, whether they're actually buying a car or just driving a parent's or friend's.  The tone of the book is informative, never patronizing, and confident.  The book inspires confidence in the reader, as the author approaches each subject, whether it be how to change a tire if AAA can't come in time or why sometimes going faster is your best bet, with matter-of-fact humor and pragmatism.  The chatty voice will keep young and not-so-young readers entertained, and the information could quite literally save a life or just make a new driver that much more in control of her experience and her car.

Reader's annotation - Cars are just a mystery, right?  But mysteries often involve all kinds of tragedy and illegal activity, so Erika Stalder has arrived to take the mystery out of buying, owning, and driving a car so that all of us can feel confident, safe, and very in-style.

Information about the author - Erika Stalder is the Everybigsister--she writes books, an advice column, and a blog, all focused on flat-footed, practical, and caring advice for teenage girls on the everyday things of life that can be awful to navigate alone or with only parental advice.  She advises on topics from dating, driving, fashion for fun and common sense, dealing with parents, and what not to miss in high school other than school.  Stalder researches her works in great detail, including background information from academic literature, museums, and pop culture.  She has written for Wired magazine and The Journal of Life Sciences.
Genre - YA Nonfiction
Curriculum Ties - None that stand out
Booktalk ideas - 

1. Set up the situation where the girls are driving home along a local route that they all know, preferably a remote one, and they run out of gas.  There's no cell phone service, it's night, and they're alone.  What would you do?  Erika has some suggestions that can get you through.
2. Describe the list of car essentials that Stalder likens to lip gloss and a mirror in the locker

Reading level - 15+

Challenge issues - none apparent

Why I included this book - I found this title positively reviewed in School Library Journal, March, 2010, and I think it is a must-have for girls who are moving into the driver's seat.  It's funny, written in easily digestible chunks, and imparts lessons and advice that most drivers, girl or boy, simply never encounter.  It's really one that belongs in the glove compartment of every teenage girl's car, and having on the library shelf will be a great way to introduce them to its practical wisdom.