Gallery Books
Featuring: Stumptown Jim; Tin Cap Earl; Toothpick Frank
240 pages ISBN: 1476747822 EAN: 9781476747828 Kindle: B00DPM7T3G Hardcover / e-Book Add to Wish List
TWEEN HOBO: OFF THE RAILS is the fictional diary of a
Twitterverse fictional character created by Alena Smith.
I must admit I was not familiar with @TweenHobo before
picking up this book but it looked entertaining.
Our diarist is 11 years old, in fifth grade, and likes
all things pink, sparkly, and Bieber, whom she knows will
be her future husband. She calls her parents zombies
because they do nothing but work, and her older brother,
Evan, has been sent away somewhere for something or
other; she doesn't quite know.
One day in class, the
teacher of her discovery module presents his students
with a project: "What Makes America So Great", which
leaves our tween completely baffled. Since Justin Bieber
is Canadian and One Direction are British, she has no
idea how America could be so great. Her teacher
harmlessly mentions that his own brother left home and
hopped on a train to see America.
Back at her home, while
lying on her brother's bed, our narrator looks at the
ceiling where her sibling has written: "Life Is
Pointless". That's when she decides to find out for
herself what makes America so great and hops on a train;
along the way, she can look for her brother as well.
As expected, our heroine meets a motley crew of hobo
travellers, and in spite of being technologically very
savvy, she lacks some basic understanding of the world:
her idea of culture in New York is the Disney Store, and
she figures a socialist must be someone who is quite
social.
In addition to the diary
entries TWEEN HOBO: OFF THE RAILS, includes many amusing extras
such as her tweets,
playlists, lists of all sorts, a lot of fun little
details and clever drawings by illustrator Kate Harmer. I
actually found the pseudo-diary much funnier than the
tweets. I found it a bit odd though that Hobo, as
internet-savvy as she is and a gossip fiend, did not know
what rehab was. But then again, at that age, what we
remember or choose to remember is often quite selective.
Although I am long past the age of our heroine, I had a
great time reading TWEEN HOBO: OFF THE RAILS. I
remembered how I was at that age and I could totally
relate to her, in spite of the technology being quite
different.
I lol'd lots cuz it's obvs like, you know, funny.
A hilarious and irreverent illustrated book based on the
popular Twitter feed (@tweenhobo), featuring a young spunky
girl who packs up her glitter pens and sneaks out of math
class one Monday afternoon to traverse the railroads in
search of freedom, adventure, and her own personal
obsession: Justin Bieber tickets.
Get ready to laugh and learn with the littlest hobo. She’s
only twelve years old, but a “hard twelve.” You’ll meet her
friends: Stumptown Jim (a hero who tried his best to
homeschool her on the road); Tin Cap Earl (who’s always up
for shooting a “Call Me Maybe” parody video in a graveyard);
Toothpick Frank (who loves Pinterest); Salt Chunk Annie (a
“woman of the night,” whatever that means) and Hot Johnny
Two-Cakes (who Tween Hobo swears she does NOT have a crush on).
Find out how she survives, thanks in part to the kindness of
park rangers. You’ll hear her take on major cultural events
(“I go off a fiscal cliff every time I go near a
Claire’s.”). And you’ll enjoy beautiful hand-rendered
illustrations that bring out the beauty in her words—just
like how eyeliner makes a hobo’s look really pop.
Often snarky and frequently ridiculous, this imaginative
journal-like book includes maps, jokes, laughs, doodles,
tips, hobo symbols (“House with a triangle on top means
PIZZA PARTY!!!), games, stories, and more. So grab your
iPhone and wrap it in a handkerchief, tie it to a stick, and
let’s roll!
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