Dear Readers,
Are you stuck at home, right now? Me, too. I can hear the laundry spinning in the dryer and smell overripe bananas piled on the kitchen counter. I’m spending a lot of time looking out the window, too, because I’d really like to go outside and talk to people. But I’m not supposed to. Which is weird. Really weird.
I recommend staring out your front window if you haven’t lately. Weird times or not, a window facing the street is usually a decent source of entertainment, especially if you’re sick of screens and your eyes need to stretch a little. Look long enough and you might see a new family moving in across the street. That family might have a kid about your age who could become your new best friend. In my book, Parked, that’s exactly what happens—but, there’s a wrinkle: the new kid across the street is moving into a van…and she doesn’t much like it…and she’d rather you not look…
So begins debut novelist Danielle Svetcov’s reader’s companion to Parked. A story of heartbreak, hope, and humor, Parked is the perfect book for parents and teens alike during these unprecedented times.
Jeanne Ann is smart, stubborn, living in an orange van, and determined to find a permanent address before the start of seventh grade. Cal is tall, sensitive, living in a humongous house across the street, and determined to save her. Jeanne Ann is roughly as enthusiastic about his help as she is about living in a van. As the two form a tentative friendship that grows deeper over alternating chapters, they’re buoyed by a cast of complex, oddball characters, who let them down, lift them up, and leave you cheering.
Written with students and parents who are spending more time at home in mind, Svetcov includes widely applicable thought-provoking questions, personal anecdotes, advice for students and aspiring writers, and reading comprehension questions that could accompany any text.
