The Colossus of Roads

By Christina Uss

A boy battles LA traffic to save his family's catering business.

3.8/5 Goodreads · 155 ratings

208 pages

$17.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old Rick Rusek faces a daunting challenge: save his family's catering service from ruin caused by LA's notorious traffic. Nicknamed Carsick Rick, he devises a bold plan to untangle the city's gridlock. With help from a unicorn-loving neighbor, a street artist, and LA's best driver, Rick aims to prove his worth. Can he transform from Carsick Rick to the Colossus of Roads and move 330,000 cars to secure his family's future? Discover the twists and turns as Rick takes on traffic jams and secret conspiracies in this thrilling adventure.

From the publisher

Eleven-year-old Rick Rusek is determined to improve the traffic conditions in Los Angeles– his parent’s failing delivery catering service, Smotch, depends on it.

Rick Rusek’s stomach has a lot to say. It’s got opinions on tasty foods, not-so-tasty foods, and how driving in traffic-jammed Los Angeles makes it roil, boil, gurgle, and howl. It never meant to earn its owner the nickname Carsick Rick or make him change schools for fifth grade. It’s doing the best it can.

Rick has a lot to say back to his stomach. In fact, his stomach is the only one he can talk to about his favorite subject: the mighty power of road signs. Rick sees how shifting these bold, beautiful signs announcing STOP, LEFT TURN ONLY, SPEED LIMIT 35, and ROAD WORK AHEAD could improve all the traffic problems in Los Angeles. Too bad his talent for sketching maps that show how to fix everything doesn’t seem to interest or impress anyone else.

When his parents’ catering business teeters on the verge of ruin, Rick wants to prove his talent for noticing small details can make a big difference. He’ll need help from his unicorn-loving Girl Scout neighbor, the Department of Transportation, a renowned street artist, plus the best driver in LA. He’ll have to fight back against snarled streets, graffiti vandals, and other people’s very wrong ideas about traffic.

If Rick can successfully move the 330,000 slow-moving cars standing in the way of his family’s future, maybe everyone will see that he’s not Carsick Rick. He’s one of the seven wonders of Los Angeles. He’s the Colossus of Roads.

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