The Road to Wherever

By John Ed Bradley

A boy's summer road trip reveals unexpected truths about fixing broken cars and hearts.

4.0/5 Goodreads · 112 ratings

272 pages· 62,295 words· Est. 7 hour read

$16.99Save 7%

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Bookroo's summary

Eleven-year-old June embarks on a summer road trip with his quirky mechanic cousins after his father's sudden disappearance. As they restore old Ford cars across America, June discovers that mending broken vehicles is only part of the journey. Each encounter with car owners reveals deeper lessons about healing and understanding the fractured parts of life. Will June find the courage to confront his own brokenness? This heartwarming adventure explores the bonds of family and the art of repair, both mechanical and emotional, in a journey of self-discovery and growth.

From the publisher

A middle grade road novel about a boy stuck on a summer trip with his offbeat auto-mechanic cousins–a humor- and heart-filled journey that leads the boy to an unexpected confrontation with some broken-down parts of himself. After eleven-year-old June Ball’s dad disappears without so much as a goodbye note, June’s mother sends him on the road with his adult cousins, mechanics Thomas and Cornell Ball. The Balls are “Ford Men”; their calling in life is to restore old Ford cars–and only Ford cars–that no longer run. And so begins a summer traveling the highways and byways of America, encountering busted-up Fairlanes, Thunderbirds, and Rancheros. They also encounter the cars’ owners, who sometimes need fixing up, too. June doesn’t understand his cousins’ passion for all things Ford. But at every turn, June realizes that this journey is about more than giving neglected classic cars some much-needed TLC–there’s room to care for the broken parts of humans, too. A story of adventure, longing, and growing up from adult novelist, journalist, and All-SEC center for the LSU Tigers, John Ed Bradley.

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