Kelleigh Monahan is bored; bored with her suburban Minneapolis life of strip malls, country club swimming pools, and her parents’ deteriorating marriage. While hanging out at the mall with her best friend, Jen, a guy drops his keys and Kelleigh picks them up. She and Jen go for a joy ride and she gets an adrenaline rush from the thrill of stealing a car, but not really stealing it. She doesn’t set out to be a car thief; it just kind of unfolds with different reasons for each time she drives someone’s car without their knowledge until she is deeply involved with stealing cars for Deke, a former car thief himself who is on probation. Her second theft was to help Will, the boyfriend that she and Jen share (but not really), get back at the class jerk, who spreads the rumor that Will is gay. Kelleigh has two summer assignments: to read a book and then post a review and writing a how-to essay. She chooses Moby Dick and begins writing about “How to Steal a Car.” As the summer progresses she also comes to realizations about her father’s morally ambiguous job as a defense attorney who is currently working to keep a serial rapist out of jail on a technicality. With sardonic, subversive humor, this is vintage Hautman sure to appeal to males as well as females. ( )

Likable protagonist. Made me feel that I was extraordinarily boring as a fifteen year old and also that I should steal a car. ( )

Feels like a short story, it doesn't even have chapters. It's a quick and light read (like a snack). It's exciting in a way especially when the lead is stealing a car but what I don't like is her reason behind it. There's no reason at all! At least Deke has one. Kelleigh needs HELP. haha There's even no change in her relationships with other people even though there has been BIG change in herself. She's like a impaired teenager, very dangerous. ( )

Kelleigh is just your average teenager. Moody, bored with her life, and angry because of situations with the adults in her life, she steals a car. And then another one, and then another one...

Why I picked it up: The setup was kind of extreme - I'm bored, mad, angsty, whatever, so I'll steal a car - and I wanted to see where the author was going with it.

Why I finished it: I wanted to see if she'd get caught.

Who I'd give it to: anyone who wants to see how teens really act, think, and feel today.

Favorite moment: The ending. It's not often that I read a book where there isn't any significant change in the main character and yet I still feel OK with it.

Most annoying thing: There were no chapters in this book! It just kept going on and on. There were little break things for changes of scene, but the lack of chapters was crazy-making, so I'm only giving this three stars. ( )

I picked up this book because I found the title and cover interesting. There are no chapters, only slight breaks to help with scene changes. It read quickly because the characters are interesting and very easy to relate to. I actually felt like I was there stealing cars along with Kelliegh. Putting the book down was difficult and I finished it easily in an afternoon. This would be a great book for teens who enjoy realistic fiction and are looking for a quick, fun read. The lack of chapters may bother some readers, but I found that it made the book flow smoothly and kept my attention well. ( )