Notes from the Midnight Driver

Written by Jordan Sonnenblick

Narrated by Peter Berkrot

Just when you thought you had it all figured out . . .

"Alex Peter Gregory, you are a moron!" Laurie slammed her palms down on my desk and stomped her foot. I get a lot of that.One car crash. One measly little car crash. And suddenly, I'm some kind of convicted felon.My parents are getting divorced, my dad is shacking up with my third-grade teacher, I might be in love with a girl who could kill me with one finger, and now I'm sentenced to babysit some insane old guy.What else could possibly go wrong? This is the story of Alex Gregory, his guitar, his best gal pal Laurie, and the friendship of a lifetime that he never would have expected.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Feb 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781611061574

Jordan Sonnenblick

Jordan Sonnenblick is the author of the acclaimed teen novels Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Notes from the Midnight Driver, and Zen and the Art of Faking it. In addition to being a writer, he’s a middle-school English teacher and would never penalize one of his students for bringing an imaginary friend to school. Jordan lives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with his wife and their two children. If he’s ever had an imaginary friend, he’s not telling! You can visit him on the Web at www.jordansonnenblick.com.

Reviews for Notes from the Midnight Driver

[Nayomie W · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was one of the most beautiful stories I have ever listened to. It will leave you feeling a range of emotions. I listened to it all in one sitting, and almost want to play it again right away.

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After drinking what is left of his absent father's liquor, stealing and crashing his mother's car in the process of which he beheads a garden gnome, Alex Gregory is sentenced to community service at the local nursing home so he can learn some “valuable life lessons.” He winds up having to spend time with cranky Sol Lewis, who is suffering from emphysema but has a very interesting and surprising past, which will help Alex with his own guitar playing. The notes of the title come into play when in addition to his community service, Alex is required to write letters to the judge about his progress with Sol. During the course of the book, Alex discovers he has growing feelings for his best friend since childhood, Laurie, a “terrifying goth pixie” who practices karate and Chinese hand-weapon combat. He is unsure if she feels the same way about him, but know-it-all Sol makes them a couple by calling her Mrs. While some of Alex's life lessons and plot resolutions are a bit predictable and unrealistic, this touching, funny book is fast-paced and enjoyable.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my. So funny, and wise. I do warn you to get past the first few pages. Probably you don't want to give it to a child under age 13. My only complaint, really though, was that it took so short a time to read and now it's over. I do like this author....

[kenziel_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a regular boy who gets drunk one night and decides to go run into his dads house because his dad cheated on his mom and left them. He gets into the car and wrecks intoi some old ladys yard. He opens his eyes to see 1. A cop staring at him. 2. A yard gnome that he ran over. He has to do community service by helping an old man, Slomon Lewis. He writes notes to the judge and the judge writes nots back. FUNNY, GREAT, and SUPRISING!

[sports9star · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a very good book. Alex's parents are divorced. He got mad at his dad for breaking his moms heart. He decided to go trash his dads house. But first he got drunk.He wrecked his moms car and had to do community service with a guy in a nursing home named Solomon Lewis. He has a desease and Alex kind of feels sorry for him. All these things happen in Alex's life and he becomes close to him. But bad things happen.I LOVE This Book!!!!!!!!:)

[kikotomo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jordan Sonnenblick has a way of telling stories that make readers cry and laugh in the same sentence. Notes from the Midnight Driver talks about drunk driving, illness, loss, music, and friendship in a way that makes you smile - wanting more. Just as wonderful as Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. I love this author!

[imsuebusy · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

After being assigned to perform community service at a nursing home, sixteen-year-old Alex befriends a cantankerous old man who has some lessons to impart about jazz guitar playing, love, and forgiveness.This book is really great! I loved every page. The author is entertaining, funny and sarcastic, but he is also very sensitive and sympathetic when he needs to be. This novel has humor, mystery, a love story, and a cool unexpected twist at the end. I highly recommend it.

[chti1114 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a funny story about life lessons. 16 year old Alex gets drunk and steals his moms car, and got the punishment of taking care of a grouchy old man named Sol.

[cocacola11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Notes from the Midnight driver is a good book about a boy named Alex who gets drunk and steals his mom's car.He has to go to court and he is faced with charges.The judge sentences him to 100 hours of community service.He has to serve it at a retirement home.The person he has to serve it to is a very grumpy man with emphysema,but over time they start to find that they have some things in common.Notes from the Midnight Driver is one of the best books I have ever read.

[roseleena2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

THIS BOOK IS ABOUT A BOY AND HIS FRIEND LAURIE

[caitlyn24 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

this book is awsome!!!!!!!!Its funny and it teaches you a lesson about real life.Its about this 16 year old boy who gets drunk and steels his mothers car and wrecks it and has to take care of this crazy loony-toon of an old man.But ends up having a special bond with the old man and relizes somthing that he diddn't notice befor.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alex's decision to drink and drive in an ill-conceived attempt to get his parents back together leads to unintended consequences. After being sentenced to community service to spend 100 hours with nursing home resident, Solomon Lewis, Alex finds himself on a path that will change his life. I really liked the characters and found the story touching. I sure wish I could've attended Sol's final concert.

[4sarad_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this book. It has the perfect mixture of comedy and serious issues. You can learn a lot from the book while still enjoying every minute of it. Each of the characters was really well-developed and I could literally hear Sol's voice in my head everytime he gave Alex a lecture. Really touching and fun read. My only complaint was they said alex was a Junior in high school but he seemed much younger than that to me.

[carlsonn_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Josh's parents are divorcing and he gets drunk one night and drive a car without a license into a neighbor's front lawn ruining the garden gnome. As punishment the judge assigns him community service, which he does at the facility where his mom works. His mom assigns him a cranky old man who Josh learns a great deal from and who in turn shares his exp erience with the judge in the form of letters.

[meggyweg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was kind of predictable -- I thought, "Yeah, the old man he's assigned to will be really crotchety but loveable underneath and then Alex will become a more sensitive person and probably also end up going out with his friend Laurie." But it was enjoyable nevertheless and often very funny.

[dfla_cierrag · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book because it teaches you a lesson. The sayin" Don't judge a book by the cover" goes along with this book because this boy gets into trouble and has to do community service at a retirment home. He gets assigned ot this grumpy old man and thinks he's the worst. But in the end he shouldn't judge him and that everyone needs love and some one to care for them, and thats why i like it.

[df1a_sarinaz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When Alex drives drunk in a crazed daze to visit and annoy his dad while his mother is on her first date, he runs over a garden lawn and is sentenced to do 100 hours of time with an old man. Then he starts seeing his best friend in a different way, has to get ready for a concert with his guitar, and put up with his parents, even though they live in different houses. How much can one person take at a time?I loved the format of this book, how the characters reacted to each other, and the ironic comicalness to it. I also liked how the author incorporated music into the book.

[samanthawarren · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The book has great characters. It was predictable, but I still cried at the end.

[elbakerone · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In Notes From the Midnight Driver, the titular "Driver" is Alex Gregory, a teenage boy with divorced parents, who in a fit of bad judgment takes a drunken drive to his father's house, resulting in Alex's arrest and the decapitation of a lawn gnome. As punishment, Alex is sentenced to community service with the elderly and ailing Solomon (Sol) Lewis who is notoriously hard to put up with. Alex's daunting task is to both teach and learn a "life lesson", but Sol seems only to want to criticize and mock his newest volunteer. Eventually, however, the unlikely pair open up to each other. Through a series of letters between Alex and his sentencer, Judge Trent, Alex's progress towards maturity is revealed. He loses his selfish exterior and is able to understand friendship, love and family in a way that creates a ripple effect into the lives of his friends, his parents, and even the rough-talking Sol Lewis. Jordan Sonnenblick, author of Drums, Girls and Dangerous Pie, proves once again to be an expert at mixing serious and sad situations of teenage life with dry wit and sarcastic humor to provide an engaging and powerful story. Sonnenblick's teenagers are detailed and realistic and he does a great job of creating likable characters that are easy to relate to, while avoiding cliches and stereotypes that run rampant in other young adult novels. Though not a true sequel, Steven and Annette from Sonnenblick's Dangerous Pie also make an appearance as back up characters in Midnight Driver and the theme of music as an outlet for teenage emotion also runs through both novels. Overall, the mixture of laughter and tears, sadness and sarcasm make the book a delightful and poignant story.

[judimoreillon · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The letters between Alex and the judge are one of the best aspects of this book. The letters reveal Alex’s growing maturity and empathy for his friend Sol. I guessed early on that the judge was Sol’s estranged daughter, but Sonnenblick’s great characterization, especially of Alex and Sol, carried the story to a satisfying conclusion.

[tigerlms · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Alex Gregory is upset the night his mother, recently seperated from his dad, goes out on a first date. His choice? He gets drunk on a bottle of his dad's old vodka, hops in a car, and starts to drive to his dad's new house to try and catch him with his new romantic interest-- one of Alex's elementary school teachers. However, Alex only gets halfway down the block before he decapitates a yard gnome and runs into a tree. He's ordered to serve community service at a nursing home by 'hanging out' with the meanest old curmudgeon on the planet, Leo. Alex bemoans his fate, but eventually comes to like the old man-- and winds up learning a lot about life in the process. Despite the serious nature of the topic, this is one of the funniest books I read in 2007. Sonnenblick's first person narrative in Alex's voice is well-paced and laugh-out-loud funny. This is a book I'm highly recommending to my high school students; it was in my top 10 for 2007.

[abbylibrarian_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Alex Gregory has made a huge mistake. During one night of desperate anger at his parents' divorce, he drunkenly crashes his dad's new car into a neighbor's lawn, decapitating her lawn gnome. As punishment, Alex is assigned to do community service at a nursing home. In particular, he's assigned to spend time with the King of Crotchety Old Men, Solomon Lewis. At first, Alex hates Sol more than he can adequately express, but his pleas to be reassigned are diverted and Alex slowly comes to realize that there's more to the old man than meets the eye. Throw in some guitar playing, a possible crush on his best (girl) friend, and a cameo by some of the characters from Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie and you have yourself one hell of a novel. Laugh out loud funny and utterly heartbreaking (sometimes at the same time), I loved this second novel by Jordan Sonnenblick. It's got a slightly different tone than his first book and I think it's aimed at a slightly older audience. I was literally laughing out loud in the lunchroom at work. And I was literally reaching for the tissues when I finished it at home. Highly recommended.

[plashyreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Good story - funny, poignant--cleverly done!"16-year-old Alex decides to get even. His parents are separated, his father is dating his former third-grade teacher, and being 16 isn't easy, especially when it comes to girls. Instead of revenge though, Alex ends up in trouble with the law and is ordered to do community service at a senior center where he is assigned to Solomon Lewis, a "difficult" senior with a lot of gusto, advice for Alex, and a puzzling (yet colorful) Yiddish vocabulary. Eventually, the pair learn to deal with their past and each other in ways that are humorous, entertaining, and life changing."

[tasha_8 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It rarely happens, but every so often I start reading a book and realize on the first page that this is a book I am really going to enjoy. This is one of those books. Alex is a 16-year-old who is angry at his parents for splitting up. So he decides to shake them up a little by driving to his father's house and telling him off. Unfortunately, Alex has also been drinking and ends up beheading a neighbors lawn gnome. Alex is sentenced to 100 hours of service at a senior center where he is assigned to their toughest resident, Sol Lewis, a wise-cracking, hard-as-nails man who completely confuses Alex by calling him names in Yiddish. Slowly and realistically, Alex and Sol begin to bond through their guitar playing and humor. The writing in this book is zingy, sparkling and energizing. It is pure pleasure to read the wry observations of Alex that play off of Sol's insults. The adults, from Sol to the nurses to Alex's parents, are well-drawn and fleshed out. The novel speaks to the power of music, forgiveness of family members, and the forging of new connections. But it is not heavyhanded because of the infectious humor. There is no sex in the novel and the only violence comes from a beheading of a lawn ornament and Alex's best friend Laurie's anger at a headboard. Teens with a sense of humor, and that is most of them, will enjoy this book. Readers are sometimes warned to have a tissue ready, but in this case make sure you are reading where you can laugh out loud. This one makes it on to my top five of the year. Solidly.