Why We Took the Car

Kids will learn a bit of geography about Berlin and the German countryside and that there's an area of Romania called Wallachia. They'll learn how to use an analog watch as a compass and might be interested in learning more about World War I sea captain Count Luckner. The plot involves car theft, and the story offers details on hot-wiring cars and opening some kinds of car door locks with a tennis ball. Translated from the German, the book uses metric measurements; parents might encourage kids to look up how far some of the distances mentioned would be in miles and compare them to trips they've made themselves.

Eight grader Mike Klingenberg, 14, is a good kid at heart. He's capable of exercising restraint but, as is normal for his age, lacks the foresight needed to exercise better judgment. His loneliness and social isolation, thanks mostly to a highly dysfunctional home life, provide the framework for an underage, unsupervised road trip through the German countryside. He and friend Tschick try to avoid the notice of police, more because they're too young to have driver's licenses than because they've taken the car without its owner's knowledge. Their lack of experience driving causes a spectacular crash with a tractor-trailer on the autobahn. A few adults are kind and responsible, but most are hostile toward the young teens. Mike loves his mother and has a good relationship with her, but she's an alcoholic who's not always physically or emotionally available. Mike resents his dad for flaunting his extramarital affair and for abandoning Mike, and the dad gives Mike a severe beating once.

The infrequent sexual incidents are somewhat sophisticated. From a distance, a girl taunts Mike and Tschick by opening her legs and shouting about "f--king." Isa proposes to Mike that they have sex and kiss, which he doesn't want, so they don't. Eighth graders hear rumors involving orgies and pimps. Isa strips to wash in a lake and remains topless for a while afterward. Mike sees her breasts, but they aren't described. Mike and Tschick have a conversation about homosexuality and what they think about it. Mike mentions that he enjoys being able to see what kind of underwear nurses wear under their uniforms. A man is seen masturbating in the distance.

Products mentioned once or twice each include Adidas, Red Bull, Coke, Grand Theft Auto IV, Lada (a Russian car make), Doom, Wikipedia, Rollerblading as generic for in-line skating, Snickers, Fanta, Aramis, Valium, Google, and Facebook. Singer Beyonce is mentioned several times; other artists whose names help create a mood include Pink and the White Stripes.