Road Rocket: Speed-crazy kids.....and their souped up cars

by Henry Gregor Felsen

Can a teenager afford a car? Even a cheap old one?

He had a job after school, he had saved a little money, and, the main reason he and the other members of his car club wanted a car was so that they could work on it.

Woody would get his car. He named it Sidekick, and he lavished it with love and devotion. He was sure that when it was done it would be the most beautiful car imaginable. He could even see himself driving Sandra to the spring dance . . . but it would take a lot of work before Sidekick was safe to drive. Through that work Woody would come to learn a great deal—not only about cars, but also about human relationships and his own goals in life.

Road Rocket captures the heart and soul of 1950s hot rod culture. The lean, mean story follows Ahern’s hard-driving path to rodding redemption, riffs on some meaningful messages, and unleashes a fast and furious read. Dig in and learn what millions of readers already know; the world’s most popular hot rod novel is a hopped-up high-horsepower thrill ride.

Paperback | 276 pages

Originally published in the 1950s, Road Rocket is part of a series of six popular rodding books that sold more than 8 million copies! Immensely popular with young readers in its early days, the books are wildly entertaining cautionary tales meant to keep speed-hungry teens safe on the streets.