On the tenth lap, Fett's speeder attempts to trap the White Witch with a tractor beam but R2-D2 hurls the detonator at Fett's speeder. Thall Joben wins the race with the White Witch. Fett is forced to eject from his craft before it explodes, destroying the vehicle and his droid. The announcer and Thall's friends congratulate Thall. C-3PO is also jubilant. Kea also thanks R2-D2. As much as I really wanted to enjoy this book (well, as much as you can “enjoy” a book on such a serious topic), unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver for me. (Please don’t read further – or just skip to the last paragraph of this review – if you don’t want to read my negative thoughts on this book! There will also be some spoilers in the following paragraphs.) It was a seemingly minor crash at Michigan International Speedway in June 2016 that ended the day early for NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. What he didn’t know was that it would also end his driving for the year. He’d dealt with concussions before, but no two are the same. Recovery can be brutal, and lengthy. While traveling through space, R2-D2 eavesdrops on Thall, Jord, and Kea over the intercom. Taking the job would require C-3PO and R2-D2 to be reprogrammed, which Thall, Jord and Kea object to. Upon hearing this, R2-D2 and C-3PO decide that it is time to part ways with their friends, because it will enable the humans to take the job and allow the droids to keep their memories intact for the time being. The droids enter an escape pod and eject it into space as the Sand Sloth jumps into lightspeed. C-3PO and R2-D2 decide to sacrifice their companionship for their friends' well-being.

Race to the Finish Line is an ownvoice story about a high school student moving from Canada to a small town in the USA where the KKK is still active and trying to uncover a sinister secret. While I obviously appreciate the anti-racist message and what this book was trying to do, from a literary stand point it just doesn't stand up.A medical droid attends to the wounded Jord, who has broken his left arm. Thall advises Jord to rest but Jord is disappointed. Kea turns their attention to repairing the damaged White Witch or they will be disqualified. C-3PO objects to R2-D2's idea of hiring Proto One, whom he dismisses as a "walking scrap heap." Jord is open to hiring Proto-One but C-3PO reveals that he has found another droid to help them named BL-17, saying that he found him. I get the many points that the author was intending to convey. The plot was amazing, but poorly developed. The writing was underwhelming. No matter how much I read, I never really cared about the "mystery" and undercover operations. This isn’t a book specifically about Dale Jr and his racing career. It’s part of it. But this one focused on his struggle with concussion symptoms. The author was high school age when the story was developed so I was expecting a young adult reader story. It was. But, dang! It blew me away! About a year ago, I started listening to Dirty Mo Dale’s Podcast. I started from the beginning and I just recently listened to the podcast about the release of this book. So, of course, I had to read this.

Ab dann fängt Aaleyah mit Hilfe ihrer Freunde an, die Probleme selbst in die Hand zu nehmen und die Stadt und ihre kuriosen Vermisstenfälle und menschenverachtende Einwohner auffliegen zu lassen. The setting was strong and it was easy to visualize the events taking place in the different locations.

Wheels & Tyres

I think this novel is extremely important in educating not just athletes or sports fans, but everyone, and sharing the discourse on concussions and brain injuries will open the conversation more and help and impact a lot of people.

After finishing this book, I was so overwhelmed with so many different emotions. I was not prepared to leave Aaleyah's world.For example: When the gang decide to break into Liam's apartment. It seemed to jump to this scene rather suddenly, which would have been fine with a little more context. Liam was the only character I felt needed a little bit more work. He appeared to be a threat for so long, but then it turns out he's an undercover cop investigating this town. Which was a good twist! But I was waiting for him to turn on them again, because he was so sketchy throughout the rest of the book. Außer ihrer Eltern, hat sie auch niemanden an den sie sich wenden kann, da ihr Direktor keiner ihrer Probleme ernst nimmt und die Polizei sowieso nichts machen würde. This is far from the typical sports memoir. Earnhardt focuses exclusively on the time period from 2012 to 2017 and focuses on his concussion, his treatment and how that affected his personal and racing life. What makes this book so different than others on concussions in sports is that the effects are explained in plain language without a lot of medical jargon. The writing is heartfelt and personal as the reader will feel like he or she is right there with Earnhardt, not only in the car or in the garage with his crew but also a the doctor office or doing the exercises he had to do to recover. On the other hand, it is great to see a story like this, featuring such an unusual idea and storyline. Even better when the spunky and wilful MC also happens to wear a hijab! I look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next, because despite some shortcomings, this is certainly a promising start to her writing career. I give it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for effort and originality.