Thank you NetGalley for giving me a eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured Dear Martin in one evening and will never forget my emotions through that book. When I saw that Nic had a book for middle grade, I jumped at the chance to read it. Stone has a way of writing that pulls you in and holds on to you. You can feel the rhythm and the emotions in each line, even though it is not in poetry format. She is a wonderful storyteller and this book furthers that designation. My only complaint is that I wanted more-it felt too short. However, shorter books are needed in the middle grade division and so I think it is a good quality.

I enjoyed this book that was part road trip, part family story, part history lesson. I think having G'Ma share her experiences of being white and married to a black man during the 60's was a different take on racism and the civil rights movement in the south during that time, and it helped William understand that era. There was a lot of humor, but it wasn't silly, and there was definitely some tough stuff (G'Ma was pretty candid about some of the horrible crimes committed again African Americans, and her relationship with G'Pop).

The ending didn't sit quite right with me, but I was kind of in a hurry to finish. Between that and the poor formatting of the galley on my Kindle, I don't think I was able to fully enjoy the book. At some point I hope to re-read the print. Or I might try to get a hold of the audio when it is released.

I will probably purchase this for my library when I place my next order. The professional reviews are kind of all over the place on interest level, but I think it's fine for upper elementary.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

This was a FANTASTIC middle grade read. I loved pretty much everything about it and can not wait to have it in our middle school collection. It is part road-trip adventure story, part a history lesson, and part an ode to the secrets we keep in our families and the ones that need to come out.

Scoob (William, officially) is actually pretty excited when Gma shows up and asks him to take an adventure with her. And when she says to bring his bags, the ones that he still has packed from what was supposed to be a vacation with his dad until he got in trouble at school and lost his privileges? Well, that just seems like fate. So he leaves a note, leaves his phone, and heads out on the road. Of course, he didn't realize Gma had sold her house before buying the RV. Or that she was headed out on a multi-state road trip ending in Mexico. And that that road trip was one that she tried to take years ago with his grandfather. The man no one ever talks about. The man who went to jail and died there. Oh, and they're crossing the South. Which, no big deal, except for Gma is white. And Scoob is black.

One of the first things Gma shows Scoob is from her treasure box, the one thing he has never been able to look in in her house. Inside are maps from her first time on this trip and a copy of the Green Book, a book that was a guide for people like him (read: black) when traveling. A guide that said where it was safe to stay and where you needed to avoid. Which was important, because back then Gma and G'pop were used to people not liking them being together. As the trip goes on, and Gma makes more stops to explain more history to Scoob, things get more confusing instead of clearer. It's obvious Gma is leaving things out, she is confusing him with his father and G'pop more and more, and she got rid of the only phone they had. Scoob has to try to figure out how far to let Gma go on her adventure and what she really needs: does she need to get to Mexico to finish her story or does she need Dad and the stability of home?

Highly recommend. This is a first purchase book for all collections serving middle grade readers.

Excellent book to introduce the civil rights era to younger readers, through the travels and feminine’s of G’ma and Scoob, as they take, what Scoob thinks, is an impromptu road trip with his grandmother.

It turns out it is a little more than that, and he learns a lot more than he expected, from his White grandmother, who married a black man, back when there were Jim Crow laws, and they needed the Green Book to be safe on the road.

Scoob is a great narrator. And the whole story feels very natural and informative.

The ending, however, felt rushed, and I would have liked the same flow there, as we got through the rest of the book.

But, despite the ending, I still enjoyed this book, and I think it should be read by youngsters just the same.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Absolutely fell in love with this book! It was very creative, and certainly explained race in a way middle grade readers can understand. I highly recommend this book for librarians and teachers.

Well paced and with a main character kid readers will want to root for. It's very well-suited to the age in that Scoob is learning about history, but also coming to understand the adults in his life are full people with their own lives and stories. This would be a great choice for upper elementary book groups and would encourage conversations about history, race, grandparents, and they would definitely want to talk about Scoob's decision about G-Ma's box.

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read and review this book! I read Dear Martin when it came out and really loved it. I was just heartbroken over the story, though. I tried to read Odd One Out, but there was so much teenage slang in it that my brain was working too hard to decipher. I’m not a teenager, nor am I around teenagers in any capacity, so their slang just is a struggle for me. That’s not a knock against the book in any way. I’m not the target audience and that’s fine. From what I’ve heard, Odd One Out is a great book and very supportive of LGBTQ teens, which I will always get behind. But when I saw Clean Getaway on Netgalley, I read the summary and knew I wanted to read this one. I love middle-grade YA for its excellent blend of serious themes with a little levity. And this one didn’t disappoint.

William “Scoob” Lamar is struggling in school. He’s super smart, but he is a bit too clever for his own good and gets into some trouble. While suspended, his grandma, who he calls G’ma, decides they need to take a road trip. She has sold her house and bought an RV, so the two of them head out. G’ma is white, and Scoob is black, so traveling through the south is difficult, even today.

As they travel, Scoob learns more and more about his grandmother, long-dead grandfather, his absent mother, and his strict father (his G’ma’s son). G’ma gives him the Green Book she and G’pa used as they traveled through the south back in the 60s. She introduces Scoob to various important landmarks in the Civil Rights Movement, as well.

But things take a turn when G’ma starts calling Scoob Jimmy, his grandfather’s name. Scoob realizes that maybe things aren’t quite what they seem between him and G’ma. She seems okay most of the time, but she forgets things, refuses to let him talk to his dad, going so far as to throw away her phone, and as they continue to travel through the south, Scoob becomes more suspicious and nervous, but he is torn because G’ma is his favorite person.

This book is great for middle school-aged kids. It presents some critical history of the Civil Rights Movement in an understated way that is a bit easier to swallow than Dear Martin, which tackles some equally important race issues in our society, but in a more heartwrenching way. Clean Getaway is more approachable and opens the door to the subjects such as Medgar Evers, Dr. King, and the church bombing that killed four little girls. Scoob is a great young man, who is struggling in his world as a black boy living with expectations of a white society and a dad who is fully aware of said white society. I highly recommend this for middle school kids and their parents to help kick start a conversation about the past and how it shapes our world today.

I was reading this while my family was embarking on a trip of our own, so I was in a road trip state of mind. This new middle grade novel by Nic Stone will have wide appeal. Most readers will be able to relate to our hero and the inter-generational dilemmas he experiences. Using the green book as a destination determination device will help kids learn more about the era where this book was a necessity for travel. Would be a great book to utilize to discuss this era of our history as well as other race-related issues. I enjoyed being along for the ride and wish I could meet G'ma.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Disregard my rating I was unable to read this. This ebook is very poorly formatted and hard to read. I have requested the book from my library and will be reading it when it comes out.

While I loved Dear Martin, it took me much longer to finish this middle grade title. I liked Scoob’s character a lot but was less certain about G’ma. She carried a lot of guilt with her over her own past and took Scoob on a road trip to relive the trip that ended abruptly when her husband was arrested. The story shares with young readers some of the unjust treatment of black people which is important.

I was so excited when Nic Stone announced that she was writing a Middle Grade novel. FInally I could share her wonderful writing with my students. Kids will love this adventurous story of a young boy and his G'ma as they travel across the south in an RV. Kids will also love the fun drawings found throughout this book.

Scoob has had some recent trouble at school, so after he gets grounded by his father he decides to hit the road with his G'ma and her new RV. Little does he know, byt Scoob is in for the ride of his life as he discovers the secret past of his grandfather he never knew, as well as some secrets that make him question if he really knows who his G'ma is.

Nic Stone does a fabulous job weaving together a fun adventure with the history of the Green Book and what it was like to travel in the south during segregation. G'ma, who is white, shares the difficulties her and her black husband faced existing as a couple during the era of Jim Crow. The challenges her husband faced, and the mistake she made that changed her and her family's life forever.

So join Scoob and G'ma as they road trip across the American South during the present and reminisce about the past.


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Scoob got in trouble at school (he's suspended) and his dad is not happy about this. So when his grandma invites him to go on a last minute trip in the new RV she bought, Scoob doesn't hesitate to climb aboard. As the trip progresses, Scoob notices people looking at them weird because he is African American, and she is White. Ends up that they are re-creating a trip that Grandma had taken with Grandpa before he got sent to prison. During the trip, Scoob starts figuring out something's not quite right with Grandma and that she's hiding something. The story is about civil rights, past mistakes, forgiveness and reconciliation. Delightful trip and you learn a lot about civil rights violations on the way!

What begins as a comical romp between grandson and grandmother quickly turns into an edge of your seat middle school "Thelma and Louise" type of escapade. While the action and mystery keeps the pages turning, Stone throws in lots of thought-provoking history and weaves a story that is sure to spark lots of discussion. With characters that are overflowing with personality and chemistry along with lots of landmark sites along the way this book brings is such an adventurous road trip.

William (Scoob or Scoob-a-doob to his grandma) ran into some trouble at school, and his father decides to send him to spend his spring break with his grandmother so he can be supervised, since his mother took off when Scoob was a baby. G'ma, however, has plans of her own. She has sold her house and bought an RV, and takes off on an adventure with Scoob. He's a little concerned that after checking in a few times with his dad, G'ma turns off the phone, but doesn't think too much about it. G'ma wants to recreate a trip she took with Scoob'd grandfather in the 1960s. It was difficult then, since she is white and her husband was black, and traveling through the South required the Green Book so that black people knew places where they would not run into trouble. Scoob wishes he knew more about his own mother as well as his grandfather, and he enjoys spending time with G'ma, so he is up for the adventure. As it continues, however, he is concerned about not contacting his father, about G'ma's memory lapses, and about what really happened with his grandfather being sent to jail for grand larceny. Eventually, he can no longer control things, and his father comes to the rescue, and also sheds some insight to Scoob's past.

Strengths: I loved the road trip with the grandmother idea-- it's been down before (Cooney's Hit the Road, Acampora's How to Avoid Extinction), but is always a fun way to see a grandchild interact with a grandparent. The inclusion of Civil Rights history is fascinating, and the spot illustrations will make sure that readers pick this one up. Great cover, too.
Weaknesses: The issue with the grandparents wasn't resolved well. We learn some of the history, but not enough, and the ending was a bit deus ex machina. Don't want to spoil it, but it seemed incomplete.
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and hope that a final version is a little different.

I love Nic Stone's other books but this just doesn't do it for me. I think its because I am veering away from middle grade

When "Scoob"'s grandmother invites him on a sudden road trip he sees it as a way to escape what he feels is an unjust spring break grounding. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that this is no normal joy ride -- instead it's a trip through the hidden past of his grandparents' brief interracial marriage and their lives in a country that viewed their relationship with suspicion and disgust. Informative, adventurous, and at times painful, this book is likely to be popular with upper elementary or middle school readers.