Review of The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss

Welcome to my first book review in a long time. I am debating what to do with this section of my blog, but I just finished a book today that I had to blog about called The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle by Christina Uss. So here goes...

Title: The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle
Author: Christina Uss
Publication Date: June 5, 2018
Target Age Group: Middle Grade
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Description (from back cover):

Twelve-year-old Bicycle has lived at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C., for as long as she can remember, surrounded, mostly, by silence. Every time she meets other children she's astonished by how noisy they are - and can't stop herself from pedaling away from them on her trusty bike, Clunk. Her guardian, Sister Wanda, decides to fix this friendship problem by sending Bicycle to a camp where she's guaranteed to make three friends. But Bicycle decides that if she must make a friend, she'll do it her own way. Without telling Sister Wanda, she sets off with Clunk on a journey across the United States to attend the San Francisco Blessing of the Bicycles. There, she will be able to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, who she hopes will become her first and best friend.

Bicycle has no way of knowing that she'll end up with a friendly ghost haunting her handlebars and have to contend with a bike-loving horse, bike-hating dogs, bike-crushing pigs, and a bike-stealing bandit. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, she discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems.


My Review:

I cannot say enough good things about this book. As a (slightly lapsed) bicycle rider, I can relate to this book so much. I've always wanted to ride cross-country by bicycle, which is what the main character does. The descriptions of the scenery are amazing and vivid, and I can easily picture it in my mind, having done some (much smaller - most I've bicycled is through 5 states in 2 days) bicycle tours. The thrill of seeing new things, crossing state and town lines, the highs and lows of the physical feat of riding such a long distance, and meeting new people all comes through in this book. The best part of the story is that it's surreal and whimsical. In addition to the normal experiences Bicycle has riding cross-country, she also has the craziest, most unrealistic adventures. At one point in the story, her bicycle is actually haunted by a ghost. I love the fact that Christina Uss pulls NO punches. When she sets out to tell a tall tale, she goes from "Wow, that's strange." to "I can't believe this is really happening!". I love books like this that mix the normal every day with the strange and unreal. Above all, Bicycle learns important lessons on how to make friends, and they are good lessons for everyone. If only everyone would follow such simple advice, the world would be a much better place. The lessons are not heavy handed but told in a fun, suspenseful, and uplifting tale that I would highly recommend.