ZANE'S TRACE
by Allan Wolf
The Blurb
Zane Guesswind is running from one death straight toward another -- his own. Taking off in a stolen 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, armed with his brother's driver's license, a six-pack of Mountain Dew, a jumbo pack of Sharpies, and a loaded gun in the trunk, he's headed for Zanesville, Ohio -- to kill himself at his mother's gravesite. He's got no rearview mirror and no more worries.
But when Zane picks up Libba, a hitchhiker also on her way to Zanesville, he gets a lot more than a girl who wants the last word in any argument. With each mile marker that he passes, Zane gets farther from the life he knows and closer to figuring out who he is. This suspenseful novel is a fast-moving read with a supernatural twist -- and an insightful look at families and how we can only escape them when we accept the way they are.
The First Lines
I-70 West: Mile Marker 82
* 334 Miles to Zanesville
When I die
I want to come back
as a 1969 Plymouth Barracuda
midnight blue with black-tape accents,
twin dummy hood scoops,
and a 440 big-block engine
stuffed between the fenders.
An engine so big they had to install it
with a shoehorn and a hammer.
Why I Decided to Take on the Read
Present to me a book with handwriting scribbles on its cover and I wouldn't take a second chance in grabbing it. That's what happened to Zane's Trace. I love seeing handwritten scribbles on books. On torn pieces of paper. On receipts. Anywhere. There's something personal about them -- they're like the remnants of the soul, like the faint white smoke that lingers when you blow the fire from the candlewick. This book has an air of eerieness in it and this draw me onto reading on the front cover. The story seems interesting a boy who was about to abandon his suicide plan. This book ought to have some good lessons about life. And.. This book is unique as it doesn't have chapters only summary of thoughts on each mile marker. Handwritten notes and unique way of storytelling. Got me.
