Although Nye insists that these first-person narratives are fiction, they read like personal essays or newspaper columns about her encounters ("riding in a taxi, passing in a car") during her travels with her family and for her work as an author and public speaker. She writes about sudden intimate connections with strangers, especially taxi drivers, who often yield glimpses of family and exile that can sometimes change us. Some pieces are more for adults than teens, especially those that detail Nye's travails at conventions, but the prose is chatty, fast, and unpretentious, and teens will enjoy the driving stuff and the idea of her kissing in the backseat, and they'll feel her sense of control when she is behind the wheel herself. Unlike much of Nye's writing, these pieces are not political, yet the most riveting conversation is with a Palestinian taxi driver in Manhattan, who speaks of those he left behind: "They can't come, they can't go."

Joey is a fine farm horse sold for cavalry use in World War I. Through Joey's Black Beauty-esque narration, readers learn of the futility of cavalry against machine guns; the loss of Joey's companion, Topthorn; and Joey's reunion with the farm boy who loves him. At times deeply affecting, the story balances the horror with moments of respite and care.

<p>"A late night driver in Pittsburgh said, 'I dream about staircases under the bed going down to other worlds. Do you?' 'No,' I said. 'But it sounds interesting.' " Nye has hailed cabs from Seattle to Delhi and everywhere in between, and in this moving collection of 31 essays, she conveys how, for her, a taxi ride is truly "the central human experience." Though cars drive the theme here, they are just, well, vehicles to express the author's contagiously enraptured sense of the beauty and wonder of living on planet Earth. In casual conversations with taxi drivers around the world, the self-proclaimed nomad finds jewels of wisdom and new perspectives that she presents in thoroughly engaging vignettes. While the essays relating childhood memories of car-related incidents and accidents sometimes ramble, the overall collection is inspiring and has moments of real magic. Nye not only tells us, "it's the journey, not the destination," she shows us how, again and again. Go ahead, take a cab . . . there's sure to be a radio station blaring that you would never have heard otherwise. (Nonfiction. YA)</p>

Nye brings a keen curiosity and a poet's sensibility to this smooth, anecdotal collection that amplifies the notion that the journey itself is the destination. The most memorable characters are taxi drivers, such as the Syracuse, N.Y., cabbie whose conversation gives the book its title: driving her to the airport before dawn, he warns Nye that he will ask three times if she is okay, “Just to make sure you feel safe and secure. We're living in strange times, and I want you to feel very comfortable.” In other highlights of Nye's tour, she re-creates the voices of a rickshaw driver in India who tries to talk her into visiting a rug store instead of the Taj Mahal; the Glasgow driver who invites her to sit in front with him and bids her farewell with, “Okay then, be safe to the other side of the sea”; and an Egyptian driver in New York City who boasts of trafficking in counterfeit handbags. Nye muses on what she learns on specific travels and shares stories about driving other people (among them, possibly senile strangers, distinguished visiting writers and her own son). Aside from some name-dropping and some mildly self-indulgent moments, Nye's prose flows fluidly and evokes any number of different settings. She makes her case that “what happen[s] in the margins, on the way to the destinations of any day, might be as intriguing as what happen[s] when you {get] there.” All ages<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">. (Sept.)

Gr 10 Up-Nye describes real-life experiences that she has had in her middle and high school years, and as she has traveled as an adult. Most tales center on brief encounters with strangers. These relationships vary from intimate connections, as in the ride with a fellow Bruce Springsteen fan to general dislike, as in the strained car ride with a rich elderly couple. But what they all have in common is a change in perspective as a result of the encounter. The pacing is quick and lively, and Nye's accessible voice is entertaining. Despite the brevity of the pieces, the people are well drawn and settings are well crafted; the descriptions and interactions conjure up a clear mental image of both personality and place. While most of these pieces seem tailored to appeal to adults, teens will identify with the immediate connections that can occur among strangers. Lynn Rashid, Marriots Ridge High School, Marriotsville, MD

In this collection of essays on drivers and driving, poet and novelist Nye chronicles her travel experiences and not with stories about the places she has been but instead about the people who have delivered her there. A cab driver in Syracuse, New York, concerned about her comfort, asks repeatedly if she is okay as they converse about the changes taking place in his city. An Arab driver in Jerusalem threatens to throw her and her companion out of his car if they do not stop kissing. Nye herself is sometimes in the driver's seat, telling stories of some of her first experiences as a teenage driver, as when a strange old woman climbed into the back seat of the author's car and would not get out. Nye engages everyone with whom she sits in a car or rickshaw-whether in Scotland, Florida, or India-in a conversation about themselves, about their hometowns, about Bruce Springsteen, or about the Loch Ness Monster. Some rides are life affirming, and others are horrible. She writes honestly about them all. The result is a humorous and poignant vision of the world as a journey, ongoing and ever changing. The author's mother once asked her, in awe or exasperation, "How full is your head?" The dozens of stories in this collection will fill the heads of the author's teen fans and anyone who loves the open road.-Laura Lehner.