Megan Reed
EDCI 4120
6/20/08
Brooks, M. (1994). Traveling on into the light. New York: Puffin Books.

Grade Levels 7-12
Category Realistic Fiction
Read Alouds pp. 1-11(Don gets in trouble for something he didn’t do); pp. 22-29(After running away from home Laker is taken in by an old man); pp.71-79 (Sam struggles to come to grip with her fathers boyfriend).
Summary This book is similar to the “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul” books. There are several teenagers and they each have struggled in their own way. Don struggles because he has been in trouble with principals and teachers for as long as he can remember and now they don’t believe anything he says even when it is the truth. Laker runs away from home after his mother chooses her new husband over him. When he calls his mom wanting to come home she tells him that he isn’t welcome there anymore. Sam’s father divorced her mother after he meets a man that he wants to sped the rest of his life with. All of the teenagers have one thing in common; they all find someone who changes their life. Whether it is simply believing them, or taking in a runaway.
Discussion Questions Without the old man what would have happened to Laker when his mother tells him he can’t come home? Why of all people is it the principle that believes Don? Why is it so important that Niki doesn’t find out about her cousin and Randy?
Reader Response This book was interesting it covered a lot of different problems that teenagers face. I didn’t feel like they hashed out some of the problems leaving me to guess if the teens were ultimately going to be ok or not. I like books that solve all the problems in the end, that don’t leave any loose strings and this book didn’t do that.