ROAD TRIP RESCUE

ROAD TRIP RESCUE
Friday, October 20, 2023 by BECCA WIERWILLE

Categories: Friday's Fiction / GUEST AUTHORS

PLEASE WELCOME

BECCA WIERWILLE

FICTION FRIDAY

The Story Behind the Story

A girl with a missing dog.

A magazine photo that points north.

A pink-haired aunt with a beloved old car and a heart for adventure.

A rescue mission that isn’t going according to plan.

These are just a few things you’ll find in Road Trip Rescue, a novel for kids ages 8-12 with themes of faith and friendship.

Road Trip Rescue is not the first book I’ve written, but it is my debut, and it’s especially close to my heart. That’s probably because, even though Road Trip Rescue is a novel for kids, Kimmy and I have a lot in common.

We both love dogs and know they can make wonderful friends. We’ve both had dogs that have flooded a house—if you read the book, you’ll see that I’m not joking! And we were both born with one hand. Like Kimmy, my right arm stops right after the elbow.

When the story begins, Kimmy is dealing with a lot of insecurity and loneliness because of her “little arm,” as she calls it. Not everyone who reads Road Trip Rescue will have a limb difference. And not all of us get to go on wild road trips with our aunts. However, most of us can still relate to the feelings of insecurity, loneliness, and loss that Kimmy experiences.

Do you ever feel alone or different or like you don’t fit in? Have you ever questioned whether God hears your prayers? Do you hesitate when people tell you that you are wonderfully made?

Do you know a young reader who might resonate with these questions?

Kimmy’s story may be just what they need to hear.

It’s a story I wish I had had when I was a kid.

So now, my goal in writing for kids is to show them that they are wonderfully created. Specifically, in Road Trip Rescue, I want them to see that they are not alone—and they never have been.

And it’s true. We are not alone.

Not when we experience immense losses.

Not when we doubt God is listening to our prayers.

Not when we feel like outcasts.

Never.

The words of Jesus in Matthew 28:20 are a promise to his disciples, and to us as well: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

In Road Trip Rescue, Kimmy goes through a transformation in the way she sees herself and her place in the world.

And when we learn to accept and believe the promise that Jesus is always with us, we can experience transformation as well.

An Excerpt from Chapter 1 of Road Trip Rescue:

I’m not even trying to be funny when I say my life changed on the toilet.

I sat in the bathroom flipping through a magazine, because the moment I stopped reading, my chores would bury me like a mountain of mud.

Outdoor Adventure was the magazine. The issue might’ve covered East Coast hiking destinations or the best summer campgrounds or something like that. I didn’t read the magazines so much as skim for pictures and silly ads. I’d cut those out and tape them to my bedroom door for when I needed a good laugh.

Sure, I would’ve liked to scroll on my phone like other kids my age. But thanks to Mom and Dad’s no-phone-until-you’re-thirteen rule, that wasn’t an option.

The roar of the vacuum cleaner filled the hallway. Mom always cleaned before we had company. I didn’t know why she worried about it. It was only Aunt Skylar coming for dinner tomorrow. She came every week, and no way she cared if the house was messy.

The vacuum stopped. Mom tapped the door. “You almost done in there? I’ve got to clean that bathroom, and you haven’t finished folding the laundry.”

I frowned. Folding laundry topped the list of my least favorite chores. I once tried to convince Mom folding laundry was impossible with one hand, but she didn’t buy it. Especially since I’d only ever had half of my right arm and had learned to do everything with my left from the time I was born.

“Kimmy?” Mom asked.

“Be out in a minute!”

Her footsteps hustled away.

I flipped the page.

And my jaw dropped almost to the tile floor.

I was staring at a picture of Bo.

It couldn’t be him.

My dog had been gone for two years. Disappeared without a trace. Our neighbors had helped us search. When we still couldn’t find him, even Dad cried.

But when I looked at that photo in the magazine, I knew it had to be him.

Long golden hair, four big white paws. A white spot on his forehead. Black fur outlining his bright blue eyes like doggy eyeliner. A beautiful golden retriever and Aussie mix. In the photo, he was devouring an ice cream cone with a big smile on his furry face.

“Mom!” I barged out of the bathroom, my shorts barely pulled up to my waist and not taking the full twenty seconds to wash my hand.

I stopped by my room and grabbed the framed photo of Bo from beside my bed. He and I used to play together in the creek behind the farm, and this picture captured one of those memories.

My glance darted from the magazine to the creek photo. It was the same dog. Same blue eyes, same white spot on his forehead.

No one could deny it.

More About Road Trip Rescue:

Twelve-year-old Kimmy trusts dogs more than people.

After all, her dog Bo never made fun of her for having one hand. But two years ago, Bo disappeared.

When Kimmy stumbles across a magazine photo of a dog in upstate New York that looks just like Bo, she knows she has to find him. Her parents seem oddly unsupportive, but pink-haired, adventure-hungry Aunt Skylar agrees to a road trip with a stop in the Adirondacks. Kimmy jumps at the chance to bring her furry family member home.

Unfortunately, Aunt Skylar’s idea of a road trip isn’t the rescue mission Kimmy had in mind.

Links for Road Trip Rescue:

Amazon buy link—releases on October 24, 2023
Learn more about Road Trip Rescue at https://beccawierwille.com/road-trip-rescue/

ABOUT BECCA WIERWILLE

Becca Wierwille writes stories to show kids they are wonderfully created for the unique adventures in their lives. Born with only half of her right arm, she aims to help others find beauty in what makes them extraordinary. Mom by day and novelist by relatively early in the morning, she wishes she could eat peach pie as often as most writers drink coffee. Despite her dreams of sandy beaches and mountain peaks, she loves living in Pennsylvania with her family. Road Trip Rescue is Becca's debut novel. You can visit her online at beccawierwille.com or follow her on social media @beccawierwille. Sign up for her email newsletter to receive free resources and monthly encouragement.

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Comments

Melinda From Oregon At 10/31/2023 10:25:47 AM

Great story! I appreciate the vulnerability to share your mini-arm experience through your main character’s viewpoint. Such great takeaways for 8-12 year olds.