G'ma won't tell him exactly what the plan is, but it seems like they are reliving a road trip she and his G'pa took before Scoob's dad was born. She is using all these old maps and something called a Green Book to navigate, and each stop reveals more about the past.
Scoob's dad has always resented his father who died in prison serving a sentence for a string of jewel thefts, so this is the first time Scoob is really learning anything about the guy. Each stop is significant to the Civil Rights movement but also significant to his grandparents. Scoob's never really thought about how hard it was to be a black person fifty years ago, and he didn't even know his grandparents' interracial relationship was illegal.
G'ma is Scoob's favorite person, and they are having a great time at first, but when she starts doing strange things like calling him by his father's name, he starts to worry. Maybe leaving his cell phone at home to cut off his dad was a bad idea. What's the point of this whole road trip anyway? Scoob is starting to lose faith in the person he trusted the most.
Nic Stone's middle grade debut is an interesting read. I feel like the cover and some of the reviews are misleading. I'm seeing a lot of words like "light-hearted" tossed around, and I don't think that's accurate. There are some comic moments here, but once you hit the halfway point, the mood really shifts. His G'ma starts to feel like a stranger, and he has no way to contact his dad as they head out of the country. Stressful! I won't spoil anything, but G'ma's revelation at the end is pretty heavy for an 11-year-old. I enjoyed the book and recommend it; I'm just a little confused by the marketing.
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