{"product_id":"the-schoolie-suzanne-cruz-9798888705261","title":"The Schoolie: Observations on Life through the Window of a School Bus","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHave you ever loved your family deeply and still wondered how any of you survived each other?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Schoolie\u003c\/i\u003e is a warm, witty, and deeply reflective coming-of-age memoir told through the \"window\" of a \u003ci\u003eschoolie\u003c\/i\u003e (the nickname for a converted school bus). In Becca's big Italian Catholic family, that bus becomes \"Camp-a-lot\" part road trip machine, part rolling family circus, part accidental classroom for everything you do not learn at Mass.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside Camp-a-lot, faith and chaos share the same bench seat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne minute you are having a genuine spiritual moment as the Grand Canyon rolls past in all its glory. The next minute, someone is sticking their head out the window screaming \"Help me!\" just to watch Mom panic and Dad hit the brakes. One minute you are trying to be holy. The next you are discovering that \"urban navigation language\" (also known as Dad's creative profanity) is apparently required to drive a bus-sized beast through America.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is family life as it really is: noisy, loving, ridiculous, and formative.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe name Camp-a-lot is no accident. It playfully echoes Camelot, King Arthur's shining ideal of honor, loyalty, and righteousness. Camelot was beautiful, and yet it still fell. And as Becca grows up and looks back from adulthood, she begins to notice the same pattern closer to home: families can be built with noble intentions, then slowly worn down by human weakness, irresponsibility, spite, and time.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhich leads to the question at the heart of this book: If goodness gets torn down so often... why bother building anything at all?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Schoolie answers with the kind of hope that does not deny reality. It offers refreshing, family-oriented humor alongside hard-earned insight, and it lands on a simple truth echoed by Pope John Paul II: you bother because it matters. You love, you create, you try, even when you know life can be messy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWho this book is for\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReaders who love funny, heartfelt family memoirs that still go somewhere meaningful\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone raised with faith, tradition, and big personalities (especially Catholic families)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReaders who want humour with substance, not trauma for shock value\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnyone who has ever thought, \"My family should come with a user manual\"\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhy this book is unique\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA converted school bus is not just a setting; it is a brilliant metaphor for growing up\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt blends nostalgic comedy with spiritual reflection (without preaching)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt captures the universal: sibling chaos, family legends, and the strange holiness of ordinary life\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIt tells the truth with warmth, including the kind of laughter you need in a too-serious world\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Schoolie isn't really about a bus. It is about what carried you then, what shaped you, and what still carries you now: memory, faith, family, and the stubborn decision to keep building even when things fall apart.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you are craving a memoir with heart, meaning, and genuinely refreshing family humor, come aboard. The journey matters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Suzanne Cruz\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798888705261\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e En Route Books \u0026amp; Media\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/12\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 202\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.46d","brand":"Suzanne Cruz","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48443053113599,"sku":"9798888705261","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a46fa6fa-0cad-43cb-98fd-8bff1c744d40.jpg?v=1777201539","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-schoolie-suzanne-cruz-9798888705261","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}