Steve and the Steam Engine

Steve Tolman has a car, his father's car, and a plan to impress his friends. What could go wrong? Everything, it turns out. When the gasoline runs out on a lonely country road, Steve is left stranded with nothing but his own poor judgment for company. A friendly mechanic pulls him out of trouble, but the real reckoning comes later, in the quiet shame of facing what he's done. He's lied to the people who trust him, let down the father who taught him better, and proven himself unworthy of the responsibility he's been given. Sara Ware Bassett writes with sharp attention to how childhood feels the weight of its own mistakes, the particular ache of disappointing someone you love. Set against the rumbling promise of early industrial America, where steam engines and automobiles represent progress and possibility, this is a story about a boy who must learn that freedom comes after accountability, not before. It endures because every generation discovers this truth anew: that growing up means owning what you've done before you can move forward.