artsy musings of a bibliophile

road trip

Review: Golden by Jessi Kirby

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ABOUT THE BOOK
young adult contemporary road trip published by Simon & Schuster on 14 May 2013 

Seventeen-year-old Parker Frost has never taken the road less traveled. Valedictorian and quintessential good girl, she’s about to graduate high school without ever having kissed her crush or broken the rules. So when fate drops a clue in her lap—one that might be the key to unraveling a town mystery—she decides to take a chance.
Julianna Farnetti and Shane Cruz are remembered as the golden couple of Summit Lakes High—perfect in every way, meant to be together forever. But Julianna’s journal tells a different story—one of doubts about Shane and a forbidden romance with an older, artistic guy. These are the secrets that were swept away with her the night that Shane’s jeep plunged into an icy river, leaving behind a grieving town and no bodies to bury.
Reading Julianna’s journal gives Parker the courage to start to really live—and it also gives her reasons to question what really happened the night of the accident. Armed with clues from the past, Parker enlists the help of her best friend, Kat, and Trevor, her longtime crush, to track down some leads. The mystery ends up taking Parker places that she never could have imagined. And she soon finds that taking the road less traveled makes all the difference.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW
There are books that leave you feeling breathless, then there are the ones that leave you feeling overwhelmed. The ones that leaves you restless like a thought that has come to a halt after reaching a point of realization and words that die on your lips. Golden left me feeling all three of these and more. So much more. A ‘love and a question.’
Each chapter begins with a line from a poem, the words just enough to travel inside the words written on the page. The beautiful, beautiful words which made me fall in love with the book. I’ve always been attached to words. Silence is something which will always be something you put in a corner and pick it up from time to time. But words, words are alive, the center of the being. Especially written words because they’re a mixture of silence and sound. The words of Julliana Farnetti.
Parker Frost is someone I could’ve been a few years back if I haven’t gathered my bearings and took a stand to study something in life that I wanted to instead of just driving myself crazy in order to become a doctor. It’s just something I thought I needed to become so I completely understand the choices she makes and why.
However, Parker is one of those who needs proof they can see and feel before they can believe in something. It is stupid yes, but for certain things in life, it’s all you need. A shock, a trigger, a flash and belief is there. Just like Kat’s believe in carpe diem. 
Kat, the one I admire so much. She’s one of those people who make you realize that it’s okay not to be perfect and do your own thing. A reminder like that never hurts because really, it is all about seizing the day which cannot be done if we’re acting on choices others make for us.
In between Parker’s hesitation and Kat’s boldness in life, Trevor Collins proved to be awesome. Really, there is no other word to describe him. His words are full of smiles and are true to the core. He’s substantial and real and yin to Parker’s yang. Chasing after the mystery of the love that was, it’s beautiful to read about the love that could be.
Golden is one of those books that do more than just tell a story. They change something inside of you. As I read Golden, I was reminded that poems are essential in life. They’re the fire and ice of words in life. And in the end, ‘nothing gold can stay.’ But y’know what? I’m glad the words of Golden will forever stay inside me.
THE QUOTES

‘But it seems to me that the experiences that stay with you, the things you’ll always remember, aren’t the ones you can force, or go looking for. I’ve always thought of those things as the ones that somehow find you.’

‘I sink into it completely, letting everything else fall away so all that’s left is this. A moment like a poem.’

Review: How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

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ABOUT THE BOOK

How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
young adult contemporary road trip published by Simon Pulse on May 7th, 2013

 

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

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Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Characters In Road Trip Genre

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Despite my evergreen love for the road trip genre, I haven’t read that many books from it (this a great Goodreads list to get started). However, road trip books are so good that it’s pretty easy to fall in love with more than one character. So here’s my list:


Caleb and Maggie from Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles 

Take two characters who have more than a rocky history together and put them together in a single bus on a summer trip. It only spells disaster and emotionally drained. I liked Caleb because of his intimidating yet gentle and reserved nature. Whereas despite Maggie having a lot to deal with, she is willing to forgive Caleb. I found this to be very intriguing and they get to open up to each other which gives a deeper meaning to their actions.

Dylan from Take Me There by Carolee Dean

I connected with Dylan; his restlessness, his failed attempts at trying to understand himself, his fate, his redemption. You know it in your heart that he is utterly genuine but trouble is only at arm’s length when it comes to him. It is so gut-wrenching to see him trying so hard to succumb to his fate and fighting it at the same time. It undoes you and spectacularly so.

Jordan and Courtney from Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

Two-Way Street is a fun book. It has two characters who are broken up but unable to escape the circumstances of their break up. They still have a trip to college to survive ’cause apparently you can’t break up and not have it come bite you in the ass the next day.

So it is hard not to love Jordan who is helplessly in love but his hands are tied and Courtney who is seething with jealousy over Jordan’s made up girlfriend. The jibes, jealousy and the hilarity of the two characters easily made them one of my favorites.

Colin and Hassan from An Abundance of Katherines from John Green

These two are a perfect pair unto each other. They can honestly live together happily ever after. Colin is awkward, socially inept but crazy smart and he knows facts! I totally related to him on that level. I love knowing and telling facts and statistics (not like Sheldon’s does) so it was awesome to see Colin do that.

And Hassan is comfortable in his skin which is what makes him so likable in my book. Also, it was great to read about a Muslim character and from John Green’s point of view. I just didn’t like the way Hassan kept calling Colin kafir; that is so not acceptable.

Kylie, Max and Will from From What I Remember… by Stacy Kramer and Valerie Thomas

I adore this book so it’s no wonder that out of the four main characters, three are my favorite. Kylie is a favorite ’cause she has that not-concerned-with-others look about her and she is damn smart! She likes to keep with herself or the people she is comfortable with which is so me.

Max was such an asshole at first but then I got to know him and the guy had depth he wasn’t showing! He almost did a complete one-eighty as the story progressed. I said almost because he gets confused in between and I wanted to shake him out of it. Generally, he is a milder Noah Hutchkins and hot.

Will is the coolest character ever (second to only Wesley Rush from The DUFF). He likes to party and could act like the laziest person ever when everyone else is panicking. I wouldn’t have minded reading the whole book from his point of view or even reading one of him only. The best gay character as yet (along with Cinna from The Hunger Games).

Link up your Top Ten Tuesday’s post below and I’ll be sure to visit!

Review: Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

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Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: 26 July 2007
Pages: 304 (eBook)

Synopsis
There are two sides to every breakup.

This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They’re even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.

Then Jordan dumps Courtney — for a girl he met on the Internet.

It’s too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney’s heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la — this is Courtney pretending not to care.

But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.

Turns out, he’s got a secret or two that he’s not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can’t get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

My Rating
* * * *
The Review
As soon as I read the backside of Two-Way Street, I wanted to read it. It is always interesting to read such books of conflicting interests. Albeit, I figured out the main conflict about 50 pages into the book. It was predictable. But the thing is that I didn’t mind it because I wanted to read the jibes being exchanged throughout their journey. Jordan and Courtney are not together anymore and Courtney is not aware of the real reason Jordan broke up with her. But both are still pretty much in love. So the jealousy naturally ensues.
It was so engrossing to read about the thinking process of Jordan and Courtney. The way they handled their BFFs and how they both evolved. It was all so different ’cause they actually liked each other before the trip. The flashbacks and the way they brought out the best and the worst in each other were fun to read. All those thing Courtney did to get the attention of Jordan only made him want her more. Ah…what fun!
I liked the character of Jordan more at times, his views on making it hard for the cheerleader to get him. However, it was somewhat player-ish of him. Also, I didn’t really liked the whole night of the party when Courtney wanted to tell Lloyd about her feelings. That was so twisted because of how fast everything happened and it got all messed up at the end of the night. 
In all, Two-Way Street was a hilarious read and the best thing was that we get the point of views from Courtney and Jordan, both. It all fit together so well and I appreciate the book because of what it tried to communicate about. B.J and Jocelyn, their BFFs were awesome, too! Don’t miss out on a great, light, summer read!
Best Quote:

“Maybe it’s our bodies’ way of telling us we were meant to be. Or maybe I, like, cuddle raped him or something.”

Review: Take Me There by Carolee Dean

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ABOUT THE BOOK

Take Me There by Carolee Dean
young adult contemporary road trip published by Simon & Schuster onc 20 July 2010


Dylan has a bad-boy past and a criminal record. He knows that rich, beautiful Jess is way too good for him—but she has always been the one person who sees through his tough exterior and straight to his heart, and he has been hopelessly in love with her from the first time they met. He would change his life for a chance with her.
But trouble follows Dylan wherever he goes, and a deadly mistake soon forces him to hit the road and leave his dreams behind. He’s on the run and in search of answers—answers to questions he wishes he’d never asked.

THE RATING

THE REVIEW

Take Me There
is a moving story
about a boy
who is bad.
But tries hard
to stay right,
to clean the sins
off his heart
and the grease stains
from his hands.
Because he knows
as he lives on,
so does hope.
I never read a book with such raw, deep and exhausting emotions before. I never expected Take Me There to overwhelm me like it did. There is so much to the story, so many words that it is impossible not to break while reading it. It made me go, like Dylan said, into the ‘darkest place I’ve ever been.’ The only difference was that the place was inside of me and Dylan’s story set it alight with fire.
It was very tough for me to go on reading because there was just so much of emotional baggage involved. As one chapter dissolved into another, the story got more and more raw with emotions.  It was like Dylan is fighting the cuckoo clock time bomb. He is never at rest and doesn’t believe that redemption is written in his destiny. But he tries anyway. You see, Dylan truly believes that he is a bad person, which he is because of the acts he committed. But he is more genuine than the purist man on earth. This is the beauty of Take Me There.
He screams for answers and his brain pours out words after words. Words he wishes would go away because he doesn’t want to deal with them. He has to, in any way possible. He wants to make an honest man out of himself, but is always just an inch away from it before trouble catches up with him. ‘How far can you go down the wrong path before you can’t get back on the right one?’ The question burns through his mind every moment of his life and he wants to know the answer before it is too late for him. Or maybe it already is.
Initially, it was the cover of the book that caught my attention and then the synopsis. The book never failed to surprise me; there are so many issues for Dylan to deal with that I felt I wouldn’t be able to keep up. But I was. Every time. Because Dylan’s story got adrenaline pumping through my blood. His words made me fall into love with the ideas swimming around in his head. He desperately needs to love and to be loved. I have never liked a character so much since Jennifer Parker from Rage of Angels. But I’ve got to say, it is breathtaking to read how Dylan discovers who he really is as he succumbs to the words inside him.
Suffice it to say, Take Me There has the power of undoing your insides.

THE QUOTES

‘I got words in me, Jess, fighting to find a way out. Sometimes there’s so many words and they get so crowded in my skull I think my head is gonna explode. I want to write them down. I’ve tried, but most of the time my thoughts and my feelings are bigger than what I can get on paper.’

‘Words are like people, I think. Put too many of them too close together and they cause trouble.’