In anticipation of my upcoming 2-day car journey home from Skye, in which I will be jammed into the back seat with my sister and an extraordinary number of bags (and that’s just the ones that won’t fit in the boot!), I thought I’d recommend some books about more pleasant road trips than the one I’m about to embark on. 😛 I haven’t read all that many road trip books – they’re not something I usually go looking for – but here are a few that stuck out to me:
1) Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. The classic road trip novel! After her father’s death, Amy’s family moves across the country, and Amy is charged with taking the car to join her mother at the new house. But Amy is scared to drive on her own, so her mother arranges for an old friend – Roger – to drive with her, and they have an epic adventure on the way. This story is a little sad, naturally, but no overwhelmingly so. It’s wonderfully-written, the characters are really enjoyable to read, and there’s even a little romance mixed in that’s really cute~ ❤
2) Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff. Mila goes on a road trip across the U.S. with her father, searching for his missing best friend, and makes some unexpected discoveries on the way. Part road trip story, part mystery, with just a hint of magical realism – this book was an unexpected hit for me! 😀
3) How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle & Sarah Mlynowski. A recent read (I only finished reading it yesterday!), in which two friends go on a road trip together in hopes of repairing their rather strained relationship, and are joined by their new co-worker, who is really just hoping to make some new friends… There’s a lot going on in this one, and each of the girls has their own problems that they’re trying to either solve or escape from, but it makes a really great feel-good summer story!
4) The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. This one’s a little more of a stretch, since I haven’t actually read it, but I thought this list needed something that’s not so contemporary – and The Darkest Minds is, unusually, a dystopian road trip, following a group of teenagers with special powers. I can at least vouch for Alexandra Bracken’s writing style, as I really enjoyed her other book (Brightly Woven, a fantasy novel). This trilogy is super-popular, as well, so I have high hopes for when I actually get round to reading it (which will be soon, I hope!).
[EDIT (27/7/17): Have finally read The Darkest Minds, and can confirm that it’s everything I hoped it would be, i.e. excellent.]
Nightjar's Jar of Books 