Reviews

The Road to Wherever by John Ed Bradley

reading_ladies_blog's review

adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

miszjeanie's review

4.0

The Road to Wherever is a heartfelt road trip adventure story about family, community, and purpose. This middle grade novel is vivid, pulsing with life and emotion, and perfect for anyone who has ever experienced longing. Hand this to fans of road trip stories, books with sensitive male protagonists, or books about mental health challenges.

Read my full review on my blog.

Many thanks to the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

droar's review

4.0

A slow and steady read for me, but very enjoyable. June's dad has PTSD and left one night without any notice, now schools out & June's mom has called in the cavalry (or in this case June's first cousins, Thomas and Cornell) to get June out of the house over the summer, and boy is he going out of the house. You see Thomas and Cornell are Ford men, they spend each summer driving around the country fix old Ford's. It's a passion and a calling for them but June's not too sure about any of this, especially the parts about not having a tv or video games and living out of a tent and digging a hole for a privy everywhere they stop for a long job (standard policy not to use the clients bathroom) but at least this way June can look for his dad out on the road. And what a road it turns out to be. June meets all kinds of new people and gets to learn all kinds of new things maybe even things about his dad, maybe even things about himself.

I really like that this book takes its time. It talks about weighty stuff (PTSD, cancer, giving up someone else's dreams) but it's never in a rush to get to a big point or anything. It's a road trip book that really feels like a good long road trip in many ways, twisty and slow with plenty of stops and lots of good feelings. My only quibble I suppose is that June, & the whole book really, don't feel particularly modern. If you took out the occasional references to smartphones you could set this book in the 70's no problem (I mean, you'd have to back date the vehicles a bit of course). Some of it's that June is remarkably respectful and unsullen (non-sullen?)/ not a grump in general as opposed to the sassy pre-teen we see in many middle grade books today. It's just got an interestingly old timey feel to it which I enjoyed, but an not certain how it'll fly with the teen & tweens I hope to pitch this book to. In all a lovely read, perfect for young fans of road trips, cars, and slowly finding your way.

erinsbookshelves's review

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0