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A review by mandyist
American Road Trip by Patrick Flores-Scott
3.0
This book has been on my TBR-list for the longest time, and it is only that which made me plough through it to the end.
I thought I'd love a story about a road trip but I hated the way the road trip was executed by T's sister. That and her lies and complete lack of respect for T's future enraged me. (I say this as someone who lives in a family bound together by trauma. PTS, and living with those with PTS, means a greater need for honesty, respect and boundaries, not less).
I also disliked how selfish Wendy was and how she somehow managed to make another family's crisis about her.
And then the end. The characters act in an incredibly problematic and manipulative manner throughout the novel and the author shows character development by having the protagonist act in the same way, and somehow that's explained as love?
The story is sweet, hence three stars, but I haven't disliked characters this much in a while. I've mentioned before that I'm on a journey of accepting flawed characters and actions but we have to hold YA novels to a greater standard.
Essentially, the message here to the YA audience is that it's okay to lie, manipulate, and hijack family members (literally and figuratively) to achieve your own agenda and that (to misquote Whitney) is not right nor is it okay.
I thought I'd love a story about a road trip but I hated the way the road trip was executed by T's sister. That and her lies and complete lack of respect for T's future enraged me. (I say this as someone who lives in a family bound together by trauma. PTS, and living with those with PTS, means a greater need for honesty, respect and boundaries, not less).
I also disliked how selfish Wendy was and how she somehow managed to make another family's crisis about her.
And then the end. The characters act in an incredibly problematic and manipulative manner throughout the novel and the author shows character development by having the protagonist act in the same way, and somehow that's explained as love?
The story is sweet, hence three stars, but I haven't disliked characters this much in a while. I've mentioned before that I'm on a journey of accepting flawed characters and actions but we have to hold YA novels to a greater standard.
Essentially, the message here to the YA audience is that it's okay to lie, manipulate, and hijack family members (literally and figuratively) to achieve your own agenda and that (to misquote Whitney) is not right nor is it okay.