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A review by rach
American Road Trip by Patrick Flores-Scott
5.0
A heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful, story about the effects of war on the people who go to fight it, both the ones who come home and those who don’t, and the families they leave behind and come back to. I cried so many times while listening to this book. I was angry and sad for pretty much everyone.
I was mad for Teodoro, when Xochitl kept lying to him and dragging him further and further onto this road trip. In the end, I understand why she did it, but at the time, it felt like if she had just *asked* T, he might have chosen to go with them. But maybe that’s part of the growth he goes through during the book. He always loved his family, and wanted his brother back, but when he finally opened up about everything he had been feeling and going through is when he started making deeper, more meaningful connections.
I was a little annoyed with Wendy when she initially breaks things off with T. Clearly they have a strong connection, and she cares about him a lot, and surely she understands everything he’s been going through, and why he lied and hid things when he did. But Wendy doesn’t live in T’s head like we do as readers, and she can’t know those things until he tells her. Ultimately, I think pulling back romantically and becoming more open and honest helped them build a stronger connection.
Everything Manny is dealing with is so overwhelming. His PTSD and TBIs have had such an overwhelming affect on him, it’s impossible to overstate how much war changed him. And as hard as it is as readers to hear about it, I can’t even imagine the heartache and trauma caused by watching someone you love go through that, to try to take his own life, to live with the pressure of being the only thing standing between life and death for him. I don’t blame T for needing space from him to focus on school, and eventually for going to counseling to help deal with the trauma. You can feel the love this family has for one another with every word and every breath of this book.
Xochitl is the rock at the center of this family. This woman saw her broken older brother, and knew she couldn’t help him on her own, so she found a way. She might have been underhanded in how she got T to go with them, but she was doing it for a good cause, to save their brother. She made the plans, and was willing to sacrifice her future to do her best by Manny. I was so happy when T was able to step in and figure out a solution that kept Manny with someone to watch him but also allowed Xoch to thrive, with her music that touched so many. I tried to be mad at T snooping in her email and songs, but after what she pulled to get him down to New Mexico, it felt like an appropriate response - T and Manny meddling to make sure Xoch didn’t miss out on her big future.
This book feels especially important as more and more soldiers return from war and we realize how significant the effects of PTSD and TBIs are. The PTSD and family resources at the end are especially valuable. It surprises me how few reviews this has - hopefully as time goes on, knowledge of it will grow. I wish I had written done some of the quotes I especially liked. Normally I’ll look on goodreads after I’m done reading and find them, but only one quote has been pulled so far.
I was mad for Teodoro, when Xochitl kept lying to him and dragging him further and further onto this road trip. In the end, I understand why she did it, but at the time, it felt like if she had just *asked* T, he might have chosen to go with them. But maybe that’s part of the growth he goes through during the book. He always loved his family, and wanted his brother back, but when he finally opened up about everything he had been feeling and going through is when he started making deeper, more meaningful connections.
I was a little annoyed with Wendy when she initially breaks things off with T. Clearly they have a strong connection, and she cares about him a lot, and surely she understands everything he’s been going through, and why he lied and hid things when he did. But Wendy doesn’t live in T’s head like we do as readers, and she can’t know those things until he tells her. Ultimately, I think pulling back romantically and becoming more open and honest helped them build a stronger connection.
Everything Manny is dealing with is so overwhelming. His PTSD and TBIs have had such an overwhelming affect on him, it’s impossible to overstate how much war changed him. And as hard as it is as readers to hear about it, I can’t even imagine the heartache and trauma caused by watching someone you love go through that, to try to take his own life, to live with the pressure of being the only thing standing between life and death for him. I don’t blame T for needing space from him to focus on school, and eventually for going to counseling to help deal with the trauma. You can feel the love this family has for one another with every word and every breath of this book.
Xochitl is the rock at the center of this family. This woman saw her broken older brother, and knew she couldn’t help him on her own, so she found a way. She might have been underhanded in how she got T to go with them, but she was doing it for a good cause, to save their brother. She made the plans, and was willing to sacrifice her future to do her best by Manny. I was so happy when T was able to step in and figure out a solution that kept Manny with someone to watch him but also allowed Xoch to thrive, with her music that touched so many. I tried to be mad at T snooping in her email and songs, but after what she pulled to get him down to New Mexico, it felt like an appropriate response - T and Manny meddling to make sure Xoch didn’t miss out on her big future.
This book feels especially important as more and more soldiers return from war and we realize how significant the effects of PTSD and TBIs are. The PTSD and family resources at the end are especially valuable. It surprises me how few reviews this has - hopefully as time goes on, knowledge of it will grow. I wish I had written done some of the quotes I especially liked. Normally I’ll look on goodreads after I’m done reading and find them, but only one quote has been pulled so far.