Books that take you on a vicarious road trip
Summer is upon us! For some people summer means traveling and vacations but because of COVID-19 this summer means staying home. If you can’t travel, we have some adventures you can take from your couch! So, grab your most comfy travel clothes, get your snacks and put on your car playlist because we are taking you on a road trip with some great books.
From What I Remember
by Valerie Thomas & Stacy Kramer
I love “we woke up married” books but usually that doesn’t come up in my young adult reads. So when I saw the line, “Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??” I knew I had to read it. I found myself enjoying the story and rooting for everyone’s happiness.
In the span of forty-eight hours, socially awkward valedictorian, Kylie Flores and conceited jock, Max Langston, who've never spoken in four years of high school, will find themselves kidnapped, taken over the Mexican border, married and falling in love. Kylie's best friend, Will, Max's girlfriend Lily, and Max's wingman Charlie, are the unlikely cavalry charged with rescuing them. Against all odds, this crew must find their way back over the border in time for graduation and for Kylie to give her long awaited valedictorian speech…without killing each other en route.
Stranger Than FanFiction
by Chris Colfer
I mean be honest; who hasn’t thought about going on a trip with their favorite actor or musician? We’ve all done it. I’ll tell you this: if I invite BTS or Chris Evans on a trip and they come, please don’t look for me. I wouldn’t need anything else in life.
Cash Carter, famous actor, surprises four fans after they jokingly invite him on a cross-country road trip with them and he shows up. It seems like Cash has the perfect life but they learn that some things aren’t always what they seem and he is a real person, a person with secrets.
Summer of Us
by Cecilia Vinesse
Man, I would have loved to do this with my friends right after high school. Going on trip and just being together before we all went off to different places? Yes, please!
Aubrey only has two weeks left in Europe before she leaves for college in New York, and she's not nearly ready. Her plan is to postpone the goodbye for as long as possible. She and her best friend Rae have planned one last group trip across the continent. Along with friends Clara, Jonah, and Gabe they travel from Paris to Prague, exploring famous museums, sipping champagne in fancy restaurants, and eating as many croissants as they can. But when old secrets come to light, their trip goes from a whirlwind adventure to a complete disaster.
The Loose End List
by Carrie Firestone
No one is ever truly ready to say goodbye to a loved one forever. Like Maddie, I lost a grandparent to terminal cancer and even though we knew it was coming, it happened so quickly. There is never enough time to prepare. This story is filled with grief, sadness and heartbreak but also love and laughter.
Maddie has her perfect pre-college summer all planned but everything changes when her grandma announces that she’s terminally ill and has booked the family on a secret "death with dignity" cruise. Maddie finds herself struggling between finding the strength to say goodbye to her Gram and falling in love with Enzo, the son of the ship's owner who is trying to process his own grief.
The Bone Houses
by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Who doesn’t love grave diggers and zombies? Well me, honestly. (I don’t mind gravediggers but I’m not a fan of zombies.) Despite that, I loved this book. It was so good and gave me things I didn’t know I was missing.
Go on with Ryn and Ellis on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both a decades old curse and the deeply-buried truths about themselves. When risen corpses, known as "bone houses," wander too close to her graveyard, Ryn has always been quick to deal with them. Legend says the bone houses are the result of a decades-old curse. Ryn doesn’t know if that is true but she does know that when Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with renewed purpose. She is determined to figure out what is it about Ellis that draws them near and how they can stop them for good.