Rating (Out of 5): ~4 (Maybe 4.5)
Publisher: Penguin (Dial)
Spoilers?: Minor, Plus one forewarned
Goodreads Synopsis:
When sixteen-year-old
Luke's book, Hallelujah, becomes a national bestseller, his publishing
house sends him on a cross-country book tour with his older brother,
Matt, as chauffeur. But when irresponsible Matt offers to drive Luke's
ex–soul mate, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy.
On the trip, Luke must loosen up, discover what it truly means to have
faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.
Told with Antony John's signature wit and authenticity, and featuring smart, singular characters who jump off the page and into your heart, this story is a spiritual awakening and rockin' road trip in one.
Told with Antony John's signature wit and authenticity, and featuring smart, singular characters who jump off the page and into your heart, this story is a spiritual awakening and rockin' road trip in one.
Review:
I was hoping, even expecting, to really like this, especially because
of how much I enjoyed John's second book, but then I was nervous when
I found out that it was religious (which I didn't find out until I
read another review, since I completely ignored the title. I was just
like, Antony John['s new book]? WANT, and pre-ordered). (Which
might not be surprising, if you've read this one review of mine...)
I'm not too big on religion, so I was wary, and then I was surprised
by how easily I got sucked into the book. Now, after reading it, I'm
glad with how much I liked it, and am debating on its rating...
Thou Shalt Not Road Trip is
about Luke, a boy who has written and published a book while still in
high school, a book that he now, about a year later, feels very
disconnected to. The book takes place when Luke goes on the tour for
his book, a little over a week, with his brother Matt, his brother's
girlfriend Alex, and Luke's old best friend and crush Fran. And
during it all, he's kind of trying to find himself and deal with what
happened around the time he wrote the book and after it got
published.
So, I liked Luke. Mostly. Kind of.
Well, he's sweet and I want to give him a hug, but at the same time,
he's kind of self-centered and closed-minded and oblivious and I just
want to shake him. But he's trying
to get over those things, and he's getting better by the end of the
book, so I feel that things are looking up for him, and I'm glad.
'cause even when he bothered me, (and probably because of how
well-written he was,) I enjoyed being in his head.
We get to know Matt pretty well, and
I wasn't a big fan of his. He's kind of a... um, jerk (douche, I
feel, is a better word, but I don't like that word, and so am
refraining from using it). But maybe he's getting better by the end?
He did realize what he did wrong, and was doing some things to make it better, so... maybe, yea?. I don't feel I got to know Alex too well, but maybe
she was okay? I did like Fran. I rather liked her a lot, and felt bad
for what she was going through and went through and just wanted to be
her friend through it all, when everyone else couldn't, and was
wondering what she was thinking through all of it.
The road trip was fun. I haven't
been to the places he went (at least, that I remember), and so it was
fun to experience them with him. And it felt like more time should
have gone by, instead of only a little over a week, but each day went
by very smoothly; I was a little surprised with how well-done the
pace was (which might be because it wasn't a love-at-first-sight
story, since they all knew each other previously).
And now the religion part. Luke
wrote a religious book, because he's a religious person, and goes to
church and all that, but he's still very much a lost teenage boy (not
that, ah, he wouldn't be a teenage boy just because he goes to church
or anything; I swear, that is not what I am saying. [Maybe that his
religion has not taken over his life?] More that, he still has
teenage boy thoughts relating to girls; and also, that he gets
embarrassed very easily by them, which is very cute and not bad in
any way [this was a
religious book with some really good romance, which I am very happy
about]). And everything he thought about his religion, was very much
of his own thoughts, and felt like they had nothing to do with the
authors feelings about it all. It wasn't overbearing, and I didn't
mind reading the religious parts, at all. Which was nice.
Also I liked the little excerpts of
Luke's book, they were nice. And I found it interesting how
disconnected he feels from the book, after all the editing and
re-thinking, especially since it started as a journal style thing
from youth group (or was it that summer camp thing? One of those
things, I think?) only written in Bible format. I liked how he felt
so different from when he wrote it, and his first interview was a
complete blur in his mind, so he was surprised when everyone loved it
so much and took it to be completely true and had such big reactions.
I liked seeing how surprised he was when people came up to him, and
with how many people came to his signings, and how upset they became
later. It was really interesting and really well done.
The ending, I'm not so happy with.
Mostly because of how things ended with Fran and Luke, but I don't
want to spoil it, and so I won't say too much, but I'm not all that
happy with it. I was hoping for something more, and while what
happened isn't particularly
bad, I was hoping for something different. Am a little disappointed,
even though I feel that it is good for the characters, and isn't an
overall bad thing. But, I guess, I can just imagine that things
change later, progress more in the direction I want, or was hoping
for? ([Possible Spoiler!] for Fran, to where she is more secure in
him, perhaps?)
Aside from that, the book was really
interesting and well done, and it kept me (a little surprisingly)
interested throughout the whole thing, to where I didn't want to put
it down, even as I had other things I wanted (or needed) to focus on,
and even while I was trying to savor the experience. It was really
good, and I'm really glad, and I'm super excited for his next book to
be released (which, you guys, should only be later this year!).
