Reading Recommendations: On The Open Road

A new month means another batch of reading recommendations! April’s theme is On the Open Road which means stories about road trips to a variety of destinations. I hope you enjoy these picks!

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One Night in Georgia

Set in the summer of 1968, a provocative and devastating novel of individual lives caught in the grips of violent history—a timely and poignant story that reverberates with the power of Alice Walker’s Meridian and Ntozake Shange’s Betsey Browne.

At the end of a sweltering summer shaped by the tragic assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Bobby Kennedy, race riots, political protests, and the birth of Black power, three coeds from New York City—Zelda Livingston, Veronica Cook, and Daphne Brooks—pack into Veronica’s new Ford Fairlane convertible, bound for Atlanta and their last year at Spelman College. It is the beginning a journey that will change their lives irrevocably.

One Night in Georgia is a fast paced read even though most of the road trip moves steadily throughout the narrative. It’s detailed writing includes many aspects of the era and it’s detailed references to certain historical events and clothes, music, the Green Book, and speech made it such an immersive reading experience. It was very real and horrifying at many moments as Norfleet does not shy away from the race relations, inequality, and violence, and police brutality of the time. The main cast of characters come face-to-face with reality and the journey ultimately leaves them scarred.

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Camper Girl

Eighteen-year old Shannon Burke is stuck. Her friends are heading off to college, her job is a complete dead-end, and her mother’s just made her part owner of the failing family business. The only bright spot is her upcoming birthday and a visit from her eccentric Aunt Rebecca. But before Shannon can blow out her candles, she receives devastating news: Rebecca is dead. 

When she learns that her aunt has gifted her a beat-up camper, Shannon decides to sell it for cold, hard cash. Then she loses her job and finds a mysterious map in the glove box, and in a moment of desperation, she jumps behind the wheel and hits the road. 

Readers follow Shannon on her physical and mental journey of trying to heal and sort out life’s obstacles. This was a book that hits the heart and definitely had me tearing up at a few moments. I could really feel Shannon’s grief and uncertainty through the strong narrative and appreciated how her character developed over the course of the story. I also thought the story is relatable due because we’ve all been on journeys of self-discovery in life and struggled to follow the path that we thought was right for us. I liked the story so much and I love how detailed the writing was. It was so immersive and I could picture the natural beauty of the campsites that Shannon visits.

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Here We Are Now

Despite sending him letters ever since she was thirteen, Taliah Abdallat never thought she’d ever really meet Julian Oliver. But one day, while her mother is out of the country, the famed rock star from Staring Into the Abyss shows up on her doorstep. This makes sense – kinda – because Julian Oliver is Taliah’s father, even though her mother would never admit it to her.

Julian asks if Taliah if she will drop everything and go with him to his hometown of Oak Falls, Indiana, to meet his father – her grandfather – who is nearing the end of his life. Taliah, torn between betraying her mother’s trust and meeting the family she has never known, goes. With her best friend Harlow by her side, Taliah embarks on a three-day journey to find out everything about her ‘father’ and her family.

Taliah uncovers her roots and inevitably her own person when Julian, the rock star and also allegedly her father, barges in on her one day to whisk her away to Oakland in this road trip story. It’s emotional and Taliah grows throughout the story, through a handful of “tough love” scenarios from multiple friends and family members. During the road trip she learns that life isn’t as black and white as she thinks it is. This is a great YA contemporary story about family, with some nice diverse representation.

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Huda F Cares

Huda and her sisters can’t believe it when her parents announce that they’re actually taking a vacation this summer . . . to DISNEY WORLD! But it’s not quite as perfect as it seems. First Huda has to survive a 24-hour road trip from Michigan to Florida, with her sisters annoying her all the way. And then she can’t help but notice the people staring at her and her family when they pray in public. Back home in Deerborn she and her family blend right in because there are so many other Muslim families, but not so much in Florida and along the way.

It’s a vacation of forced (but unexpectly successful?) sisterly bonding, a complicated new friendship, a bit more independence, and some mixed feelings about her family’s public prayers.

This graphic novel like the first one in the series is a heartfelt and comedic comic about growing up finding your identity, accepting your culture, and family. Huda’s art may be simplistic, but her stories are engaging and relatable. Watching her and her siblings bond over the chaotic road trip to Disney World is funny and endearing. There are many wacky moments to make the reader laugh and it captures the fun of the Disney parks.   loved Huda’s character growth in this novel as she navigated what it means to be Muslim in public spaces. 

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I Wanna Be Where You Are

When Chloe Pierce’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe’s mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe’s chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast—two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.

This novel is a quintessential coming of coming of age story mixed with with a spontaneous road trip. This novel gave me all the vibes of a friend to lovers romance that was cute and an important message about facing your fears. The road trip is full of twists and turns but was also full of quieter moments of reflection. Chloe and Eli learn to reconcile their differences and start to carve out a path for themselves. The themes are relatable, the journey is full of obstacles, and there’s an adorable dog as well!

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That concludes my reading recommendations for road trip themed stories! What books do you recommend or what are your favorites? Comment below!