Books
Are you dreaming of packing a bag and hitting the open road, but in reality, stuck at home for the weekend? Don't worry, there is still a way for you to have the travel adventure you've been waiting: short summer road trip novels. Wherever you actually are, these books can take you to some place you'd rather be.
To me, summer just isn't complete without a road trip. Whether I'm packing my bathing suit and sunglasses and making the four hour trip to the beach, heading up north for a driving tour of the White Mountains, or trekking all the way down the coast to visit family in Florida, few things give me as much joy as driving tunes, road snacks, and feeling the wind in my hair. Unfortunately, between work and bills, taking a road trip isn't always an option. That's why I adore the road trip novel: it's the perfect way to travel without actually having to take time off, spend money, and, well, travel.
Forget On the Road and Travels with Charley, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Paper Towns. Here are five short summer road trip novels you haven't read already, each one with a new adventure you won't be able to forget.
'Love Songs & Other Lies' by Jessica Pennington
Hardcover Page Count: 288
Finally over her heartbreak from two years earlier, Virginia Miller is ready to have the summer of her lifetime as the intern on tour with a battle bands reality show. That is, until she learns her first love will be there too, and Vee realizes she's going to share a bus with Cam, who insists on winning her forgiveness, for three months. Will they be able to find a happy ending, or is their story destined to become a ballad for the broken hearted?
'Flaming Iguanas: An Illustrated All-Girl Road Novel Thing'
Paperback Page Count: 288
The title says it all: Flaming Iguanas is an "all-girl road novel thing," and trust me when I say it's unlike anything you've read before. A cross-country trip bursting with humor and heart, it follows Tomato Rodriguez as she embarks on a soul-searching, self-discovery adventure of a lifetime that readers will be glad to be a part of.
'The Borrower' by Rebecca Makkai
Paperback Page Count: 324
In this hilarious and heartwarming novel, a young children's librarian finds out that her favorite patron is trying to runaway from home, and far from his parents who insist on sending him to antigay classes with a local celebrity pastor. Unable to seal his sad fate and send him home, Lucy takes 10-year-old Drake on a well-intentioned, if questionable, road trip from Missouri to Vermont. Along the way they encounter plenty of obstacles, including Lucy's own doubt, that slow them down.
'The Last Days of California' by Mary Miller
Paperback Page Count: 256
The Rapture is coming. At least according to 15-year-old Jess's evangelical father, who has decided to pack up his family and move them west on a cross-country, soul-saving road trip that will transform all of their lives. That is, if the apocalypse doesn't come. Smart, funny, and heartbreaking all at once, The Last Days of California is a road trip novel you won't forget.
'Love & Luck' by Jenna Evans Welch
Hardcover Page Count: 320
It may be on the longer side for a quick weekend read, but this young adult novel is well worth the extra pages. Love & Luck follows teenage Addie who, after finding an unusual guidebook, sets off on an incredible road trip through Ireland, one that offers not just breathtaking views of rolling green hills and ancient castles, but a chance to mend a broken heart.
