Hit the Road

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

If you want to read one of the most hilarious books of the summer, then you definitely need to pick up a copy of HIT THE ROAD by Caroline B. Cooney. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard, or so often, while reading a book. If you've always believed that people over the age of eighty are nothing but dried up old husks of their former selves, then you need to meet the Buttermeres: Nannie Rawlings, Florence Mirsky, Aurelia Alan, and Daisy Ferrer. And the girl destined to either make an entire carload of new friends, or go crazy in the process, Brittany Anne Bowman.

Forced into her grandmother's care for two weeks while her parents cruise around Alaska, neither Brit nor Nannie particularly want show more to be babysat. After her own daughter cut her driver's license in half, took away her car, and left her to gather dust, Nannie Rawlings isn't in the best of moods. She's already missed out on last year's Reunion with her three best friends, but this year is number sixty-five, and she has no intention of not attending. So she gets a new license (through less than noble means), rents a car, and sets off with her granddaughter to pick up her friends. Brit soon realizes that if she wants to make it to the Reunion alive and in one piece, she's going to have to be the driver/chaueffer. Which isn't that bad except for situations like this:

"Nannie!" she yelled. "Read the signs! Tell me what to do! Do we want the Cross Island Parkway? Two-ninety-five? Four-ninety-five? The Van Wyck? The L.I.E.? The Long Island Expressway?"

"Those two are the same road."

"But do we want them?" Brit shrieked.

Thus begins a road trip that no one involved is likely to ever forget. Between convincing her parents via cell phone that they're at Nannie's house watching loud television, and convincing the "girls" that no one at the nursing home will realize they're gone, to avoiding the ruthless, money-hungry son of one of their own, HIT THE ROAD is a laugh-out-loud, non-stop story that will have you turning pages long into the night. A winning read that is as emotional as it is funny, Ms. Cooney has penned a definite winner. show less

The idea of the teen helping the old ladies have one more Reunion is lovely. But the melodrama and the implausibilities are absolutely ridiculous. The girl has had her license just a few days, hasn't driven the highway, learned in an Accord, and now has to immediately go from Connecticut to Long Island in a rented SUV. And there's a truly evil person objecting to the plans. And, though none of the old ladies is actually senile, they're acting like it, having not thought things through at all, and they're physically very fragile. Ok, so they're old, if they don't do this thing cuz they die en route, fine, but to endanger the grand-daughter? Not cool. We really didn't need all that extra bs to have an enjoyable, illuminating show more inter-generational adventure. Especially the evil son. Just, no. show less

Britney is recruited by her elderly grandmother to drive across country and 'kidnap' a college friend who claims to have been forced into a home against her will. I enjoyed this book with the exception of the ending which felt rushed, as if the author suddenly remembered she only had 180 pages and had to end the story. Many issues were left unresolved and the interesting themes of teens gaining their independence while the elders lost theirs was basicly tossed aside while the adults and the boy she had a crush on suddenly appear to make the rescue. A great start with a disappointing end.

Brit had just gotten her driver's license when her parents left for Alaska, dropping her off at her Grandmother's house. 86-year-old Grandma has plans way beyond babysitting. She has rented a car and is going to pick up some friends to go to their college reunion. A couple of problems - first, Grandma is too small to drive the rental SUV, and second, one of the "girls" needs to be kidnapped from a nursing home....

"A police car was behind her.
No way! she thought. It's a mirage.
She looked a second time. Definitely a police car.
Brit could hardly hold on to the wheel.
The diamond-and-emerald bracelet felt very stolen.
Aurelia felt very kidnapped.
The Safari felt very illegal."

While her parents go on vacation, sixteen-year-old Brit will be spending the next few weeks with at her grandmother's house...or so she thinks. As soon as Mom and Dad are out of sight, Nannie unveils her plan to kidnap one of her oldest and dearest friends from her nursing home and head up to their annual college reunion. Before she knows what's happened, Brit finds herself behind the wheel of a rental van, responsible for four elderly women, and on the run from the cops! On that show more road trip, Brit begins to understand the heartbreak of getting old and being forced to give up your independence. The main character seems more empathetic than the average teen, but fans of the prolific Caroline Cooney will not doubt love this book, too.

Request this title from Howard County Library http://tinyurl.com/yrcdta show less

This adventure book is about how newly-licensed Brittany, a sixteen year-old, is forced to drive her grandmother, Nannie, and her two former college roommates across country so that they can attend their sixty-fifth college reunion. The happily-ever-after ending is somewhat hare to swallow, but the bravery and spunk of the older characters, especially Nannie, keeps the book humorous and interesting for those reluctant readers. This is an effective book to use in the classroom to examine inter-generational relationships.

Would you help your grandmother kidnap one of her elderly friends? Hit the Road explores elder care issues in the context of a good old fashion road trip.