Monday, March 12, 2012

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

There seems to be a proliferation of road trip novels lately (Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, Going Bovine, Wherever Nina Lies, The Last Summer of the Death Warriors) but I don't mind.  I think every teenager wishes he or she could drop everything and drive somewhere with no adults, right?

Colby is graduating from high school and has been planning his road trip for years. His best friend Bev is going with him to Europe--they're going to see the tulips, and his mom in Paris, and all sorts of other landmarks that wandering teens should see.  But Bev changes her plans without telling Colby and he's left in the lurch. They still have a roadtrip up the West coast with Bev's band, The Disenchantments, but the road trip is a stressful one. Colby still ends up finding his way, though, and discovers that love is one complicated emotion.

This is different from LaCour's first novel, Hold Still, which was on the Morris Award short list. That one was a tearjerker. No tears here, but it's a good coming of age story about learning to love.

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