read + watch: YA road tripping
THE GREAT NORTH AMERICAN ROAD TRIP
Books, movies, music, and audiobooks about hitting the road
BOOKS
Defining Dulcie
By Paul Acampora (2006)
What’s it about?
When sixteen-year-old Dulcie’s father dies accidentally, her mother makes a decision to move them from Connecticut to California to start over. Grieving Dulcie decides to follow her heart and makes a gustsy decision to steal her dad’s old Chevy truck and head back home. This book is full of strong, quirky characters and mixes sadness and humour as Dulcie begins healing from the loss of her dad. The book is also unexpectedly funny, and at times you might end up laughing out loud. It’s also available as an audio book, thoughtfully narrated by Jennifer Ikeda.
Choose this book if you’re looking for: A realistic coming-of-age story with offbeat and funny content and strong characters.
Suggested level: Grade 7+
Going bovine
By Libba Bray (2009)
What’s it about?
Sixteen-year-old Cameron Smith has something else to be cynical about: he’s been diagnosed with mad cow disease and is probably going to die. After hearing this news he’s visited in the hospital by a pink angel (or possibly a hallucination??) who advises him to hit the road to find a cure through the elusive Dr. X. Following the pink angel’s advice, Cameron sets off on a road trip with his friend Gonzo, a death-obsessed video-gamming dwarf, and a garden gnome. Forget being sick, Cameron has the world to save!
Choose this book if you’re looking for: A funny and offbeat story with sarcastic humour and an involved plot-line.
Suggested level: Grade 8+
Hit the road
By Caroline Cooney (2006)
What’s the story about?
Sixteen-year-old Brittany has only had her drivers license for eleven days, but her eighty-six-year-old grandmother thinks that is long enough for her to get behind the wheel and drive her to her 65th college reunion. On the way they pick-up her grandmother’s three college roommates. The trip is full of many challenges for Brittany, not to mention the fact that she hasn’t quite mastered the art of backing up or parallel parking. This story is fast-paced and involves the usual – lies, theft, kidnappings, and friendships that span an age gap of 7 decades.
Choose this book if you’re looking for: A fast-paced adventure story that is funny, upbeat, and at times, bittersweet.
Suggested level: Grade 6+
The after life
by Daniel Ehrenhaft (2006)
What’s this story about?
Will has spent his life living on the other side of Manhattan from his father and has never met him. In a bizarre twist of fate, he meets his father and his two half siblings just hours before his father dies. When the will is read, Will finds himself challenged by his father to drive from Miami to New York with his siblings in just two days. The trip will be the most intense experience of their young lives, filled with alcohol, drugs, and self-discovery. What’s in it for Will? How about a $2-million inheritance - if they can get back to New York in one piece…
Choose this book if you’re looking for: A coming-of-age story about a road trip , with some gritty bits mixed in.
Suggested level: Grade 9+
Becoming Chloe
By Catherine Ryan Hyde (2006)
What is this story about?
This story is about the search for beauty in life when all else seems hopeless. Jordy and Chloe meet while living on the streets in New York City. Jordy has a past of being abused and abandoned by his family when they found out he was gay. Chloe has seen enough in her short life that she would rather end it than wait to see what more it held for her. In an effort to show her that there can be beauty in this dark world, Jordy takes her on a road trip across America. The big question is, will they find what they’re looking for?
Choose this book if you’re looking for: Realistic story about taking a journey and finding hope
Suggested level: Grade 9+
Amy & Roger’s epic detour
By Morgan Matson (2010)
What’s the story about?
Amy’s mother has moved across the country to take a new job and is waiting for Amy to make the 4 day drive from California to Connecticut to meet her. Since the death of her father, Amy has been scared to get behind the wheel of a car. To solve this problem, family friend Roger, a nineteen-year old college freshman, agrees to drive. On their road trip they take many detours, meet lots of people, and both Amy and Roger are forced to face their past, but at least they aren’t doing it alone. This book is full of journal entries and playlists from the road trip, giving the reader another dimension in which to enjoy the story.
Friends who have read this book said that it reminded them of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, but that it’s a lot more chill.
Choose this book if you’re looking for: Realistic fiction featuring an eye-opening and emotional journey
Suggested level: Grade 9+
Rainbow road
By Alex Sanchez (2005)
What’s the story about?
It’s the summer after high school and Nelson, Kyle, and Jason are headed on a road trip across America so Jason can speak to other high school kids about coming out to his town. During the trip, the three friends encounter other LGBTQ people that enlighten them about their own relationships and lives. The three characters are genuine and are searching for themselves during the last summer they will spend together before going off to college. This is the final book in a trilogy, so if you enjoy it, you may want to try the other two instalments, Rainbow Boys and Rainbow High.
Choose this book if you’re looking for: A funny and angst-filled realistic fiction that focuses on all the different characters and their issues
Suggested level: Grade 9+
Book: Tripping
By Heather Waldorf(2009)
What’s the story about?
Rainey Williamson has always stood out. She’s had to wear an artificial leg since she was born and has had to deal with her mother being gone from her life since she was only a few months old. The night before Rainey sets off on a summer long camp program that takes her and five other teens on a two month long road trip across Canada, she hears from her mother. She’s alive and wants Rainey to stop and see her during her road trip. This book is the wonderful story of getting to know strangers and bonding over the struggle of being a teenager.
Choose this book if you’re looking for: Realistic fiction with wit and humour and excellent character development
Suggested level: Grade 8+
MTV Road Trips U.S.A
By John Vorwald, Maya Kroth, Valerie Willis, Ashley Marinaccio, Dara Bramson, Dan Yim, Kelsy Chauvin, Nick Honachefsky (2007)
What’s this book about?
This great guidebook outlines ten trips across America, each with a theme that highlights what the States have to offer. Two of these themed trips include a music festival route from New York to Tennessee, and a trip that takes you from the Las Vegas desert to the Baja beach. The book suggest places to eat, sleep, and party along the way, with selections for every kind of budget.
Even if you don’t want to follow the trips exactly, the book is full of information about music festivals, haunted buildings, beach recommendations, BBQ joints, hiking trails, and adventures. The recommendations are far cooler than your typical travel guide!
Choose this book if you’re looking for: An awesome American travel guide
Suggested level: Older teens
AUDIOBOOK
On the road
By Jack Kerouac (1957)
Audio book narration by Matt Dillon (2000)
What’s the story about?
This classic novel defined the beat generation of the 1950’s, a generation of writers, poets, artists and musicians living Bohemian lifestyles, enjoying life to the fullest. Kerouac wrote this book based on his own travels, and created the character of Sal Paradise to narrate the story. This is audio book version, Matt Dillon takes on the voice of Sal, and brings alive the stories about his travels throughout the North American continent in search of belief and meaning.
Chose this book if you’re looking for: An autobiographical novel about being on the road and enjoying life to the fullest
Suggested level: Grade 9 +
MOVIES
Wendy and Lucy
(2009)
What’s the movie about?
Wendy (played by Michelle Williams) is on her way to work in Alaska when her car breaks down in Oregon. Stranded with no way of getting north, and no money, she realizes the limitations of the help strangers could so easily offer her. Wendy has to make tough decisions on how to get to Alaska. This is a heart felt story about a girl and her best friend, a dog named Lucy.
Chose this movie if you’re looking for: This movie goes at a relaxed pace and is bittersweet.
This movie is intended for audiences 14 +
Almost Famous
(2000)
What’s the movie about?
William Millar is a rock journalist for Rolling Stone magazine, following an up-and-coming rock band as they tour America. It’s 1973 and he’s about to become the luckiest 15-year-old in America. This movie has an all star cast of pretty girls (including Kate Hudson and Anna Paquin) and a great soundtrack. It will make you wish you were in William’s shoes as he hits the road in a tour bus.
Chose this movie if you’re looking for: A coming-of-age story with a great soundtrack
This movie is intended for audiences 14 and up.
MUSIC
CBC Radio 3
radio3.cbc.ca/
This site has lots of podcasts to download featuring fantastic Canadian Indie music. Some podcasts are made just to make you feel like you’re on the road. A guaranteed way to find your new favourite band! And the great thing about podcasts is that they’re always different, and there are always new ones available.
Try:
Podcast #267 – Sunburned Songs: Winter Vacation Special. This playlist is described on the CBC Radio 3 website as being“a suitcase full of sun-drenched Radio 3 hits set to magically transport you to the land where palm trees sway, because let’s face it, we Canadians deserve a winter vacation right about… now!” (CBC, 2011).
ALL AT ONCE NOW
Acampora, Paul (2006). Defining dulcie. New York: Dial Books.
Bray, Libba. (2009). Going bovine. New York: Delacorte Books.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. (2011). CBC radio 3. Retrieved from radio3.cbc.ca/
Cooney, Caroline B. (2006). Hit the road. New York: Random House.
Crowe, C., Toll, J., Bryce, I., Crudup, B., McDormand, F., Hudson, K., Lee, J., … DreamWorks Home Entertainment (Firm). (2001). Almost famous. Universal City, CA: DreamWorks Home Entertainment.
Ehrenhaft, Daniel. (2006). The after life. New York: Razorbill.
Hyde, Catherine Ryan. (2006). Becoming Chloe. New York:Knopf Books.
Kerouac, J., & Dillon, M. (2000). On the road [Audiobook]. New York, NY: Caedmon.
Kopp, N., Savjani, A., Fessenden, L., Raymond, J., Reichardt, K., Williams, M., Robinson, J., … Oscilloscope Pictures. (2009). Wendy and Lucy. United States: Oscilloscope Pictures.
Matson, Morgan. (2010). Amy & Roger’s epic detour. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Sanchez, Alex (2005). Rainbow road. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Vorwald, J., Kroth, M., Willis, V., Marinaccio, A., Bramson, D., Yim, D., …, Honachefsky, N. (2007). MTV Road Trips U.S.A. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing.
Waldorf, Heather (2009). Tripping. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press.
