August 1, 2018
Eighteen-year-old Ali Collins must reckon with her complicated history with her rolling stone father on an eventful road trip with her ex-boyfriend.With their house about to be repossessed, curly-haired brunette Ali and her mother have all but given up on being able to stay in their home. While packing up to move, Ali learns that her father has passed away and left his beloved 1968 Firebird convertible as her inheritance. The value of the car shocks her and immediately appears to be the answer to all her problems...that is until she realizes that she must trek hundreds of miles north along the Pacific coast to deliver the car to an eager buyer. The last thing Ali wants to do is to complete the drive with her strikingly handsome, lying ex-boyfriend Nico--but he's the only person she knows who can drive a stick shift. Ali's internal and external journeys lead her to come to terms with both her late father and her old flame. This is a solid, highly-consumable coming-of-age story, easily devoured in one sitting and bringing with it all the comforts of a cozy, predictable romance. Brody (The Chaos of Standing Still, 2017, etc.) places the reader in picturesque settings with a cast of familiar characters in this road-trip narrative. Ali and Nico are white.Fans of Sarah Dessen and Gayle Forman will enjoy this tender story. (Fiction. 12-18)
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September 3, 2018
After 18-year-old Ali’s absentee father dies, she and her mother learn that they are about to lose their house in Russellville, Calif., to foreclosure. Ali will do anything to keep their home, even after her mom has given up, so she decides to sell the 1968 Firebird convertible she’s just inherited from her dad to raise money. Because Ali can’t drive a stick shift, she leans on her ex-boyfriend, Nico, to drive her the five hours to Crescent City, to the dealer who will buy the car. Along the way, Ali and Nico place online ads seeking people who are willing to “trade up” one possession for something more valuable, and Ali has alternating flashbacks of her complicated father and her relationship with Nico. Brody (The Chaos of Standing Still) girds this novel with a lot of apparatus—lists begin each chapter, pop quiz questions pepper Ali’s thoughts, and song lyrics divide the sections. Readers may feel that they’ve been on similar YA road trips before, but things pick up in the second half, when the question zeroes in on whether Nico and Ali will earn enough money to keep Ali’s house. The scavenger hunt structure adds a spin to a familiar story about a teen moving through loss and into forgiveness. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
September 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Ali's final week of high school feels more like a dead end than a new beginning. Between her house being foreclosed on and the sting of a recent breakup, she's almost given up that anything about her life could be salvaged. But when she learns she's inherited her late father's prized Firebird convertible, she finds herself on a road trip with her ex to sell the car, save her home, and hopefully put the past firmly behind her. Brody (The Chaos of Standing Still, 2017) delivers a welcome addition to the long list of YA road trip titles. Ali's inability to trust or, more important, recognize her walls as a crutch rings true, though her emotional blocks start to drag the plot a little towards the end. Brody creates a compelling mystery with a satisfying payoff, and a running quiz motif is a cute addition to the story. Ali's journey parlays into a sweet novel about finding the things you weren't looking for but needed all the same.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2019
High-school senior Ali never expected she'd be road-tripping up the California coast in a 1968 Firebird convertible with her ex-boyfriend. But that's what happens when she inherits the classic (stick-shift) car from her estranged father and needs Nico to drive it to a buyer. Along the way, Ali confronts painful memories and finds forgiveness and love. This lyrically written romance is populated with memorable and imperfect characters.
(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)