Joyride

September 2, 2015 ARC, Book Review 0

I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

JoyrideJoyride by Anna Banks
Published by Macmillan on June 2nd 2015
Pages: 288
Goodreads

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

My Thoughts:

I read Anna Banks Of Poseidon when it came out and loved the humor and storytelling in it. I was excited to see what she had in store for us with a contemporary story. Joyride packed more of an emotional punch but still had the humor I loved.

The main character in this story has parents who were deported years ago. She and her brother have been saving to bring them back across the border ever since. This is a topic I haven’t read about in fiction before. I was interested in the ways Carly was struggling with wanting her parents back but also wanting to be able to have a normal teenage life. I can only imagine how difficult her situation would be.

Arden, the love interest, has no idea what is going on in Carly’s life. He’s decided she will be his prank pulling partner and nothing she can say will change his mind. At times this led me to wanting to shake him! But I enjoyed the back and forth between the two characters. And Arden’s uncle (great uncle? I can’t remember)!! What a hoot! Loved him.

Joyride was a solid read. It’s one I’d recommend for my students looking for more books like Sarah Dessen or Morgan Matson (which is basically all of them!!!)

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