Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John - OPTIONAL

John, Antony Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, 329 pgs. Dial, 2012. $16.99.

Language: PG-13 (36 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content- PG-13; Violence: G; 

Luke is an overnight teen success. He has just written a bestselling book named “Hallelujah”.  He is on a book signing tour with his brother as the chauffeur and two girls from their home town. The girls complicate the plot since one of the girls is Luke’s long time crush. There are ups and downs over the long week on the road. Luke learns a lot about life and himself as he travels on this “life” journey. 

This is a quick read that has good charter development. The story helps to see how others are dealing with life in different ways, even if we don’t agree with their ways. There is underage drinking, inference of sex and unsupervised teens sharing a hotel room together. There is a fair amount of sexual language used throughout the book. There is not a strong enough message in the story line to merit the other content. The book also ends quite flat with a real need for more resolution to the problems. The fact there was really no discussion of or consequences for the underage drinking were bothersome as well. 

HS - OPTIONAL. REVIEWER: MAH