Ride With Me by Lucy Keating - OPTIONAL

Ride With Me by Lucy Keating, 320 pages. Clarion Books, 2022. $19.

Language: R (40 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Charlie (17yo) is basically the town Uber driver, saving up for a road trip the summer after graduation that will help her finally get away from the stagnancy of Chester Falls. Her job and rider reviews are on the line when she accidentally backs into Andre’s car. They strike up a deal: Andre won’t report the accident if Charlie drives him everywhere he would have driven himself.

The beautiful descriptions of art and buildings through Charlie’s point of view were my favorite parts of the book. Charlie and Andre represent two different extremes on the issue of staying in a small town versus wanting to leave as soon as possible, and Keating writes the journey of her characters learning to focus on what makes them happy instead of what they think will make them happy. Sometimes we need to step back from the labels we give ourselves and look with clear eyes. You might just surprise yourself.

Charlie is implied white, and Andre is implied Brazilian, described as having “olive skin.” The mature content rating is for underage drinking and innuendo.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen