Open Road Summer

After the wonderful book that was The Start of Me and You, I had to go and read all the other books by the author. And this one didn't disapoint. It's beautiful, vulnerable and realistic with an interesting trio of characters you can't help but love.

Reagan is not your typical protagonist. She is an infamous party girl, drinking, smoking, just all out rebelling until a bad breakup (and a very literal one) finally forces her to revaluate her choices. She is prone to temper, doesn't trust anyone easily and is fiercely protective of her best friend. She is also very intelligent, gets excellent grades, has an ambitious plan for college and has decided to use her summer on the road with Dee to shore up her applications for her photojournalism major – not that anyone knows this about her. She is sassy, gives back as good as she gets, but has a vulnerable side to her that no one gets to see except Dee. She has always given into her bad instincts but is now trying very hard to listen to her therapist and think before acting out on her impulses.

Lilah Montgomery or Dee may be a teenage country music star who has to work hard everyday to live up to her image as a role model for young girls; but she is just a young one herself who has to constantly deal with intrusion into every aspect of her life by the paparazzi and slut shaming of all kinds by the gossip rags despite being untrue. She is very mature and strong willed most of the time, in spite of being heartbroken over her breakup with her high school swetheart. She is focused on her goal to become a successful songwriter even if that means she might not get to be with the love of her life, but she does burst into tears and outbursts sometimes when everything becomes too much to handle.

Dee and Reagan's friendship is the best part of this book. They are very opposite in personalities and its hard to believe that they could really be friends. But they've also know each other since they were eight, have seen each others' bests and worsts, shared their heartbreaks and drunken bouts, but always been there for each other. Reagan's sees past Dee's celebrity status and recognizes the teenager within. Dee can see through the tough rebellious facade that Reag puts up and wants the vulnerable girl within to find her happiness. They poke and prod each other, laugh and cry together, and fight and shout and say mean things, but its such a realistic portrayal of teenage friendship, that it made me remember all the best times with my BFF.

Matt Finch is the cute, sweet, boy next door type. He is effortlessly charming and swoony, making all his female fans go crazy, but Reagan likes the man underneath – the one who misses his mom and is very unsure of his future. He tries every trick to tease Reagan out of the walls she has put up around her heart. Their attraction is instant, but they hold back, unsure and uncertain, develop a friendship based on trust and slowly ease into their relationship. Drama obviously ensues and misunderstandings force them apart but the ending is very interesting. They are definitely not the cute, adorable couple but the stubborn, passionate one who will fight with each other about everything, but will also fight hard and dirty for each other, and there will never be a dull moment when they are together.

Though this book is set on the road, it doesn't have that spontaneous adventure vibe that we generally expect. But I enjoyed the metaphorical journey of each of them finding what they want and where they want to be in their lives. The writing is easy flowing, very conversational and raw and realistic and you will not want to put it down once you start. I especially loved the song lyrics, they are so poetic and emotional and full of feelings and I kept wishing I could hear them as a song.

This book is amazing in its portrayal of teenage friendships, love and heartbreaks, very authentic, showing it in all its true and ugly glory. Definitely recommend to anyone who loves YA contemporaries.