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The Road Trip

Beth o'leary.

414 pages, Hardcover

First published April 17, 2021

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THE ROAD TRIP

Sunday times top 5 bestseller.

FIVE PEOPLE.

A whole lot of history….

Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in rural Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed.

But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier.

Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with four hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship…

Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly… is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?

“ This book is perfect ”

“ A charming, heartfelt story of love found and love potentially lost - The Road Trip is steamy and sexy, properly witty, and unabashedly romantic. I couldn’t get enough! I loved the glimpses into “then” and “now”. Nobody does it like Beth does ”

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The Road Trip

By beth o’leary, by beth o’leary read by josh dylan and eleanor tomlinson, category: women's fiction | contemporary romance, category: women's fiction | contemporary romance | audiobooks.

Jun 01, 2021 | ISBN 9780593335024 | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4 --> | ISBN 9780593335024 --> Buy

Jun 01, 2021 | ISBN 9780593335031 | ISBN 9780593335031 --> Buy

Jun 01, 2021 | 615 Minutes | ISBN 9780593411889 --> Buy

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Jun 01, 2021 | ISBN 9780593335024

Jun 01, 2021 | ISBN 9780593335031

Jun 01, 2021 | ISBN 9780593411889

615 Minutes

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About The Road Trip

Two exes reach a new level of awkward when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller The Flatshare. What if the end of the road is just the beginning? Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since. Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland—he’ll never get there on time by public transport. So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart—and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

Listen to a sample from The Road Trip

Also by beth o’leary.

About Beth O’Leary

Beth O’Leary is a Sunday Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. Beth writes her books in the English countryside with a very badly behaved golden retriever for company. If she’s not at her desk,… More about Beth O’Leary

Product Details

Category: women’s fiction | contemporary romance, category: women’s fiction | contemporary romance | audiobooks, you may also like.

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“THIS BOOK IS PERFECT.”—Rosie Walsh, bestselling author of Ghosted “As with her surprise hit, The Flatshare , O’Leary expertly balances humor and heart while introducing a zany cast of 20-somethings… Readers won’t want this crazy road trip to end.”— Publishers Weekly “ The Road Trip is a humorous yet deeply moving journey toward confronting the past, forgiveness, and reconciliation, with a poignant detour to a summer of young love in Provence. I loved the vivid cast and the depth and intimacy in O’Leary’s writing.”—Helen Hoang, USA Today bestselling author “Read this!  Absolutely loved it!”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author  “O’Leary is a brilliant social observer and a fearless, diabolical plotter… It’s an intense romance with a wildly wicked sense of humor…”—BookPage

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Books , Reviews · April 19, 2021

Book Review: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

A huge thank-you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-arc of The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary.

Beth O’Leary is one of my auto-read authors, but did her newest novel, The Road Trip , live up to my expectations?

If you were to ask what my favorite contemporary romance book is, I wouldn’t hesitate even one moment before replying with The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. I read it in 2019 and immediately fell in love with the unique plot and the way the author seamlessly combined an adorable love story with more challenging and realistic topics. In the summer of 2020, I listened to The Switch by the same author. Once again, I was astounded by how a book could be so light and sweet while also including such serious undertones. It will come as no surprise to you that I was thrilled to receive an ARC (advanced reader copy) of The Road Trip and my expectations were very high.

I personally believe that all of the novels by Beth O’Leary are perfect for spring and summer reading. There’s something really refreshing about them that reminds me of these seasons. Needless to say, you might be adding The Road Trip to your beach or poolside reads this year. Find out if it belongs on your book stack by reading my review.

related posts

Review of “people we meet on vacation” by emily henry // review of “the lucky escape” by laura jane williams // my favorite contemporary romances.

My honest review of The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary.

Two exes reach a new level of awkward when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller  The Flatshare.

What if the end of the road is just the beginning?

Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since.

Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland–he’ll never get there on time by public transport.

So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart–and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all. ( Goodreads Synopsis )

If one could harness secrets for energy, we wouldn’t need petrol – we’d have enough grudges in this car to take us all the way to Scotland. The Road Trip

I’m sitting down to write this review five days after finishing the book and I’m still unsure how to rate it. This is partially to do with the fact that it was so much better than I ever could have imagined it would be, and simultaneously, I feel as though it was just such an unexpected story. I went into this with the expectation that it would be a second chance romance with a splash of surprise reality (something O’Leary has mastered effortlessly with both  The Flatshare  and  The Switch ). I’m hopeful that by the time I’ve finished writing this review, I’ll know how many stars it has garnered in my heart and mind.

[CW: familial and emotional abuse, sexual assault and attempted rape, codependency]

I don’t often include my content/trigger warnings so early on in my review, but I find that they’re needed in order to explain where I stand on the story. When Addie picked up Dylan and Marcus on the side of the road, she also picked up some really heavy baggage (about what, I was unsure until over halfway through the story).

The story presents two POVs – Addie and Dylan’s – as well as two timelines – the past and the present. The past tossed me into a whirlwind, instant romance. It’s steamy, fun, and swoon-worthy. It doesn’t take long to love the two as a couple and immediately wonder what could’ve possibly gone wrong to ruin them as is obviously the case in the present timeline. As time goes on, red flags pop up, and before you know it, understanding begins to creep in.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again:  I really appreciate romance books that include reality.  I think it’s important for the characters to be relatable and for the challenges that they face to seem like something you or I might experience in life. I didn’t quite expect the book to get as weighty as it did, however. There were moments that truly shocked me and I think?? that I appreciate their inclusion? I guess that it made the relationships between each and every character all the more profound, despite how hard the scenes were to read.

The secondary characters were surprisingly interesting. In the beginning, I wondered at their purpose, but as the chapters went on, I realized why all five of these individuals were in the car together in the present timeline. Without each and every one of them, the tale wouldn’t have been complete. In fact, they added to the humor.  Yes, there was humor,  despite the heavy undertones, and it was great humor at that. I found myself laughing nearly as many times as I found myself sitting in sober silence. There was a really excellent balance.

Be aware that this is not your average “chick lit” or “fluff” book. It’s meaningful and substantial, with topics that truly thought-provoking. And now that I have actually written all of this down and really thought it through, I can confidently give it five stars .

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Glad to hear that this surpassed your expectations! I loved The Flatshare but I didn’t enjoy The Switch as much. But Road Trip sounds great, and the fact that it is more than just a romance intrigues me. I might pick it up.

Beth’s latest book sounds a lot different to her first two, I still want to read it though! x

Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk

I honestly can’t wait to read this, I was truly swept from my feet with ‘The Flatshare’ and loved the story O’Leary created! I too appreciate when a romance it’s not just swooning, but reality is intertwined too, really can’t wait to read it! thank you for your review x

This sounds awesome, especially for spring and summer. I love that it has a little more substance in it as I prefer more thought-provoking books (while also being entertaining, of course ha!).

Lizzie http://www.lizzieinlace.com

I love a book with a little deeper meaning behind it. I will for sure add this to my list!

I am so excited for this book! I loved The Flatshare so much and it’s great to hear that this one is fantastic as well! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

It is on my list now! I actually was looking for some well-written contemporary romance to add to my spring/summer readings. I love that you said topics in the book are thought-provoking: that is exactly what one seeks in a good read.

I haven’t read a single book by this author yet, though I did add The Flatshare to my TBR list a while back, I simply haven’t gotten around to it. Really enjoyed reading your review of The Road Trip. Sometimes it’s the ones where you struggle to rate and review that are the best books. I am quite intrigued by this one and I will have to add it to my TBR so I can hopefully read it soon.

I’ve heard so many good things about Flatshare, but haven’t gotten around to it yet. After reading you’ve read everything by this author I think I need to hop on it and read that one and The Road Trip.

I’m not usually a fan of road trip books but this is Beth O’leary and your review is equally compelling. Thanks for sharing! xoxo Lovely http://www.mynameislovely.com

I also find that I enjoy books (especially romance) more when they are realistic! I think the “forced to be together” trope is one of my favourites and have added it to my “to read” list on Goodreads!

You have me completely hooked! I need to read this book ASAP, seems right up my alley. Amazing review!

i was intrigued when i saw this on your story this morning and after reading this i will def add it to my list!

xx rebecca // http://www.rebeccapiersol.me

I have not read anything by this author but would love to check out this book. It seems that she’s a good author based on your opinion. 🙂

Xx, Nailil thirtyminusone.com

This definitely sounds like a thought-provoking book! I might have to add it to my summer reading list to give it a try. Xx.

I LOVED The Flatshare and cannot wait to read The Road Trip when it comes out!!

I hadn’t heard of Beth O’Leary, but she certainly sounds like i need to add her books to my list! They all sound cool!

I wasn’t a fan of The Flat Share at all—it just didn’t click with me. I just have the hardest time reading contemporary romances, but I’m so glad to see you enjoyed this one. I think I have a few friends who would love this as a gift!

I haven’t heard of this author, though my interest is now piqued. Thank you for the recommendation! xo Jaimie http://www.jaimietucker.com

Fabulous review!! I adored the Flatshare but still need to get around to The Switch. This sounds like it needs to go right to the top of my list, especially given that it beat your high expectations. Thanks for the recommendation!

Sounds like an excellent book! I love when a book can balance humor, romance and difficult subject matter well. It’s much more relatable because life is messy too.

Ok, I think I’m going to DM you on IG and ask for your best recommendations for a few genres I love because I honestly feel like you’ve read every book I would want to ever read haha!

I didn’t enjoy The Flat Share at all … not sure about her writing style. Thank you for the review though.

❥ tanvii.com

The begging of two Ex’s going on a road trip really caught my attention. This would be a nice relaxing summer read if I may say do! I would definitely add to my summer reading list

This sounds like such a good book. I am going to add it to my reading list!

Tracy https://www.findyourdazzle.com

REVIEW: The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Two exes reach a new level of awkward when forced to take a road trip together in this endearing and humorous novel by the author of the international bestseller The Flatshare. What if the end of the road is just the beginning? Four years ago, Dylan and Addie fell in love under the Provence sun. Wealthy Oxford student Dylan was staying at his friend Cherry’s enormous French villa; wild child Addie was spending her summer as the on-site caretaker. Two years ago, their relationship officially ended. They haven’t spoken since. Today, Dylan’s and Addie’s lives collide again. It’s the day before Cherry’s wedding, and Addie and Dylan crash cars at the start of the journey there. The car Dylan was driving is wrecked, and the wedding is in rural Scotland—he’ll never get there on time by public transport. So, along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy on Facebook who needed a ride, they squeeze into a space-challenged Mini and set off across Britain. Cramped into the same space, Dylan and Addie are forced to confront the choices they made that tore them apart—and ask themselves whether that final decision was the right one after all.

CW/TW – depression, addiction, stalking, attempted sexual assault

Dear Ms. O’Leary, 

After hearing all about the first two books, I was excited to finally try one of your novels. Several of our other reviewers had great things to say about them and this blurb looked enticing. Though I thought I was going to get nothing but rom-com, the story is actually an examination of why insta-love is an iffy way to start a relationship, toxic friendships all crossed with a road trip from hell, more than a bit of introspection and laced with comedic touches. 

Via the dual timeline, the love and loss suffered by very posh Dylan and not-posh Addie is told. The two meet one lovely summer in Provence while Addie (and sometimes her sister, Deb) is looking after her uni roommate’s parents’ estate. Dylan appears, the two begin to spend time together and a week later, love is in the air. But when Dylan’s best friend (the slightly unhinged) Marcus arrives along with several of their other very posh buddies, Addie begins to worry that she’s not really in his social class. How can romantic, poetry writing, Oxford educated Dylan (who actually understands “The Fairy Queen”) truly love someone like average, school teacher-to-be Addie who was mainly trying on a persona over the summer?

Time passed, love flourished but dark storm clouds threatened their epic romance. Somehow it all came crashing down so badly that they haven’t spoken in almost two years. Then fate thrust them back together – along with a motley crew of people who sorta know what happened – on bank holiday packed roads as they journeyed to a wedding. Will the whole truth finally emerge, will they make it on time to the wedding, and is there a chance that somehow things can be made right again?

There is so much more to this story than romance or love. There are class differences, self discovery, deep reflection, toxic parent/child relationships, wonderful parent/child relationships, an absolute no-fucks given sibling, homophobia, homophila, breast pumps, google mapping, traffic jams, idyllic French countryside frolicking, gap year wandering, a crammed motel room, revelations, a stalker, a castle, and country music.  

Romance and laughter might get the book started but it’s soon obvious that whatever happened was dark, painful, and has scarred Addie and Dylan. The lead up is so easy and unobtrusive that this is a rare time that I was not rolling my eyes as yet another heavy hint gets dropped per chapter and I realize from early on what happened. No, this is subtle and shows how even the greatest and deepest love sometimes has to weather storms and people who think they know best and that not all people who are deeply in love can communicate worth a damn. We must see what brought Addie and Dylan together in order to understand how and why the breakup was as painful as it was. The revelation, when it arrives, is gut punching in many ways. The insights about this that arrive later are ones that needed time, therapy, and effort to be reached.  

Along the way to the wedding in Scotland, Dylan begins composing a poem with the line “Unchanged but changed” which perfectly describes both he and Addie. This is something I was delighted to see taken out of the box, shaken to get the wrinkles out, then discussed. Dylan and Addie immediately realize that the feelings are still there – both the good and the bad. They remember little things they shared and often find themselves glancing at the other when something amuses or annoys them. They’re still sympatico. And yet … some things are different. Some things have changed and before any future plans are made, these are talked about. Therapy is talked about and it isn’t just Dylan and Addie who have gotten it. Still, thinking back, there were so many times when Dylan irritated me – the way he was led by everyone he knew and how so many times he wouldn’t stick up for Addie. She is the one who makes the most accommodations and compromises to keep their relationship going, IMO.      

And yet, I was giggling and laughing at the bizarre assortment of people crammed in that mini and the snarky ways, at times, they interact. Kevin the Truck Driver was a great addition to the crew and the wedding is one for the ages. At times however, the actions of some of the characters made me want to shake them. Pill popping, massive drinking, out of control partying and other antics of the posh 1% are things I don’t like and don’t want to try and understand. Get over your privileged selves. By the current section, Dylan has apparently discovered self control and economizing when his rich parents cut off his access to the cash.

This is not a light and fluffy book as some characters are dark and or troubled. They are well written characters but not all ones whom people will like or cheer for. There are toxic relationships some of which I didn’t want to see continued but then, life is full of this. At one point, Dylan does finally offer a bit of insight into why he continues to hang out with one person and given how his father has always treated him, it makes sense. Other relationships are delightful such as Addie and her take-no-prisoners sister Deb and there’s one I didn’t expect involving another female friend of Dylan’s. The alternate POVs chapters assure that we, if not the other MC, know what is going on but at times Dylan and Addie’s voices read as “same same” to me making me have to double check who was relating the chapter.   

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Another long time reader who read romance novels in her teens, then took a long break before started back again about 25 years ago. She enjoys historical romance/fiction best, likes contemporaries, action- adventure and mysteries, will read suspense if there's no TSTL characters and is currently reading more fantasy and SciFi.

Looking forward to reading this, after enjoying the author’s first 2 books. I’ve read some reviews that complained because this one isn’t as light and fluffy as the others. That seems like a weird reason for a negative review. Beth O’Leary obviously doesn’t want to write the same book every time and I think it’s admirable that she is trying to grow as an author. Maybe blame the publisher if the blurb is misleading…?

Like SusanS, I’m also looking forward to reading this. I very much enjoyed the author’s first book but only sampled her second.

@ SusanS : I guess it’s readers wanting an author to “write the same thing but different.” These cartoon covers don’t help either as, to me, that signals “light and fluffy.” But then that’s been an issue for me with a lot of books in the past few months that are blurbed as “cute romcoms” but end up having much darker issues.

ETA: One recent book I was amused by the conflicting reviews of is “The Hail Mary Project.” Some reviewers were angry because it was exactly like “The Martian” and others were angry because it wasn’t anything like “The Martian.”

@ Kareni : Since I haven’t read either, I’d love to know what you think of this one and how it compares to “Flatshare.”

I’ve been looking forward to reading this book. Your review is great, it sounds like this is a bit deeper than a lot of Romcoms. Thanks.

Jennie and I have a joint review of this one planned, so I’m going to refrain from reading your post until we have it drafted. I’ll come back and read it then. But from looking at the grade I can say that you liked the book much better than I did.

@ Janine Ballard : Did having read her other two books influence how you feel about this one? There were some things that could have gone either way with me and perhaps went the other way with you.

@ Jayne : I don’t think so, except inasmuch as that The Flatshare was so good and it’s always a bummer when an author doesn’t live up to her full potential. But my biggest issues were that I thought the book was misconceived, that the characters’ motivations didn’t make enough sense, and that I hated Dylan.

About the angst, though, I will say this: I love emotional books, but here I felt that the humor and angst were not properly balanced. The present-day trip to the wedding was frequently funny and had an almost lighthearted tone while the flashbacks were where most of the angst was. It didn’t mesh well that their, and even more, the reader’s emotions would be so markedly different during the trip, even though the past was so heavy and was still with them/us. The book felt lopsided because of that and the jumps back and forth were jarring.

And now I must shut up so I can save some thoughts for the review.

Just popping in to say that I *knew* Janine was going to have problems with this book (as did I, but well…okay, I guess we’ll wait for the review).

@ Jennie : LOL. You know me well.

I listened to The Flatshare and loved it but I wouldn’t describe it as light and fluffy. I wouldn’t describe it as angsty either but it does deal with some heavier topics, particularly how Tiffy was gaslit by her horrible ex, Justin. I didn’t read the second book but after your review I’m thinking I might listen to this one.

@ Janine : Looking forward to your review. I don’t think I would consider the book to be misconceived, but I hated Dylan too. Swing and a miss for me.

@ SusanS : Sorry, I missed this before. Our review turned out looooooong and will be posted in two parts, most likely on Wednesday and Thursday.

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The Road Trip

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"The road of friendship never did run smooth, is what I'm saying," Marcus tells me, fidgeting with his seat belt."

This is my first experience of a heartfelt apology from Marcus, and so far it has involved six clichés, two butchered literary references and no eye contact. The word sorry did feature, but it was preceded by I'm not very good at saying, which somewhat undermined its sincerity.

I shift up a gear. "Isn't it the course of true love that never runs smooth? A Midsummer Night's Dream, I believe."

We're by the twenty-four-hour Tesco. It's half past four in the morning, the air thick with duvet-darkness, but the bland yellow light from the shop illuminates the three people in the car in front as if they've just moved into a spotlight. We're close behind them, both following the slow, rattling path of a lorry ahead.

For a flash of a second I see the driver's face in the rearview mirror. She reminds me of Addie-if you think about someone enough, you start to see them everywhere.

Marcus huffs. "I'm talking about my feelings, Dylan. This is agony. Please get your head out of your arse so that you can actually listen."

I smile at that. "All right. I'm listening."

I drive on, past the bakery. The eyes of the driver in front are lit again in the mirror, her eyebrows slightly raised behind squarish glasses.

"I'm just saying, we hit some bumps, I get that, and I didn't handle things well, and that's-that's really unfortunate that that happened."

Astonishing, really, the linguistic knots in which he will tie himself to avoid a simple I'm sorry. I stay silent. Marcus coughs and fidgets some more, and I almost take pity and tell him it's all right, he doesn't have to say it if he's not ready, but as we idle past the bookie's another flash of light hits the car in front and Marcus is forgotten. The driver has wound the window down, and she's stretched an arm out, gripping the roof of the car. Her wrist is looped with bracelets, glimmering silver-red in the car lights' glare. The gesture is so achingly familiar-the arm, slender and pale, the assertion of it, and those bracelets, the round, childish beads stacked up her wrist. I'd know them anywhere. My heart jolts like I've missed a step because it is her, it's Addie, her eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.

And then Marcus screams.

Earlier, Marcus gave a similarly horrified scream when we passed a Greggs advertising vegan sausage rolls, so I don't react as fast as I perhaps otherwise would. As the car in front stops sharply, and I fail to hit the brakes on the seventy-thousand-quid Mercedes that belongs to Marcus's father, I have just enough time to regret this.

My head whips up so fast my glasses go flying backward off my ears and over the headrest. Someone screams. Oww, fuck-a pain shoots up my neck, and all I'm thinking is God, what did I do? Did I hit something?

"Shit the bed," Deb says beside me. "Are you all right?"

I fumble for my glasses. They're not there, obviously.

"What the hell just happened?" I manage.

My shaking hands go to the steering wheel, then the handbrake, then the rearview mirror. Getting my bearings.

I see him in the mirror. A little blurred without my glasses. A little unreal. It's him, though, no question. He's so familiar that for a moment I feel like I'm looking at my own reflection. Suddenly my heart's beating like it's shoving for space.

Deb's getting out of the car. Ahead, the bin lorry moves off and its headlights catch the tail of the fox they braked for. It's moving onto the pavement at a saunter. Slowly, the scene pieces itself together: lorry stops for fox, I stop for lorry and behind me Dylan doesn't stop at all. Then-bang.

I look back at Dylan in the mirror; he's still looking at me. Everything seems to slow or quieten or fade, like someone's dialed the world down.

I haven't seen Dylan for twenty months. He should have changed somehow. Everything else has. But even from here, even in half darkness, I know the exact line of his nose, his long eyelashes, his snakeskin yellow-green eyes. I know those eyes will be as wide and shocked as they were when he left me.

"Well," my sister says. "The Mini's done us proud."

The Mini. The car. Everything comes rushing back in and I unclick my seat belt. It takes three goes. My hands are shaking. When I next glance at the rearview mirror my eyes focus on the foreground instead of the background and there's Rodney, crouched forward on our backseat with his hands over his head and his nose touching his knees.

Shit. I forgot all about Rodney.

"Are you all right?" I ask him, just as Deb says, "Addie? Are you OK?" She pokes her head back in the car, then grimaces. "Your neck hurting too?"

"Yeah," I say, because as soon as she asks I realize it does, loads.

"Gosh," Rodney says, tentatively shifting out of the brace position. "What happened?"

Rodney posted on the "Cherry & Krish Are Getting Hitched" Facebook group yesterday evening asking for a lift to the wedding from the Chichester area. Nobody else replied, so Deb and I took pity. All I know about Rodney is that he has a Weetabix On The Go for breakfast, he's always hunching and his T-shirt says, I keep pressing Esc but I'm still here, but I think I've pretty much got the gist.

"Some arsehole in a Mercedes went into the back of us," Deb tells him, straightening up to look at the car behind again.

"Deb . . ." I say.

"I think that's Dylan. In that car."

She scrunches up her nose, ducking down to see me again. "Dylan Abbott?"

I swallow. "Yeah."

I risk a glance over my shoulder. My neck protests. It's then that I notice the man stepping out of the Mercedes passenger seat. Slim-built and ghostly pale in the dark street, his curly hair just catching the light of the shopfronts behind him. There goes my heart again, beating way too fast.

"He's with Marcus," I say.

"Marcus?" Deb says, eyes going wide.

"Yeah. Oh, God." This is awful. What am I meant to do now? Something about insurance? "Is the car OK?" I ask.

I climb out just as Dylan gets out of the Mercedes. He's dressed in a white tee and chino shorts with battered boat shoes on his feet. There's a carabiner on his belt loop, disappearing into his pocket. It was my idea, that, to stop him always losing his keys.

He steps forward into the path of the Mercedes' headlights. He looks so handsome it aches in my chest. Seeing him is even harder than I expected it to be. I want to do everything at once: run to him, run away, curl up, cry. And beneath all that I have this totally ridiculous feeling that someone's messed up, like something didn't get filed when it should have up there in the universe, because I was supposed to see Dylan this weekend, for the first time in almost two years, but it should have been at the wedding.

"Addie?" he says.

"Dylan," I manage.

"Did a Mini really just total my dad's Mercedes?" says Marcus.

My hand goes self-consciously to my fringe. No makeup, scruffy overalls, no mousse in my hair. I've spent bloody months planning the outfit I was supposed to be wearing when I saw Dylan again, and this was not it. But he doesn't scan me up and down, doesn't even seem to clock my new hair color-he meets my gaze and holds it. I feel like the whole world just stumbled and had to catch its breath.

"Fuck me," says Marcus. "A Mini! The indignity of it!"

"What the hell?" Deb says. "What were you doing? You just drove into the back of us!"

Dylan looks around in bewilderment. I pull myself together.

"Is anyone hurt?" I ask, rubbing my aching neck. "Rodney?"

"Who?" says Marcus.

"I'm OK!" calls Rodney, who's still in the backseat of the car.

Deb helps him climb out. I should have done that. My brain feels kind of scrambled.

"Shit," says Dylan, finally registering the crumpled bumper of the Mercedes. "Sorry, Marcus."

"Oh, mate, honestly, don't worry about it," Marcus says. "Do you know how many times I've totaled one of my dad's cars? He won't even notice."

I step forward and check out the back of Deb's battered Mini. It's actually not looking too bad-that bang was so loud I would've assumed something serious had fallen off. Like a wheel.

Before I've registered what she's doing, Deb's in the driving seat, starting the engine again.

"She's all good!" she says. "What a car. Best money I ever spent." She drives forward a little, up onto the curb, and hits the hazard lights.

Dylan's back in the Mercedes, rifling through the glove box. He and Marcus talk about roadside accident assist, Marcus forwards him an e-mail off his phone and I think to myself . . . that's it, Dylan's hair's shorter. That's what it is. I know I should be thinking about this whole car crash thing but all I'm doing is playing a game of spot-the-difference, looking at Dylan and going, What's missing? What's new?

His eyes flick to mine again. I go hot. There's something about Dylan's eyes-they kind of catch you up, like cobweb. I force myself to look away.

"So . . . you're on your way to Cherry's wedding, I'm guessing?" I say to Marcus. My voice shakes. I can't look at him. I'm suddenly thankful for the dented rear bumper to examine on the Mini.

"Well, we were," Marcus drawls, eyeing the Mercedes. Maybe he can't bring himself to look at me either. "But there's no way we're driving this baby four hundred miles now. It needs to get to a garage. Yours should too."

Deb makes a dismissive noise, already out of the car again and rubbing a scratch with the sleeve of her ratty old hoody. "Ah, she's fine," she says, opening and closing the boot experimentally. "Dented, that's all."

"Marcus, it's going ballistic," Dylan calls.

I can see the Mercedes' screen flashing warning lights even from here. The hazards are too bright. I turn my face away. Isn't it typical that when Marcus's car breaks, Dylan's the one sorting it?

"The tow will be here in thirty minutes to take it to the garage," Dylan says.

"Thirty minutes?" Deb says, disbelieving.

"All part of the service," Marcus tells her, pointing to the car. "Mercedes, darling."

"It's Deb. Not darling. We've met several times before."

"Sure. I remember," Marcus says lightly. Not very convincing.

I can feel Dylan's eyes pulling at me as we all try to get the insurance stuff sorted. I'm fumbling around with my phone, Deb's digging in the glove box for paperwork and all the while I'm so aware of Dylan, like he's taking up ten times more space than everyone else.

"And how are we getting to the wedding?" Marcus asks once we're done.

"We'll just get public transport," Dylan says.

"Public transport?" Marcus says, as though someone's just suggested he get to Cherry's wedding by toboggan. Still a bit of a wanker, then, Marcus. No surprises there.

Rodney clears his throat. He's leaning against the side of the Mini, eyes fixed on his phone. I feel bad-I keep forgetting him. Right now my brain doesn't have room for Rodney.

"If you set off now," he says, "then according to Google you would arrive . . . at thirteen minutes past two."

Marcus checks his watch.

"All right," says Dylan. "That's fine."

"On Tuesday," Rodney finishes.

"What?" chorus Dylan and Marcus.

Rodney pulls an apologetic face. "It's half past four in the morning on a Sunday on a bank holiday weekend and you're trying to get from Chichester to rural Scotland."

Marcus throws his hands in the air. "This country is a shambles."

Deb and I look at each other. No, no no no-

"Let's go," I say, moving for the Mini. "Will you drive?"

"Addie . . ." Deb begins as I climb into the passenger seat.

"Where do you think you're going?" calls Marcus.

I slam the car door.

"Hey!" Marcus says as Deb gets into the driver's seat. "You have to take us to the wedding!"

"No," I say to Deb. "Ignore him. Rodney! Get in!"

Rodney obliges. Which is kind. I really don't know the man well enough to yell at him.

"What the fuck? Addie. Come on. If you don't drive us, we won't get there in time," Marcus says.

He's by my window now. He knocks on the glass with the back of his knuckles. I don't roll it down.

"Addie, come on! Christ, surely you owe Dylan a favor."

Dylan says something to Marcus. I don't catch it.

"God, he's an arse," Deb says with a frown.

I close my eyes.

"Do you think you can do it?" Deb asks me. "Give them a lift?"

"No. Not-not both of them."

"Then ignore him. Let's just go."

Marcus taps on the window again. I clench my teeth, neck still aching, and keep my eyes straight ahead.

"Our road trip was meant to be fun," I say.

This is Deb's first weekend away from her baby boy, Riley. It's all we've talked about for months. She's planned every stop-off, every snack.

"It would still be fun," Deb says.

"We don't have room," I try.

"I can squeeze up!" Rodney says.

I'm really going off Rodney.

"It's such a long journey, Deb," I say, pressing my fists to my eyes. "Hours and hours stuck in the same car with Dylan. I've spent almost two years tiptoeing around Chichester trying not to bump into this man for even a second, let alone eight hours."

"I'm not saying do it," Deb points out. "I'm saying let's go."

Dylan has moved the Mercedes to somewhere safer to wait for the tow. I turn in my seat just as he's getting out of the car again, all lean, scruffy, almost-six-feet of him.

I know as soon as our eyes meet that I'm not going to leave him here.

He knows it too. I'm sorry, he mouths at me.

If I had a pound for every time Dylan Abbott's told me he's sorry, I'd be rich enough to buy that Mercedes.

Sometimes a poem arrives almost whole, as if someone's dropped it at my feet like a dog playing fetch. As I climb into the back of Deb's car and catch the achingly familiar edge of Addie's perfume, two and a half lines come to me in a split second. Unchanged and changed / Eyes trained on mine / And I'm-

Reader's Guide: The Road Trip by Beth O'Leary Discussion Questions 1. The Road Trip throws five very different people into one tiny car. Who do you think would be the most awkward people to take a road trip with? And on the flip side, who would be your ideal passengers? 2. Lots of the characters in The Road Trip are in the process of forgiving others—and themselves. Who needs forgiveness in the novel? Who finds it hardest to forgive? And if you were in Dylan, Addie or Marcus’s shoes, would you feel able to forgive yourself? 3. What problems did you identify in Dylan and Addie’s relationship before they broke up? Do you think they could have stayed together if Dylan had listened to Addie’s side of the story that night, or do you think it was inevitable that they would split up at some point? 4. Deb and Addie are always there for one another. Deb says, “Isn’t that how this sister thing works?” What do you think—is that how being sisters works? What does sisterhood mean to you? 5. The novel is split into Then and Now. How does each of the central characters change between the past narrative and the present one? And do you think people really can grow and adapt if they work on themselves, or do you believe a leopard never changes its spots? 6. Getting back together with an ex brings all sorts of challenges. Do you think Addie and Dylan will be able to put their past completely behind them now that they’re reunited? Do you think they should? What are the challenges they will face as they move forward? 7. The Road Trip is a second-chance romance. What is your favorite romantic trope? Enemies-to-lovers, perhaps, or a fake relationship, or a love triangle? 8. Dylan has a very difficult relationship with his parents, particularly his father. How do you think this has affected him? Do you think he will ever be able to build a more positive relationship with his mum and dad? 9. There are some fairly eccentric characters in the novel, from overexuberant Cherry to Kevin the burly lorry driver. Who was your favorite character, and why? 10. Have you ever taken a road trip? Where did you go, and did anyone travel with you? 11. Did you guess that Rodney was on his way to Cherry’s wedding to try to prevent it from happening? How did your opinion of him change throughout the novel, and how do you feel about him now? 12. Toward the end of The Road Trip, Cherry says, “Nobody’s irredeemable.” Do you agree?

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THE ROAD TRIP

by Beth O'Leary ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2021

A second-chance romance shows the many potential pitfalls of road tripping.

Years after a tumultuous breakup, a young woman finds herself crammed into the same tiny car as her ex for a dayslong drive to a mutual friend’s wedding.

Addie and her sister, Deb, are excited to be road tripping from their home in England to rural Scotland for their friend Cherry’s wedding. They’ve planned the trip so perfectly that they don’t even mind transporting a work friend of Cherry’s, an overly apologetic fellow named Rodney. Unfortunately, only a few hours after they set out, they get rear-ended. It turns out the driver is none other than Dylan Abbott, the man Addie has spent two years trying to forget. Worse yet, the car Dylan was driving now needs a tow, leaving him and his best friend, Marcus, without transportation to the very same wedding. Before she can stop herself, Addie invites the men to ride along with her, Deb, and Rodney. Everyone piles into the Mini Cooper, and with each mile they drive, Addie and Dylan find themselves assaulted by memories and unresolved feelings. Meanwhile, the group dynamic, as a whole, is also less than perfect. As the journey progresses, the bickering between the passengers only escalates, creating a slew of awkward moments and surprising revelations. Told alternately from Addie's and Dylan’s perspectives, the novel shifts between “Then,” when they were falling in love, and “Now,” when they are grappling with their unresolved feelings. As a picture of the past begins to crystalize, the author deftly portrays the passion the couple once felt for each other. Unfortunately, other than the sexual chemistry, they seem to be missing a true emotional connection, rendering their potential reunion somewhat less exciting. After the initial flashback scenes, which are quite engaging, Dylan gradually reveals himself to be so self-involved and undirected that his shortcomings weaken the intrigue of his pining over Addie. More fun is watching the other passengers in the car battle against each other as they navigate the uncomfortable ride, squishing into tight spaces and arguing over every possible topic. Despite its unevenness, the story is full of fun: quirky behavior, witty Briticisms, and gleeful slapstick humor.

Pub Date: June 1, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-5933-3502-4

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Berkley

Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021

FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | GENERAL FICTION

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by Beth O'Leary

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 2024

A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.

A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.

When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024

ISBN: 9781250178633

Page Count: 480

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023

FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | GENERAL FICTION | HISTORICAL FICTION

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by Kristin Hannah

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Pulitzer Prize Winner

DEMON COPPERHEAD

by Barbara Kingsolver ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 2022

An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored.

Inspired by David Copperfield , Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South.

It’s not necessary to have read Dickens’ famous novel to appreciate Kingsolver’s absorbing tale, but those who have will savor the tough-minded changes she rings on his Victorian sentimentality while affirming his stinging critique of a heartless society. Our soon-to-be orphaned narrator’s mother is a substance-abusing teenage single mom who checks out via OD on his 11th birthday, and Demon’s cynical, wised-up voice is light-years removed from David Copperfield’s earnest tone. Yet readers also see the yearning for love and wells of compassion hidden beneath his self-protective exterior. Like pretty much everyone else in Lee County, Virginia, hollowed out economically by the coal and tobacco industries, he sees himself as someone with no prospects and little worth. One of Kingsolver’s major themes, hit a little too insistently, is the contempt felt by participants in the modern capitalist economy for those rooted in older ways of life. More nuanced and emotionally engaging is Demon’s fierce attachment to his home ground, a place where he is known and supported, tested to the breaking point as the opiate epidemic engulfs it. Kingsolver’s ferocious indictment of the pharmaceutical industry, angrily stated by a local girl who has become a nurse, is in the best Dickensian tradition, and Demon gives a harrowing account of his descent into addiction with his beloved Dori (as naïve as Dickens’ Dora in her own screwed-up way). Does knowledge offer a way out of this sinkhole? A committed teacher tries to enlighten Demon’s seventh grade class about how the resource-rich countryside was pillaged and abandoned, but Kingsolver doesn’t air-brush his students’ dismissal of this history or the prejudice encountered by this African American outsider and his White wife. She is an art teacher who guides Demon toward self-expression, just as his friend Tommy provokes his dawning understanding of how their world has been shaped by outside forces and what he might be able to do about it.

Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-06-325-1922

Page Count: 560

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: July 13, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022

LITERARY FICTION | GENERAL FICTION

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by Barbara Kingsolver

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22 Best Road Trip Books To Spark Adventure

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Travel around the world with the best road trip books. These fiction and nonfiction books about road trips are sure to inspire your next adventure.

If you love jumping into the car, hopping on a road bike, and revving your motorcycle’s engine to see the world, this reading list is for you.

Drive or ride across the United States, Brazil, Iran, and Scotland on journeys of self-discovery. Meet unique and life-changing people.

Maybe you’ll find a new lease on life and answer some pressing questions. Or, maybe you’ll be left with even more reflections that are bigger than us.

Plus, uncover the best books about road trips with themes of finding love, reuniting families, and examining capitalism and corruption.

Many of these road trip novels will make you laugh aloud. Others will invoke nostalgia — Are we there yet?! — or make you hungry for the most mouthwatering croissant in town.

So, what are the best books about road trips to inspire and spark your own traveling adventure?

While ‘best’ is subjective, these are the top classic, LGBTQ+, fiction, memoirs, travelogues, and nonfiction road trip books that we and our contributing writers recommend.

We promise: these road trip books are sure to motivate and leave you craving the wide-open road, jaw-dropping mountain ranges, and laughs with best friends.

We’d love to know your favorite road trip book in the comments. Let’s get started!

Hitting the road soon? Don’t miss the best books to listen to while driving .

Grab the best road trip novels and memoirs here:

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Table of Contents

22 Best Road Trip Books

By Tori Curran with additions from Christine

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

What has since become an American classic and pillar of beatnik culture, On the Road was one of the first adventure books about road trips and searching for meaning on the open road.

In fact, it’s one of the most iconic books to come from the 1950s .

Inspired by Kerouac’s own cross-country road trips with Neal Cassidy, this classic chronicles the adventures of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, along with their free-spiritedness and naïveté.

Follow their quest for revelation from Manhattan, to Denver, Texas, Mexico, and beyond.

Set against the backdrop of drugs, jazz, and poetry, On the Road represents the American dream, home, and the quest for true freedom and experience.

On the Road is a great road trip novel for those wishing to read across America . Read On the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Dylan and Addie fell in love four years ago in Provence, where Dylan was staying with his friend Cherry and Addie was working as a caretaker. Though their relationship ended two years ago, they haven’t spoken.

On the day before Cherry’s wedding, Dylan and Addie’s paths literally crash. Dylan wrecks his car by slamming right into the back of Addie’s.

Along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy they met on Facebook who needed a ride to the wedding, they set off to Scotland in a mini cooper for the wedding.

O’Leary seamlessly marries the awkwardness of the ex-lovers forced to spend time together trope with deeper themes of depression, heartbreak, and forgiveness.

Alternating between Dylan and Addie’s perspectives, and the past and present, each will be forced to come to terms with the choices that ended their relationship, and if it is truly what they wanted.

A summer 2021 book release, if you are looking for newer road trip novels, O’Leary’s The Road Trip will deliver. Read The Road Trip : Amazon | Goodreads

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road by Sheba Karim

Follow three Pakistani-American teenagers, each with their own burdens, across the country on a healing and transformative road trip.

Mariam, who recently ghosted her boyfriend, and Umar, struggling with being queer and religious, concoct a plan to rescue Ghaz. She is being punished by her parents for appearing in a billboard underwear ad.

What better escape plan than a road trip down to New Orleans?

With other friendship-centered road trip books being full of humor and antics, Karim doesn’t shy away from handling issues like anti-Muslim rhetoric, confederate propaganda, racist and anti-gay commentary, and parental shame that many experience across the US.

In fact, the author reminds us all that, quite often, the family you create is just as important as the one you were given. Read Mariam Sharma Hits the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. the World is a humorous and heartwarming riches to rags trope and one of the road trip novels perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians .

Successful immigrant businessman Charles Wang loses his entire cosmetics empire amidst a financial crisis.

Forced to pull two of his children from boarding school and college he can’t afford, they set off from Bel-Air in their only car not repossessed.

Along with their materialistic stepmother, the family heads for upstate New York where the eldest daughter lives on a farm retreat.

Chang ponders on what it means to belong in capitalist America, especially as an immigrant, and begs the question: is money really what makes us successful?

Travel from California to New York with these reading lists . Read The Wangs vs. the World : Amazon | Goodreads

Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

Get ready for an upcoming contemporary YA road trip novel from popular teen author, Kasie West, set to publish at the end of May 2022 .

It’s been years since Norah has seen her childhood best friend Skyler. Their childhood friendship has since been reduced to liking one another’s social media posts.

Eager to reconnect with Skyler, Norah is excited about the RV trip the families have planned together. But when she sees Skyler, it seems like he’d rather be anywhere else.

What’s left of the friendship heads south.

A summer on the open road, however, marks the potential for new beginnings. Can their friendship blossom into something more, or should they close the chapter on one another forever? Read Places We’ve Never Been : Amazon | Goodreads

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Departing from the other humorous and quirky road trip novels, Lost Children Archive is a visceral story of a family road trip that collides with the immigration crisis at the southwest border.

A mother, father, and their two children set out from New York, where they were working on a documentary project, to Apacheria, Arizona, where the Apaches once called home.

A palpable rift between the parents grows clear, while the family road trips to music, plays games, and hears news of migrant children being detained at the border over the radio.

Both crises eventually intersect in a story of justice, equality, and humanity. Read Lost Children Archive : Amazon | Goodreads

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Popular YA author Joan Bauer takes readers on an open road adventure, as we discover the rules of the road, and of life.

Jenna Boller is an awkward 16-year-old employee at Gladstone Shoe Store.

To Jenna’s surprise, she is enlisted by company president, Madeline Gladstone, to drive her across the country to stop Elden Gladstone from seizing his mother’s company.

While we expect Madeline to impart her life lessons on Jenna and on the reader, Jenna’s character, who openly begins to share about life with her alcoholic father, delivers her share of wisdom, as well.

Rules of the Road is one of the older award-winning and award-nominated road trip books on this reading list. Read Rules of the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon

For more best road trip books set abroad, head to Brazil in a heartfelt, coming-of-age queer love story.

Cora and Julia reunite after a falling out for a road trip through Brazil, but as the trip progresses, the rifts in their friendship become palpable again.

In what is hailed as one of the finest explorations of love, Bensimon beautifully illustrates identity, love, and how they are sometimes one and the same.

At the end of the road trip, the women must decide what their future together holds, or if it involves one another at all. Read We All Loved Cowboys : Amazon | Goodreads

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

A 1960s travelogue and one of the classic modern books about road trips, Travels with Charley shares Steinbeck’s own road trip across America with his dog, Charley.

Compelled to see the country he writes about one more time, Steinbeck sets out from Long Island and embarks on a 10,000-mile road trip across the Northeast, Northwest, and finally down to California and across Texas.

Steinbeck shares not only the beauty of our country and the peace along our highways but also about the American way – both good and bad.

From racial hostility to loneliness and the kindness of strangers, he discovers that while so much has changed in America over the years, much still has not. Read Travels with Charley : Amazon | Goodreads

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

A New York Times Bestseller and one of the most poignant road trip books, Between Two Kingdoms highlights what it means to not just survive but to live.

After graduating college, Suleika Jaouad is living in Paris, on the brink of becoming a war correspondent.

A few weeks before her twenty-second birthday, though, she learns she has leukemia and only a one in three chance of surviving the diagnosis.

For four years, she undergoes chemo, transplants, and clinical trials, chronicling her fight from her hospital bed in a popular New York Times column, Life, Interrupted.

Walking out of the hospital, a survivor, Jaouad discovers she has no idea how to live and be part of the world again. How can she make up for lost time?

Along with her terrier mutt, Jaouad heads out on a 100-day transformative cross-country road trip to meet the strangers and fellow cancer patients who had written her in the hospital.

While she can never reclaim her old life, she learns quite a bit about what lies between the kingdoms of sick and well. Read Between Two Kingdoms : Amazon | Goodreads

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway by Heidi Eliason

At the age of 45, Heidi Eliason makes a complete 180, determined to do what so many of us only dream of – get off the hamster wheel, quit her 9-5 job, and live life on her own terms.

Feeling depressed, lost, and suffocated by a life without joy, she sells her home, buys an RV, and sets out on a quest for self-discovery.

Not without a few bumps in the road, Eliason learns how to maintain her new motorhome, meets a new community of people, and encounters magnificent wildlife and nature.

In freeing herself from the chains, she discovers true freedom. Honest and self-aware, Eliason’s memoir is one of the best, but lesser-known, road trip books for anyone considering an alternative lifestyle. Read Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway : Amazon | Goodreads

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

The true American experience lies in each of us, even those who get lost on the map.

With so many travel memoirs focusing on National Parks, cross country highways, and epic adventures to see a nation before it’s too late, Blue Highways takes a different approach.

William Least Heat-Moon, with a need to put his past behind him and a desire to discover the lost towns that fill the gaps on a map, heads down the nation’s backroads.

From Remote, Oregon, to New Freedom, Pennsylvania, and more, he discovers incredible people and their experiences along the way, giving new meaning to forgotten, blue-collar America. Read Blue Highways : Amazon | Goodreads

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

In September 1992, Christopher McCandless’s lifeless body was found in an abandoned bus along the Stampede Trail in Alaska.

A few months prior, he had sold his belongings, shed his legal name, and hitchhiked his way into the Alaskan wilderness as “Alexander Supertramp.”

A few years later, Krakauer recounts McCandless’s steps, recalling his own experiences in the wilderness and those of others lost in the wild.

Sharing parts of McCandless’s own journal, Krakauer presents the heartbreaking true story of someone who simply wanted to discover enlightenment and self-solitude in nature.

While some controversy surrounds not only the book, and whether it’s entirely true, but the cause of death, Into the Wild still serves as one of the best road trip books of all time.

We can all appreciate McCandless’s desire to lead a life of appreciation, rather than materialism.

If you enjoy hiking books , Into The Wild is also for you – and you may wish to watch the movie .

Explore even more essential books from the 90s . Read Into the Wild : Amazon | Goodreads

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Popular and humorous author of A Walk in the Woods , Bryson first took his adventures to the road.

Wishing to reclaim his youth, Bill Bryson leaves his hometown and sets out on an adventure across 38 states. While some places he adores, some he simply tolerates.

He discovers a nation cloaked in greed, riddled with pollution, and lost in its television sets.

With the humor and wit we’ve grown to love and expect from Bryson, discover a cynical portrayal of small-town America. Bryson is nothing if not honest. Read The Lost Continent : Amazon | Goodreads

American Nomads by Richard Grant

One of the most fascinating books about road trips in America, American Nomads infuses the fifteen years author Richard Grant spent traveling across the US with a history of the nomadic life in America.

Grant, intrigued by what lies beyond the horizon, spent more than a decade traversing the United States, never spending more than three weeks in one place.

He meets truckers, nomads, retirees living in their RVs, cowboys, and others, infusing his travelogue with their comedic and very real stories of life on the open road.

In contrast to the typical American dream, he chronicles the history of the “wanderer” from frontiersmen to the tradesmen of newly discovered America.

Beautifully narrated, Grant reminds us all that there is freedom in exploration. Read American Nomads : Amazon | Goodreads

If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question by Ty Sassaman

If you could ask everyone you met just one question, what question would you ask?

Ty Sassaman sets out across America asking that very question to strangers he meets along the way, hoping for a revelation about his own life.

From east coast to west coast, readers follow Sassaman’s cross country road trip and the wisdom he picks up from Americans along the way.

While his memoir is very much personal, it is clear that Sassaman is invested in the experiences, fears, and joys of everyone he meets.

The answers, from celebrities to strangers, will leave us all a bit more enlightened.

If You Could Ask Everyone … is one of these rare books about road trips that raises more questions than answers. Read If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question : Amazon | Goodreads

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

If you’re looking for more unique and alternative road trip books, One More Croissant for the Road will take you across France, via bicycle, in search of the country’s best culinary delicacies.

Cloake cycles 3,500 kilometers across France, trying various classic dishes – from bourguignon to quiche Lorraine – and, of course, looking for the best croissant.

As a self-proclaimed foodie and professional food writer, her quirky and alternative cross-country trip will make you feel nothing if not hungry!

Anyone looking for a good laugh and that feel-good je ne sais quoi of a trip of a lifetime will adore Cloake’s journey across France. Explore even more books set in France . Read One More Croissant for the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

Don’t Make Me Pull Over by Richard Ratay

Have you even taken a family road trip if you didn’t hear yourself utter the dreaded words, “Don’t make me pull over? “This family travel writer has certainly heard the words fly out a couple of times.

Don’t Make Me Pull Over walks readers through the history of the dreaded but lovable family road trip.

From seatbelt-less cars to roadside attractions and paper maps, Ratay and readers relive the nostalgia of the family road trip.

Amidst cheap air travel and distracting technological gadgets, Ratay reminds us that convenience isn’t always what makes the best family memories – and a family road trip might just be what you need to reconnect.

For parents, this might be one of the most relatable books about road trips on this reading list. Read Don’t Make Me Pull Over : Amazon | Goodreads

The Art of Free Travel by Patrick Jones and Meg Ulman

If you’re looking for more road trip books set outside of North America, travel across Australia on a 6,000-kilometer cycling journey with the authors, two kids, and their Jack Russel Terrier.

Craving adventure, the happy Victoria-based family decides to embark on an epic road trip across their country’s east coast.

In keeping with their already established lifestyle, their main goal is simple: road trip sustainably.

Cycling, foraging, and bartering their way through Australia, Jones and Ulman poetically document how their desire to live a life consuming less, influences their travels.

Anyone intrigued by road trips and nomadic life for sustainability purposes will enjoy their unique angle. Explore more books set in and about Australia . Read The Art of Free Travel : Amazon | Goodreads

Going the Wrong Way by Chris Donaldson

Going the Wrong Way is the autobiographical story of a young man who flees Belfast in the 1970s on his motorcycle.

Hoping to make it to Australia, he documents the places, unique cultures, and landscapes he experiences along the way. 

Donaldson, however, doesn’t escape trouble entirely. He finds himself in very dangerous parts of the Middle East and Africa, gets extremely sick, and often finds himself mentally exhausted.

Still, he presses on, often due to the kindness of strangers, many of whom are living in poverty themselves.

Donaldson’s epic, and almost impossible, road trip will leave anyone accustomed to traveling with some sort of convenience, direction, and safety in awe.

For road trip books for young and new adults, Going the Wrong Way is engaging and humorous. Read Going the Wrong Way : Amazon | Goodreads

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce

While many of the best books about road trips boast of self-discovery, Revolutionary Ride beautifully shares a different discovery: one of country and culture.

In 2011, at the height of the British-Iranian conflict, travel writer Lois Pryce discovers a note left outside the Iranian embassy in London.  … I wish that you will visit Iran so you will see for yourself about my country.

Against the judgment of others, Pryce embarks on a 3,000-mile journey from Tabriz to Shiraz, meeting the people of Iran, from housewives to drug addicts.

Revolutionary Ride is an eye-opening journey into the heart of a country and misunderstood group of people who, despite extreme Islamic rule, live a life full of appreciation. Read Revolutionary Ride : Amazon | Goodreads

More road trip novels from Christine

Off the Map by Trish Doller

TWs for aging and parental death (not a spoiler)

One of the newer 2023 road trip books that made us cry , if you are looking for romance, Off the Map will not disappoint.

Plus, who can resist a jaunt around the Irish countryside with a hunky date? Just know that this can be read as a standalone in a series.

Carla Black is heading to her best friend’s wedding, meeting up with the best man to take her there. However, Eamon is not what she is expecting, and they immediately hit it off.

We watch as Carla falls for Eamon along their road trip detours – including a tipsy bull, off-roading, and even surfing – but has to unlearn a few of the arbitrary rules engrained in her mind from childhood.

Not to mention that her dad is suffering from dementia, and Eamon’s family has always put immense pressure on his success – and their definition of it.

Find a story of overcoming loss, standing up for yourself, and lots of steamy lovemaking along the way.

Trish Doller is becoming an “always read” author for us with her themes of travel, living an authentic and honest life, and relationships – romantic and family.

You’ll champion Carla’s direct and fiery spirit along with her lessons learned along the way.

Discover even more books featuring Ireland .

Read Off the Map : Amazon | Goodreads

Save These Road Trip Novels & Memoirs For Later

Grab your favorite road trip books here:

Thank you to TUL contributor, Tori Curran from Explore With Tori

Tori (pronouns: she/her) is a children’s librarian and mom to two boys living in New York. She’s an avid traveler, nature enthusiast, and writer, encouraging families to get outside and start exploring the world. When she’s not hiking or traveling, you can find her lost in a historical fiction book, watching Bravo reruns, or obsessively decluttering her home.

What are the best books about road trips in America and around the globe that you love?

What is your favorite road trip novel and memoir? Let us know in the comments.

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Books Across America Hiking Books Famous Travel Writers Books Featuring Train Travel Books Around Wine Country Hotel-Themed Books Best Movies Featuring Road Trips

These books about road trips are a part of our 2022 Uncorked Reading Challenge .

Tori Curran

Tori, I just happened upon your post during a Google search. Thank you so much for recommending my book, Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway! I’m thrilled to be among such esteemed company. What a great website–I’m following!

We are so glad! Thanks, Heidi! ~ Christine

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The Road Trip

The utterly heart-warming and joyful novel from the author of the flatshare, by beth o'leary, this title was previously available on netgalley and is now archived., send netgalley books directly to your kindle or kindle app, to read on a kindle or kindle app, please add [email protected] as an approved email address to receive files in your amazon account. click here for step-by-step instructions., also find your kindle email address within your amazon account, and enter it here., pub date 29 apr 2021 | archive date 23 apr 2021, quercus books | quercus, general fiction (adult) | romance.

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The instant Sunday Times Bestseller from the author of The Flatshare 'Read this! Absolutely loved it!' Christina Lauren 'This book is perfect' Rosie Walsh ' Beth is quite rightly earning her title as "Queen of Uplit"' Prima Addie and her sister are on an epic road trip to a friend's wedding in rural Scotland. But, not long after setting off, a car slams into theirs. The driver is none other than Addie's ex, who she hasn't seen since their traumatic break-up two years earlier. Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. And with four hundred miles to go, they can't avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship . . . Will they make it to the wedding? And, more importantly, is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan? 'Funny, relatable and tender' Red ' If Richard Curtis and Nora Ephron made a story baby' Zoella Book Club 'So romantic and moving and brilliantly told' Louise O'Neill 'O'Leary does it again! The Road Trip is another sure-fire hit, filled with characters you won't forget' Mike Gayle 'An achingly tender love story' Richard Roper

The instant Sunday Times Bestseller from the author of The Flatshare 'Read this! Absolutely loved it!' Christina Lauren 'This book is perfect' Rosie Walsh ' Beth is quite rightly earning her title as...

Advance Praise

HEAR WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING ABOUT BETH'S FIRST TWO NOVELS:

'I adored every page of this super-smart, brilliantly funny romcom' Rosie Walsh on The Flatshare

'The new Jojo Moyes ... This has all the ingredients of Me Before You... seriously funny' Cosmopolitan on The Flatshare

'Touching, funny and skilful, a delightful read' Katie Fforde on The Flatshare

' The Flatshare is a huge, heart-warming triumph' Josie Silver on The Flatshare

'Beth has done it again! Warm, witty, and a cast of characters I wish I was friends with - I truly loved it!' Laura Jane Williams on The Switch

'Eileen Cotton proves you don't have to be in your thirties to be Bridget Jones. A triumph of a second novel' Anstey Harris on The Switch

'I am blown away. I didn't think Beth could top The Flatshare but she has. It sparkles with wit, warmth and compassion. It deserves to be huge!' Gillian McAllister on The Switch

'The new Jojo Moyes ... This has...

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The Road Trip - by Beth O'Leary (Paperback)

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The Road Trip: cast, plot and everything you need to know

The Road Trip is a romantic comedy set in Spain and starring Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson and David Jonsson.

The Road Trip on Paramount Plus is a romantic comedy that brings to life another bestseller by author Beth O'Leary as it follows on from the success of Paramount’s previous hit drama The Flatshare , also a book by Beth O’Leary. 

Starring Emma Appleton, Laurie Davidson and David Jonsson, this series follows Addie (Appleton) who is on a road trip to a friend’s wedding in Spain when she’s forced to share the ride with her ex Dylan (Laurie Davidson). Flitting between the past and the present, the show focuses on giving love another shot and explores whether someone can be the right person but at the wrong time. 

Novelist Beth O’Leary, author of The Road Trip , says: "I'm so thrilled to finally be able to shout about this news! 42 and Paramount Plus were the dream team behind  The Flatshare series, so it's wonderful to know The Road Trip  is in such safe, skilled hands. 

"From my very first glimpse at an early script for this show, I knew it was going to be something really special, and now that we have our incredible cast lined up, I just cannot wait to see The Road Trip brought to life." 

Here’s everything you need to know about The Road Trip on Paramount Plus…

The Road Trip release date

The Road Trip is a six-part series will premiere on Paramount Plus and we expect it to hit our screens in 2024. When a UK and US release date is announced, we’ll update you on here. 

* Sign up for Paramount Plus here.

The Road Trip the plot

The Road Trip follows Addie (Emma Appleton) is setting off on a road trip in a creaky campervan with her sister Deb (Isabella Laughland), heading to a friend’s wedding in Spain. However, they hit a bump in the road when they have to share the ride with Addie’s ex, Dylan (Laurie Davidson), his best friend Marcus ( Industry star David Jonsson) and a complete stranger called Rodney (Angus Imrie). 

The story intercuts between Addie and Dylan’s intoxicating holiday romance in the past and the surreal escapades on their road trip in the present. But everyone has secrets and life in a campervan offers no place to hide. Plus, they all have different ideas about what really happened during their holiday fling and why the pair broke up. Will Addie and Dylan’s journey back to where they first fell in love lead them to an unexpected happily-ever-after?

The Road Trip cast — Emma Appleton as Addie

Lead actor on The Road Trip is Emma Appleton plays Addie, who is forced into close quarters with her ex. She has starred in The Killing Kind , Lola, Everything I Know About Love, The Last Letter from your Lover, Traitors and The Witcher . She also played Nancy Spungen in the series Pistol , about The Sex Pistols. 

Laurie Davidson as Dylan

Laurie Davidson is playing Addie’s ex Dylan. He previously played William Shakespeare in the series Will and has also had roles in Cats, The Good Liar, The Sandman, Guilty Party and The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die . 

David Jonsson as Marcus

David Jonsson takes on the role of Dylan’s best friend Marcus. He previously starred as Gus in the hit series Industry and has also been in Endeavour, Deep State and Rye Lane . He has a lead role in BBC1's Agatha Christie mystery Murder Is Easy .

Who else is starring in the Road Trip? 

Other stars of The Road Trip include Isabella Laughland ( Foundation , Trigonometry ) who plays Addie’s sister Deb and Angus Imrie ( The Crown, Fleabag, The Archers ) who plays Rodney, who bags a lift with the gang.

Is there a trailer for The Road Trip?

There's no trailer for The Road Trip just yet, but as soon as one is released we’ll post it on this page. 

Behind the scenes, locations and more on The Road Trip

The Road Trip is filmed on location in Bristol and this island of Gran Canaria which is part of Spain. 42 is producing the 6 x 45 min series in association with PTIS – the international studio division of Paramount Global. The drama was commissioned by Sebastian Cardwell, Paramount's Deputy Chief Content Officer, UK.

Sebastian Cardwell says “We saw brilliant success across the globe with  The Flatshare , and we are thrilled to be working with 42 again on adapting another of Beth’s much-loved and best-selling novels. The Road Trip is the perfect addition to our expanding drama slate on Paramount+ and I can’t wait to see this incredible cast bring these characters to life.”

China Moo-Young  (Everything I Know About Love)  is lead director of The Road Trip and Stella Corradi  (Killing Eve)  will direct block two. Executive producers for 42 are Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran. Nikki Wilson ( Wolf, Doctor Who ) is producer and Kingsley Hoskins ( The Girl Before, The Flatshare ) is co-producer. Ryan O’Sullivan & Matilda Wnek  (Vigil 2)  are the lead writers and serve as executive producers on the series. Phoebe Eclair-Powell  (Two Weeks To Live)  writes episodes three and four, with Olivier award-winning Waleed Akhtar  (The P Word)  writing episode five.  

Miriam Brent, Rory Aitken and Eleanor Moran, Executive Producers at 42 said: “We are so excited to be setting off on  The Road Trip . It’s a unique privilege to be trusted with a second Beth O’Leary bestseller, and Ryan and Matilda have done an extraordinary job of translating the hilarious and poignant narrative to the screen. With the brilliant China Moo Young in the driving seat as lead director and such a wonderful cast, it’s going to be one hell of a ride!”

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The Best Road Trip Nonfiction to Get You in the Mood for Summer

Jaime Herndon

Jaime Herndon finished her MFA in nonfiction writing at Columbia, after leaving a life of psychosocial oncology and maternal-child health work. She is a writer, editor, and book reviewer who drinks way too much coffee. She is a new-ish mom, so the coffee comes in extra handy. Twitter:  @IvyTarHeelJaime

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But alas, I have a job (granted, one that I can do remotely) and a young child, so that’s not quite in the cards for me right now. Whenever I do get the wanderlust urge, though, reading about a road trip is a decent panacea.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t point some things out: for a long time, road trip novels were very On the Road -ish. And don’t get me wrong: I loved that book, just like I loved Dharma Bums . But traveling around the country as a white man is much different than traveling around the country — especially solo — as someone who isn’t a cis male, or non-white person. There are some things you just don’t have to think about, and so the genre has traditionally looked very white and very male.

The books that I’ve chosen for this list may not look like traditional road trip books, but they’re all about hitting the road, searching for something larger than yourself, and connecting with others. They’re the perfect read for a sunny, warm day. Let’s take a look!

America the Beautiful?: One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled by Blythe Roberson

In this funny but insightful book, Roberson quit her job and decided to go on a road trip to visit some national parks. She was tired of reading travel narratives by white men, and thought about how different road trips can be for women, and all the things she needed to consider while planning. What follows is a thoughtful look at what travel can do for a person, and her reflections about politics, America, and the environment are highly self-aware but also entertaining. She writes about the issues the parks face and why, and the intersections between tourism, conservation, and politics, while also documenting the highs and lows of road tripping.

The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito by Shing Yin Khor

A road trip graphic memoir? Yes please! Growing up in Malaysia, Khor had certain images of what America was like: one was the sunny, beautiful movie-like ideal, and the other was Depression-era bad. In this book, she takes a road trip along the iconic Route 66 to see the ever-changing setting of America, starting in Santa Monica and ending in Chicago. She explores the people living in these landscapes, meeting queer people and immigrants who’ve made their homes in places many people tend to dismiss as “flyover states” not worth exploring or fighting for. The book is full of curiosity and insights about the places she sees and visits, feelings about her own experience of America, and gives the reader a taste of what she saw, encouraging us to explore more on our own.

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen

Allen, a trans reporter, traveled the country (in “red states”) in search of “something gay every day.” She went all over: Provo, Utah, the Deep South, the Bible Belt, and much more, all in search of LGBTQ+ communities, events, and people in these red states. Her love for this geographic area was a motivator, and she wanted to illustrate that there are queer people in these areas that many people so easily dismiss or ignore. The result is a book full of heartening stories and cultural change, and a road trip that might make you rethink your assumptions.

The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America by Tom Zoellner

This book, first published in fall of 2020, is a collection of essays that explores the relationships between land in America and its people. What makes us Americans? How are we influenced by place, or impacted by it? How does place or location shape our views of others here? Zoellner combines history, geography, and travelogue to create a compelling look at a country that is evolving and changing, but perhaps there is also something that connects us.

Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee

Warning: don’t read this unless you have a full stomach, because you’re going to get very hungry! American food is not just one thing: it’s a mix of things, and Lee wanted to find out the stories behind the food. He spent two years driving around America, talking with people all around the country, trying their food, and listening to the stories they told — stories that were slightly familiar, completely unfamiliar, and mash-ups of everything in-between. It’s a deeply human, vividly written book that will take you alongside Lee on his travels. And don’t worry, there are 40 recipes that Lee has included, created by him, that reflect the dishes he heard about and tried on his travels.

Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton (June 6th)

Burton, a former Rookie writer and the creator of the blog Effing Dykes, has written an engaging, entertaining, and insightful book about lesbian bars in America, and why so many have disappeared. It’s a cultural critique braided with a road trip to some of the last remaining lesbian bars — in 1987, there were 207 of them in America, and now there are a few dozen left. Why is this? What does it mean, culturally? Burton explores these questions, as well as reflects on her own life, including her trans husband — whose presence in the bars brings up other questions and conversations about who is welcome where. It’s a fun but thought-provoking book that’s a perfect read for the start of summer.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick

Shortly after becoming President, Washington went to the ex-colonies to talk to people about the new government, and what it meant to be an American. In 2018, Philbrick decided to follow Washington’s path (along with his wife and their dog), and see what America had become. He talks with a variety of people from various political affiliations, visits historical landmarks, and observes reenactments. He weaves together 18th century America and 2018 America, showing the fractures in each, and yet also illustrating how Washington believed in unity and how that helped shape the nation. It’s a book that faces history head on, while also preserving hope for the present.

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry

While not your typical road trip book, I included it here because of the way it is structured, and also because it does cover geographical distance, while also exploring communities, people, and history — all common themes in the road trip books on this list. In order to understand America, Perry believes we need to understand the South and all its contradictions. She takes us on a journey down South, meeting people from all types of different communities and backgrounds, and combines this with her familial and personal history and the larger Southern history. It’s an eye-opening, vibrantly-written book that is more urgent than ever.

If you’re looking for more road trip books, check out this post on road trips and literature and this post on feel-good road trip reads . Planning your own bookish road trip? We have tips: A Bookish Coastal U.S. Road Trip: Pacific Coast Highway .

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The Best Road Trip Books You’ll Be Driven To Read

Do you have the urge to jump into a car and drive into the distance for a new adventure? Not everyone can just drive away on an adventure, but reading about doing so is just as big a sign of escapism.

In this selection, I’ve compiled the best road trip books that are sure to make you think about the bigger picture.

Whether you’re looking for adventure or the experience of reading through someone’s memoir, I’ve found something for everyone.

The 22 Best Road Trip Books

In this section, I’ve compiled a selection of 22 of the best road trip books.

Whether you want a classic road trip novel or whether you want an informative journey across the country, I have something for everyone here. So, strap yourself in as I take you on an adventure to find your next read.

On The Road By Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road based on the travels he and his friends made along the United States.

Between 1947 and 1950, Sal Paradise and his friends travel around the country, where they go on a journey of self-discovery and experience.

This is a novel that focuses on the desire for freedom and the longing for adventure that everyone has felt and continues to feel since the book was published in 1957.

• The quintessential American road trip novel serves as a fictional autobiography for the beat generation.
• Adapted into a drama film of the same name.
• Some readers may not enjoy the stream of consciousness writing style that Kerouac uses.

Rules Of The Road By Joan Bauer

Jenna Boller is a gawky teen who works at the Gladstone Shoe Store in Chicago. With a dysfunctional home life, her job is where she can escape.

When she has the chance to drive Madeline Gladstone across the country to stop her son from taking over the company, she takes it.

These two women from different generations are brought together, where they learn lessons about the rules of the road and life itself.

• A coming-of-age novel that brings two women from different generations together on an eye-opening road trip.
• Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature.
• The first book in the Rules of the Road duology.
• Despite being a young adult novel, it may not be as relevant to its target audience as it was when it was published in 1998.

Travels With Charley By John Steinbeck

The award-winning writer John Steinbeck goes on a journey to rediscover the country he has written about for his life. Joined by his French poodle, Charley, Steinbeck drives around the country to reflect on the American Dream.

On this journey, he ponders the future that America faces as he travels to meet old and new friends.

• It was a New York Times bestseller for Non-Fiction when it first came out.
• John Steinbeck’s travelog examines the country that he wrote so much about, not only looking into the past but the future too.
• There have been some arguments about whether it has been partly fictionalized, which may bother some readers who are solely here for a travelog.

Between Two Kingdoms By Suleika Jaouad

When she graduated from college, Suleika Jaouad had plans to move abroad and become a war correspondent. However, her dreams were stalled when she discovered she had leukemia a few weeks before she turned 23.

After three years of treatment and chronicling her life for The New York Times, she wasn’t sure what to do next. So, she went on a journey to meet the people who wrote to her to discover what she should do next.

• Nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography.
• A sympathetic memoir focusing on a cancer survivor’s journey to find out how to live after spending so long working to survive.
• While this is a road trip memoir, it has a wider focus on coming to terms with a life that was put on hold after being diagnosed with cancer.

Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

This non-fiction book tells the story of a young Christopher McCandless, who gave up his personal possessions to live off the grid. Renaming himself Alexander Supertramp, he threw his maps away to experience nature.

However, in 1992, he was found dead in an abandoned bus in Alaska. Jon Krakauer wrote this book to explore McCandless’ life before his final days.

• Winner of the Washington State Book Award.
• Adapted into a biographical drama film of the same name.
• It offers a sympathetic look into Christopher McCandless’ story as Krakauer goes into in-depth detail about what happened to the late traveler.
• Krakauer treats his theories as fact and is otherwise a little bit too biased about his perspective on McCandless and his fate.

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas By Hunter S. Thompson

When they go to report on a Mint 400 motorcycle race, Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, are distracted by the wide variety of recreational drugs on offer. In a drug-induced haze, these two go on a destructive rampage.

However, they also find themselves lost, considering the death of the American Dream and the ‘60s counterculture movement.

• It was adapted into a film of the same name.
• Described as a crowning achievement in gonzo journalism, combining fiction and journalism together brilliantly.
• While the writing style is amazing, the plot is incredibly bare and can become dull for some readers.

NOS4A2 By Joe Hill

When she was a child, Victoria McQueen found a path that would take her wherever she needed to go. However, she is warned to keep an eye out for the Wraith, a disturbing Rolls-Royce driven by Charles Talent Manx.

Known for kidnapping children and bringing them to Christmasland, he comes across Vic one day. However, Vic is able to escape, but only for a while. After all, Manx now has a new target: Vic’s own son.

• Nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel.
• Adapted into a television series of the same name.
• A horrifying novel that offers a fresh take on both vampires and road trips that will make you weary of untraveled roads.
• While well-written and horrifying, some readers may not enjoy the length of this novel which is roughly 700 pages long.

Lovecraft Country By Matt Ruff

Atticus’s father, Montrose, went missing in 1954, and Atticus, with his Uncle George and friend Letitia, went on a road trip to find him.

On this journey, they discover an array of horrors, from terrifying spirits to the dangers that come with being black in the Jim Crow era. When they find Montrose, they are in danger of a ritual that will destroy their entire family.

• Nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award and Locus Award for Best Horror Novel.
• The first of the Lovecraft Country series.
• Combines fantasy and horror with the Jim Crow era, adding even extra tension to this novel.
• If you’re looking for a book that delves into Lovecraftian horror, you may be left disappointed.

Are You Listening? By Tillie Walden

Bea runs away from home and meets Lou, and together, they are joined by a mysterious cat. However, this isn’t a simple road trip, for the two are hunted by mysterious men.

They can only survive by trusting each other with their own personal stories of loss and heartbreak.

• The winner of the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album-New.
• An emotional but hopeful story about a road trip that brings two strangers together as they bond over their respective trauma.
• If you don’t enjoy graphic novels , you may want to skip this one.

The Traveling Cat Chronicles By Hiro Arikawa

Satoru takes his beloved pet cat on a road trip, but Nana doesn’t understand why. Together, they cruise through Japan and visit several of Satoru’s old friends. However, for some reason, they’re all interested in Nana.

Yet, Nana isn’t interested in them, and he doesn’t understand why Satoru is encouraging them to take care of him.

• Winner of the Futaro Yamada Literary Award.
• An emotional story of a cat brought on a road trip with his beloved owner to find a new home for his cat.
• Not everyone will like the writing style, which is more simplistic due to the light novel format.

Paper Towns By John Green

Margo Roth Spiegelman has lived next door to Quentin Jacobsen for a lifetime and has loved her for just as long.

One night, she climbs through his window to get his help with an ingenious revenge plan, and they stay out all night.

But when Q goes to school the next day, he discovers that Margo has disappeared, and she has left him clues to find her. Now, Q goes on a journey through these paper towns to discover the mystery that is the girl he loves.

• New York Times Bestseller and Edgar Award Winner for Best Young Adult Novel.
• Adapted into a feature film of the same name.
• An enjoyable comedy-drama that focuses on the mystery of the girl next door for young adult fans.
• If you’ve read any other John Green books, you may be disappointed to find that this one is similar to his first book: Looking for Alaska .

American Gods By Neil Gaiman

Shadow gets the news that his wife has died only a few days before he is meant to be released from prison. Numb to the world, he returns home for the funeral, where he meets the enigma known as Mr. Wednesday.

Together, they travel across America on a strange and unsettling journey where Shadow discovers the reality of Gods and the threat of war.

• Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, Hugo Award, and Nebula Award for Best Novel.
• A brilliant concept of the struggle between Old Gods and New Gods as they walk the Earth.
• Despite its interesting concept, American Gods is slow-paced and can feel like a chore to get through.

Flaming Iguanas By Erika Lopez

Tomato Rodriguez jumps onto her motorcycle to embark on an adventure. Searching for the meaning of life and love in her journey across the country, she can only hope to find the answers she’s looking for.

Combining artwork and attitude, this all-girl adventure is truly a wild ride.

• The first book in the Mad Dog Rodriguez trilogy.
• A hilarious novel that combines art with a heartwarming story about finding the meaning of life and love.
• Not everyone will appreciate the variety of artwork, which gives off a diary aesthetic compared to other graphic novels.

American Nomads By Richard Grant

Spending 15 years wandering the U.S., Richard Grant never spent more than three weeks in one place. In this book, he explores the history of American nomads as he lives the same kind of life.

In this comedic travelog, Grant looks into the myths and truths of the life of a nomad by including his own wandering adventures.

• Winner of the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.
• Adapted into a documentary of the same name.
• An intimate memoir about Richard Grant’s own journey and the history of the nomads who came before him.
• It loses itself in history lessons within the book, which may lose the interest of some readers.

In The Footsteps Of Crazy Horse By Joseph M. Marshall III

Jimmy McClean is half-white and half-Lakota, and his grandfather takes him on a journey to connect with his Lakota heritage.

Throughout, he learns more about Crazy Horse and his Lakota history through his grandfather’s tales. Ultimately, it helps him to understand himself better than before.

• Nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Award and Winner of the American Indian Youth Literature Award for Best Middle-Grade Book.
• A moving story that explores Lakota tradition and the history of Crazy Horse through an intergenerational road trip.
• It does find itself lost in the historical narrative and loses focus of the present-day characters.

The Road By Cormac McCarthy

A father and son walk through the burned vestiges of America, which the apocalypse has ravaged.

They plan to make it to the coast, but the road they walk is dangerous. Now there are no laws, and all they have is each other. Together, the father and son hope to find a haven to rest, with only one another to rely on.

• Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and many more.
• An emotional journey of a father and son that creates a road trip, but not in the traditional sense.
• The writing style may not interest everyone, as McCarthy writes a very bleak post-apocalyptic world.

The Remains Of The Day By Kazuo Ishiguro

For decades, Stevens served as a butler at Darlington Hall, but when his employer passed away, he was unsure of what to do next.

At this point, he hears from his old colleague, Miss Kenton, whom he once had feelings for. His new employer encourages him to take his car and visit.

With the belief that his old colleague is in an unhappy marriage, Stevens considers his past relationships with both Miss Kenton and Darlington as he travels to her.

• Winner of the Booker Prize.
• Adapted into a film with the same name.
• An emotional story about a man reminiscing about his life and career and a focus on looking into the future instead of the past.
• It does have a slow, almost leisurely pace that may bore some readers if they want a more exciting novel.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy By Douglas Adams

Earth is about to be destroyed to make room for a galactic freeway, and Arthur Dent is taken away by his friend, Ford Prefect.

With the help of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which Ford has been researching, the two travel through space and meet new friends as they consider the answers to the universe.

• Adapted into a film, television series, and radio series.
• The first book in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
• A hilarious twist on the road trip that became a pop culture landmark in science fiction.
• Not everyone will enjoy the absurdist humor used in Douglas Adams’ work.

The Wangs VS. The World By Jade Chang

The Wangs are an affluent Chinese family who lost everything in the 2008 financial crisis. Charles Wang realizes nothing is left for his family in America, so he plans to take them back to China.

But his family can’t get over what they’ve lost, and he’s not sure how he can keep his family together while he also dreams of returning home.

• Nominated for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize.
• Currently in the process of being adapted for TV.
• A hilarious twist on the usual immigrant novel that twists the American Dream on its head.
• It relies on the character’s relationships to drive the story instead of the plot itself.

As I Lay Dying By William Faulkner

After the death of the Bundren family matriarch, they embark on a trip across the Mississippi countryside to bury her where she wants. However, the journey isn’t easy, and each family member is affected.

This is a classic take on the dysfunctional family road trip that also explores their grief as they head to their destination.

• A literary classic that is among one of the best made in the 20th Century.
• An amusing black comedy that focuses on a road trip to bury the family matriarch with various emotions encapsulating a family’s grief.
• Many readers don’t enjoy the stream of consciousness style and complicated narrative with too many perspectives.

Under The Skin By Michel Faber

Isserley is a small yet attractive woman who picks up muscular hitchhikers. While the hitchhikers are a mixture of thugs and philosophers, her only concern is whether they’re muscular or have the muscles needed.

However, she begins to wonder whether what she’s doing is right and how long she can continue living like this.

• A surprising twist on the usual alien abduction story, focusing on hitchhikers and abductions instead of UFOs.
• It does have a slow pace that, while it works with the disturbing horror aspect, may not be fun for all readers.

The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet By Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper joins the Wayfarer crew hoping to escape her past, and in doing so, she learns more about the motley crew she’s joined.

When they’re offered the job of a lifetime, they travel across the galaxy to reach their next job.

But Rosemary isn’t the only one keeping secrets, and soon, she learns more about the rest of her newly established found family as they learn to live with each other on a year-long journey across the stars.

• Nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award and Women’s Prize for Fiction.
• The first book in the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series.
• A new take on the road trip, with a sci-fi ensemble on a journey to build a tunneling wormhole while learning more about one another.
• It doesn’t have much of a plot and is far more suitable for any reader looking for a light-hearted, character-driven novel.

Buyer’s Guide

Are you having difficulty deciding on what to read? I’ve compiled this helpful buyer’s guide to explain my choices of pros and cons for each book.

Not all road trip novels have to be set in America, so I included novels that may not align with the usual road trip adventure.

There are a host of different takes on the road trip novel, which is why I’ve included memoirs, science fiction adventures, and horror novels too.

If you want a different take on the road trip novel, there should be something suitable for all readers in my selection.

These books are in a variety of different formats and genres. While I’ve included a lot of fiction and non-fiction in my selection, I felt it would be best to include graphic novels too.

There are so many different uses of the road trip that I believe including more variety would be perfect for anyone looking for their next read.

One way to know whether a novel is worth it is how many accolades it has received. While accolades and awards don’t always mean a novel will be great for everyone, it shows how well-received it has been.

This ties into both critical reception and fan reception in many cases, so if you care about the awards it has received, then this is a great way to judge if a novel is worth your time or not.

Critical Reception

Although this ties into the accolades a novel has received, sometimes, novels are critically acclaimed without winning any awards. Sometimes, this ties into how much of a bestseller it was.

Other times, a novel may be better received after the fact. In many cases, some novels are critically acclaimed because of how successful the author who wrote them was in the past.

Fan Reception

Being a bestseller often ties into how well it sold and whether it became a bestseller or not. However, I’ve also taken into account the reviews that fans of the book have left.

If there have been comments from fans about how it’s written or whether they’re popular, I thought it would be best to include these accounts.

Writing Style

The way a book is written can make or break it for some readers. Within the writing style, I’ve included the number of perspectives and whether it’s more of a stream of consciousness.

Not all writing styles are for all readers, which is okay. However, I felt that it would be best to include whether the writing style made an impact on fans of the novel or whether it deterred them from continuing to read it.

Adaptations

Have you ever read a book and wondered if there was a film or vice versa? This would be great to mention if you want to watch a film or TV series based on the book.

Not all adaptations are good, but I understand how tempting it is to want to find more material available.

If you want more to read or just want a different perspective, then you may be interested in any film, TV, or radio plays based on these works.

Series Or Standalone

Sometimes, you don’t want to begin a new series again, especially if you’ve only just finished one.

I’ve had times when I’ve finished a series but then wanted to take a break and read a standalone novel or memoir.

To help you find your next read, I’ve mentioned whether these books are part of a series or can be read independently.

Target Audience

I’ve incorporated a range of books from young adult, children’s, and adult fiction to ensure something for everyone on this list.

There are so many different types of road trip novels, so I felt that anyone looking for the best road trip book should have a range of different target audiences.

If you’re looking for a road trip novel to drive you away on an adventure, then you can experience wanderlust with these road trip books.

Whether you want a light-hearted adventure or something more, I’ve got something for everyone in this excellent selection of road trip books.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a road trip book.

A road trip book is about the journey the character takes to get to their destination. Most road trip books are about the adversities they face on their journey as they try to reach their destination.

Not every book ends with them reaching their destination as intended, as they may learn something along the way.

Do Road Trip Books Have To Be Literary Fiction Or Memoir?

Most readers assume that books about road trips must be about a journey by car or bike. However, many authors have changed genres to build on the road trip formula to offer a different type of journey.

What Is The Main Message Of On The Road?

On The Road by Jack Kerouac is viewed as the definitive road trip novel that everyone must read. This is mostly due to the message that lies within the book of freedom, travel, and wandering.

What Is The Main Idea Of Travels With Charley?

Contrary to On The Road, Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck is about being lost. Losing one’s self is about feeling lost and also losing a sense of identity within your own country.

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• Cormac McCarthy

  ALSO BY CORMAC MCCARTHY   No Country for Old Men   Cities of the Plain   The Crossing   All the Pretty Horses   The Stonemason (a play)   The Gardener's Son (a screenplay)   Blood Meridian   Suttree   Child of God   Outer Dark   The Orchard Keeper   THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK   PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF   Copyright (c) 2006 by M-71, Ltd.   All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Limited, Toronto.   www.aaknopf.com   Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.   This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.   Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data   McCarthy, Cormac, [date]   The road / by Cormac McCarthy.--1st ed.   p. cm.   eISBN: 978-0-30726745-0   1. Fathers and sons--Fiction. 2. Voyages and travels--United   States--Fiction. 3. Regression (Civilization)--Fiction.   4. Survival skills--Fiction. I. Title.   PS3563.C337R63 2006   813'.54--dc22   2006023629   v3.1_r1   This book is dedicated to   JOHN FRANCIS MCCARTHY   Contents   Cover   Other Books by This Author   Title Page   Copyright   Dedication   First Page   When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell softly with each precious breath. He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none. In the dream from which he'd wakened he had wandered in a cave where the child led him by the hand. Their light playing over the wet flowstone walls. Like pilgrims in a fable swallowed up and lost among the inward parts of some granitic beast. Deep stone flues where the water dripped and sang. Tolling in the silence the minutes of the earth and the hours and the days of it and the years without cease. Until they stood in a great stone room where lay a black and ancient lake. And on the far shore a creature that raised its dripping mouth from the rimstone pool and stared into the light with eyes dead white and sightless as the eggs of spiders. It swung its head low over the water as if to take the scent of what it could not see. Crouching there pale and naked and translucent, its alabaster bones cast up in shadow on the rocks behind it. Its bowels, its beating heart. The brain that pulsed in a dull glass bell. It swung its head from side to side and then gave out a low moan and turned and lurched away and loped soundlessly into the dark.   With the first gray light he rose and left the boy sleeping and walked out to the road and squatted and studied the country to the south. Barren, silent, godless. He thought the month was October but he wasnt sure. He hadnt kept a calendar for years. They were moving south. There'd be no surviving another winter here.   When it was light enough to use the binoculars he glassed the valley below. Everything paling away into the murk. The soft ash blowing in loose swirls over the blacktop. He studied what he could see. The segments of road down there among the dead trees. Looking for anything of color. Any movement. Any trace of standing smoke. He lowered the glasses and pulled down the cotton mask from his face and wiped his nose on the back of his wrist and then glassed the country again. Then he just sat there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land. He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.   When he got back the boy was still asleep. He pulled the blue plastic tarp off of him and folded it and carried it out to the grocery cart and packed it and came back with their plates and some cornmeal cakes in a plastic bag and a plastic bottle of syrup. He spread the small tarp they used for a table on the ground and laid everything out and he took the pistol from his belt and laid it on the cloth and then he just sat watching the boy sleep. He'd pulled away his mask in the night and it was buried somewhere in the blankets. He watched the boy and he looked out through the trees toward the road. This was not a safe place. They could be seen from the road now it was day. The boy turned in the blankets. Then he opened his eyes. Hi, Papa, he said.   I'm right here.   I know.   An hour later they were on the road. He pushed the cart and both he and the boy carried knapsacks. In the knapsacks were essential things. In case they had to abandon the cart and make a run for it. Clamped to the handle of the cart was a chrome motorcycle mirror that he used to watch the road behind them. He shifted the pack higher on his shoulders and looked out over the wasted country. The road was empty. Below in the little valley the still gray serpentine of a river. Motionless and precise. Along the shore a burden of dead reeds. Are you okay? he said. The boy nodded. Then they set out along the blacktop in the gun-metal light, shuffling through the ash, each the other's world entire.   They crossed the river by an old concrete bridge and a few miles on they came upon a roadside gas station. They stood in the road and studied it. I think we should check it out, the man said. Take a look. The weeds they forded fell to dust about them. They crossed the broken asphalt apron and found the tank for the pumps. The cap was gone and the man dropped to his elbows to smell the pipe but the odor of gas was only a rumor, faint and stale. He stood and looked over the building. The pumps standing with their hoses oddly still in place. The windows intact. The door to the service bay was open and he went in. A standing metal toolbox against one wall. He went through the drawers but there was nothing there that he could use. Good half-inch drive sockets. A ratchet. He stood looking around the garage. A metal barrel full of trash. He went into the office. Dust and ash everywhere. The boy stood in the door. A metal desk, a cashregister. Some old automotive manuals, swollen and sodden. The linoleum was stained and curling from the leaking roof. He crossed to the desk and stood there. Then he picked up the phone and dialed the number of his father's house in that long ago. The boy watched him. What are you doing? he said.   A quarter mile down the road he stopped and looked back. We're not thinking, he said. We have to go back. He pushed the cart off the road and tilted it over where it could not be seen and they left their packs and went back to the station. In the service bay he dragged out the steel trashdrum and tipped it over and pawed out all the quart plastic oilbottles. Then they sat in the floor decanting them of their dregs one by one, leaving the bottles to stand upside down draining into a pan until at the end they had almost a half quart of motor oil. He screwed down the plastic cap and wiped the bottle off with a rag and hefted it in his hand. Oil for their little slutlamp to light the long gray dusks, the long gray dawns. You can read me a story, the boy said. Cant you, Papa? Yes, he said. I can.   On the far side of the river valley the road passed through a stark black burn. Charred and limbless trunks of trees stretching away on every side. Ash moving over the road and the sagging hands of blind wire strung from the blackened lightpoles whining thinly in the wind. A burned house in a clearing and beyond that a reach of meadow-lands stark and gray and a raw red mudbank where a roadworks lay abandoned. Farther along were billboards advertising motels. Everything as it once had been save faded and weathered. At the top of the hill they stood in the cold an d the wind, getting their breath. He looked at the boy. I'm all right, the boy said. The man put his hand on his shoulder and nodded toward the open country below them. He got the binoculars out of the cart and stood in the road and glassed the plain down there where the shape of a city stood in the grayness like a charcoal drawing sketched across the waste. Nothing to see. No smoke. Can I see? the boy said. Yes. Of course you can. The boy leaned on the cart and adjusted the wheel. What do you see? the man said. Nothing. He lowered the glasses. It's raining. Yes, the man said. I know.   They left the cart in a gully covered with the tarp and made their way up the slope through the dark poles of the standing trees to where he'd seen a running ledge of rock and they sat under the rock overhang and watched the gray sheets of rain blow across the valley. It was very cold. They sat huddled together wrapped each in a blanket over their coats and after a while the rain stopped and there was just the dripping in the woods.   When it had cleared they went down to the cart and pulled away the tarp and got their blankets and the things they would need for the night. They went back up the hill and made their camp in the dry dirt under the rocks and the man sat with his arms around the boy trying to warm him. Wrapped in the blankets, watching the nameless dark come to enshroud them. The gray shape of the city vanished in the night's onset like an apparition and he lit the little lamp and set it back out of the wind. Then they walked out to the road and he took the boy's hand and they went to the top of the hill where the road crested and where they could see out over the darkening country to the south, standing there in the wind, wrapped in their blankets, watching for any sign of a fire or a lamp. There was nothing. The lamp in the rocks on the side of the hill was little more than a mote of light and after a while they walked back. Everything too wet to make a fire. They ate their poor meal cold and lay down in their bedding with the lamp between them. He'd brought the boy's book but the boy was too tired for reading. Can we leave the lamp on till I'm asleep? he said. Yes. Of course we can.   He was a long time going to sleep. After a while he turned and looked at the man. His face in the small light streaked with black from the rain like some old world thespian. Can I ask you something? he said.   Yes. Of course.   Are we going to die?   Sometime. Not now.   And we're still going south.   Yes.   So we'll be warm.   Yes.   Okay.   Okay what?   Nothing. Just okay.   Go to sleep.   Okay.   I'm going to blow out the lamp. Is that okay?   Yes. That's okay.   And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something?   Yes. Of course you can.   What would you do if I died?   If you died I would want to die too.   So you could be with me?   Yes. So I could be with you.   Okay.   He lay listening to the water drip in the woods. Bedrock, this. The cold and the silence. The ashes of the late world carried on the bleak and temporal winds to and fro in the void. Carried forth and scattered and carried forth again. Everything uncoupled from its shoring. Unsupported in the ashen air. Sustained by a breath, trembling and brief. If only my heart were stone.   He woke before dawn and watched the gray day break. Slow and half opaque. He rose while the boy slept and pulled on his shoes and wrapped in his blanket he walked out through the trees. He descended into a gryke in the stone and there he crouched coughing and he coughed for a long time. Then he just knelt in the ashes. He raised his face to the paling day. Are you there? he whispered. Will I see you at the last? Have you a neck by which to throttle you? Have you a heart? Damn you eternally have you a soul? Oh God, he whispered. Oh God.   They passed through the city at noon of the day following. He kept the pistol to hand on the folded tarp on top of the cart. He kept the boy close to his side. The city was mostly burned. No sign of life. Cars in the street caked with ash, everything covered with ash and dust. Fossil tracks in the dried sludge. A corpse in a doorway dried to leather. Grimacing at the day. He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.   You forget some things, dont you?   Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.   There was a lake a mile from his uncle's farm where he and his uncle used to go in the fall for firewood. He sat in the back of the rowboat trailing his hand in the cold wake while his uncle bent to the oars. The old man's feet in their black kid shoes braced against the uprights. His straw hat. His cob pipe in his teeth and a thin drool swinging from the pipebowl. He turned to take a sight on the far shore, cradling the oarhandles, taking the pipe from his mouth to wipe his chin with the back of his hand. The shore was lined with birchtrees that stood bone pale against the dark of the evergreens beyond. The edge of the lake a riprap of twisted stumps, gray and weathered, the windfall trees of a hurricane years past. The trees themselves had long been sawed for firewood and carried away. His uncle turned the boat and shipped the oars and they drifted over the sandy shallows until the transom grated in the sand. A dead perch lolling belly up in the clear water. Yellow leaves. They left their shoes on the warm painted boards and dragged the boat up onto the beach and set out the anchor at the end of its rope. A lardcan poured with concrete with an eyebolt in the center. They walked along the shore while his uncle studied the treestumps, puffing at his pipe, a manila rope coiled over his shoulder. He picked one out and they turned it over, using the roots for leverage, until they got it half floating in the water. Trousers rolled to the knee but still they got wet. They tied the rope to a cleat at the rear of the boat and rowed back across the lake, jerking the stump slowly behind them. By then it was already evening. Just the slow periodic rack and shuffle of the oarlocks. The lake dark glass and windowlights coming on along the shore. A radio somewhere. Neither of them had spoken a word. This was the perfect day of his childhood. This the day to shape the days upon.   They bore on south in the days and weeks to follow. Solitary and dogged. A raw hill country. Aluminum houses. At times they could see stretches of the interstate highway below them through the bare stands of secondgrowth timber. Cold and growing colder. Just beyond the high gap in the mountains they stood and looked out over the great gulf to the south where the country as far as they could see was burned away, the blackened shapes of rock standing out of the shoals of ash and billows of ash rising up and blowing downcountry through the waste. The track of the dull sun moving unseen beyond the murk.   They were days fording that cauterized terrain. The boy had found some crayons and painted his facemask with fangs and he trudged on uncomplaining. One of the front wheels of the cart had gone wonky. What to do about it? Nothing. Where all was burnt to ash before them no fires were to be had and the nights were long and dark and cold beyond anything they'd yet encountered. Cold to crack the stones. To take your life. He held the boy shivering against him and counted each frail breath in the blackness.   He woke to the sound of distant thunder and sat up. The faint light all about, quivering and sourceless, refracted in the rain of drifting soot. He pulled the tarp about them and he lay awake a long time listening. If they got wet there'd be no fires to dry by. If they got wet they would probably die.   The blackness he woke to on those nights was sightless and impenetrable. A blackness to hurt your ears with listening. Often he had to get up. No sound but the wind in the bare and blackened trees. He rose and stood tottering in that cold autistic dark with his arms outheld for balance while the vestibular calculations in his skull cranked out their reckonings. An old chronicle. To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination. He took great marching steps into the nothingness, counting them against his return. Eyes closed, arms oaring. Upright to what? Something nameless in the night, lode or matrix . To which he and the stars were common satellite. Like the great pendulum in its rotunda scribing through the long day movements of the universe of which you may say it knows nothing and yet know it must.   It took two days to cross that ashen scabland. The road beyond ran along the crest of a ridge where the barren woodland fell away on every side. It's snowing, the boy said. He looked at the sky. A single gray flake sifting down. He caught it in his hand and watched it expire there like the last host of christendom.   They pushed on together with the tarp pulled over them. The wet gray flakes twisting and falling out of nothing. Gray slush by the roadside. Black water running from under the sodden drifts of ash. No more balefires on the distant ridges. He thought the bloodcults must have all consumed one another. No one traveled this road. No roadagents, no marauders. After a while they came to a roadside garage and they stood within the open door and looked out at the gray sleet gusting down out of the high country.   They collected some old boxes and built a fire in the floor and he found some tools and emptied out the cart and sat working on the wheel. He pulled the bolt and bored out the collet with a hand drill and resleeved it with a section of pipe he'd cut to length with a hacksaw. Then he bolted it all back together and stood the cart upright and wheeled it around the floor. It ran fairly true. The boy sat watching everything.   In the morning they went on. Desolate country. A boar-hide nailed to a barndoor. Ratty. Wisp of a tail. Inside the barn three bodies hanging from the rafters, dried and dusty among the wan slats of light. There could be something here, the boy said. There could be some corn or something. Let's go, the man said.   Mostly he worried about their shoes. That and food. Always food. In an old batboard smokehouse they found a ham gambreled up in a high corner. It looked like something fetched from a tomb, so dried and drawn. He cut into it with his knife. Deep red and salty meat inside. Rich and good. They fried it that night over their fire, thick slices of it, and put the slices to simmer with a tin of beans. Later he woke in the dark and he thought that he'd heard bulldrums beating somewhere in the low dark hills. Then the wind shifted and there was just the silence.  

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Red Sox learnings after 10 games: Takeaways from their west coast trip

The season-opening 10-game, 11-day West Coast trip had been circled on the Red Sox calendar all offseason.

A 5-5 record seemed like a realistic expectation, and wouldn’t have been a bad start for a Red Sox team projected to finish last in the American League East once again. Instead, they return home Tuesday as the last team in the majors to host their home opener, sitting at 7-3. It marks the club’s best start through 10 games since 2021 when they also began 7-3.

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With their toughest trip of the season out of the way, the Red Sox play 14 of their next 19 games at home. They don’t have another trip longer than six games until August.

Getting off to a strong start was manager Alex Cora’s focus all winter. It’s why he held monthly Zoom calls over the winter with his team and why he implored them to come ready to spring training with a focused, intentional approach rather than ramp up in spring.

Yes, it’s not as if the Red Sox started the season against the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers , but a series split with the Seattle Mariners , a sweep of the Oakland A’s and taking two of three from the Los Angeles Angels was about as close to a best-case scenario as the Red Sox could have hoped for. That they capped the long trip with a 12-2 trouncing of the Angels on Sunday, a day after losing shortstop Trevor Story for the foreseeable future , made it all the more important.

Cora learned his lessons from 2019 when the Red Sox opened the season with a similar 10-game West Coast swing. They were coming off a short offseason after winning the World Series, but were admittedly unprepared for the season. That 3-8 trip set a bad tone and doomed the rest of the 2019 season. Cora has talked about failing to prepare the team that season and felt their preparation overall the last few seasons has been lacking. The increased intensity in spring training was noticed and it’s largely carried over through the very early part of the season. There have been mistakes on the base paths and on defense, but a 1-0 win in Oakland and an 8-6 win over the Angels on Friday night in the game Story was injured were games the Red Sox likely would have lost last season. It was far from a perfect road trip — a crucial error from Rafael Devers on Saturday led to a 2-1 loss — but it was much better than expected.

The loss of Story defensively will undoubtedly be an issue going forward. Story was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday after landing hard on his left shoulder on a diving play. An MRI revealed a dislocation of his non-throwing shoulder. He’s not on the 60-day IL yet, but there’s still a strong possibility of surgery to correct the injury. He’s scheduled for another exam Monday by Red Sox team doctors who will have a more concrete plan for his recovery. Infielder David Hamilton was called up over the weekend as an immediate replacement for Story, but there are other options still on the table that the Red Sox might consider . Hamilton, for what it’s worth, hit the first homer of his career to put the Red Sox on the board in Sunday’s win.

First big league homer for David Hamilton! pic.twitter.com/abFPAGv68r — Red Sox (@RedSox) April 7, 2024

As the Red Sox return home, they’ll have a big test against the reigning division winners in the Baltimore Orioles followed by three more against the Angels and then four against the Cleveland Guardians next week.

A few takeaways from the first 10 games:

• Through 10 games, Boston leads the majors with a 1.49 ERA, the club’s lowest mark through 10 games in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). Their 105 strikeouts are second in the majors to the Los Angeles Dodgers and are the most in franchise history through 10 games. Red Sox starters threw at least five innings in each of the first seven games, before failing to finish the fifth on Friday and Saturday. Tanner Houck got the rotation back on track Sunday with six scoreless innings against the Angels. Houck has yet to give up a run through two starts.

There’s still work to be done, but it’s clear the pitching staff, and particularly the rotation, has taken a step forward. In spring training, we delved into pitching coach Andrew Bailey’s Run Prevention Unit and the hundreds of hours on Zooms he and his pitching group tallied in mapping out and meeting with each pitcher to set plans for the season. Pitchers have bought into those plans in the early going with promising results. Now it’s a matter of keeping it up.

One noticeable change has been the fastball usage. In the first series against Seattle, Red Sox starters were hardly using their fastball, partly based on a game plan, but it’s certainly been an overall philosophy Bailey is implementing this season . Since FanGraphs began tracking such data, the 2024 Red Sox have thrown the fewest fastballs of any team since 2007. Notably, the top six teams with the fewest fastballs thrown are all teams from this season, suggesting a league-wide trend.

Throwing fewer fastballs means throwing more breaking balls, which inherently adds stress to the arm, so Bailey did note they’ve been working closely with the medical staff and pitchers have been doing some extra preventative work to keep their arms healthy. Still, it’ll be something to watch going forward.

• In the bullpen, reliever Justin Slaten — a Rule 5 pick — has yet to give up a run through 5 2/3 innings, while Greg Weissert hasn’t allowed an earned run in five appearances.

• On the offensive side, Sunday’s 12-run outburst provided a bounce back from an offensive drought on Saturday when the club struck out 14 times. The 12 runs also boosted their plus-26 run differential, but regardless, the offense has shown its potential. There have been some warts at points over the first 10 games, stretches where they’ve missed opportunities and left runners on base. That’s partially attributed to pitchers being ahead of hitters at this point in the year and partially due to a long early-season road trip. Yet how they fare against stronger pitching and if they can take advantage of being at home at Fenway Park will be key factors in sustaining their early season success. The offense has lofty goals. They haven’t scored 800 runs in a season since 2021 and have been trying to instill more of a group mentality in approaching starting pitchers .

• Among the hitters who’ve impressed early are Reese McGuire , Tyler O’Neill and Jarren Duran . Duran has been every bit the spark plug Cora hoped he’d be when he labeled him his leadoff man early in spring training. Duran was initially worried he’d lose some speed and explosiveness coming off toe surgery late last season but that seems hardly the case. He’s been a weapon on the base paths going 6-for-7 in stolen base attempts and not only has created scoring opportunities with stolen bases and aggressive running, but by distracting pitchers and defenders when he’s on base. Duran’s relationship with outfield and baserunning coach Kyle Hudson has helped him elevate his game even further.

• O’Neill, meanwhile, leads the team with five homers, tied with Mookie Betts for most in the majors, and has been solid in the outfield as well.

• McGuire has been an unexpected source of power in the early going. While he’s always been an offense-first catcher, McGuire has been on a tear through the first 10 games, going 8-for-24 with two homers, including a three-shot on Sunday. That offense has earned him starts in six of the first 10 games over Connor Wong .

• Rookie Ceddanne Rafaela hasn’t done much at the plate yet with an approach that’s still a little too aggressive. It’s likely the Red Sox will let him live through the offensive growing pains because he’s become a game-changer on defense in center field and now might become an option at shortstop. Cora admitted using Rafaela at shortstop is an option they’re discussing.

• Bobby Dalbec has struggled, going 0-for-9 with six strikeouts, and it’s possible the team turns to infielder Romy Gonzalez during the homestand. Wilyer Abreu has also struggled, going 2-for-16 with six strikeouts.

• Both Vaughn Grissom (hamstring) and Rob Refsnyder (toe) are still not projected to return until the end of April at the earliest but will join the team in Boston this week to be reevaluated.

A few upcoming milestones to keep track of…

• Cora notched his 447th win on Sunday and is closing in on fifth place all-time in Red Sox managerial wins. Jimmy Collins currently ranks fifth with 455 wins.

• Kenley Jansen moved ahead of Billy Wagner for sixth all-time with his 423rd save on Friday night. John Franco is next on the list with 424.

• Devers, with 174 career homers, needs five homers to pass Nomar Garciaparra (178) for 12th in Red Sox history. Jason Varitek is next on the list at 193.

(Photo of Devers: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

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Jen McCaffrey is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Boston Red Sox. Prior to joining The Athletic, the Syracuse graduate spent four years as a Red Sox reporter for MassLive.com and three years as a sports reporter for the Cape Cod Times. Follow Jen on Twitter @ jcmccaffrey

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Top li doctor killed when she flies out door of airstream trailer — still clutching handle — during family road trip.

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A prominent Long Island pediatrician was killed when she tumbled out of a moving Airstream trailer — still clutching the door’s handle — and onto an upstate highway during a family road trip over the weekend, according to state police and kin.

Dr. Monika Woroniecka — a 58-year-old married mom and children’s allergy and immunology specialist with Stony Brook Medicine — was in the 2024 silver trailer with other family members when she fell through the door shortly after 3 p.m. Saturday and onto State Route 12E in Watertown in a freak accident,  said police  and family.

Woroniecka’s husband, Robert, 59, was driving the gray 2019 Ram pickup truck pulling the trailer at the time, according to a press release.

Motorists who witnessed the frightening fatal fall said the passenger-side door of the Airstream flew open, helped by the wind — while the doctor was clutching its handle, police said.

The helpless woman landed on the shoulder of the highway, striking her head.

She was rushed to Samaritan Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. 

The traffic accident came as Woroniecka and other relatives boarded the trailer for the final 20 minutes of a road trip from Stony Brook, LI, where the family lives, the troopers said.

The victim worked at Stony Brook Medicine since the early 2000s, according to her medical profile .

“She enjoys working with children and their families and developing a long-term relationship with families while guiding them through chronic allergy-related conditions,” the profile said. “Dr. Woroniecka’s native language is Polish [and] draws Polish-speaking families from far distances.

“Dr. Woroniecka likes to travel, hike, exercise, and spend time with family and friends,” the post adds.

Her grieving family acknowledged to The Post on Sunday that the victim was a doctor on the island, as did the state police, but both declined further comment.

Officials at Stony Brook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Leaves Road Trip Early, Jalen Williams OUT vs Pacers

The OKC Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the remainder of the road trip as Jalen Williams is listed as out against the Pacers.

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The Oklahoma City Thunder (52-24) continue their five-game road trip against the Indiana Pacers on Friday without their top two scorers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Iquad) and Jalen Williams (ankle) are both listed as out for this contest.

With the Thunder on the verge of their first three-game losing skid of the season, head coach Mark Daigneault updated the media on the status of their star player ahead of Friday's game. The Thunder bench boss announced that Gilgeous-Alexander has been sent back home to Oklahoma City.

"We need to make sure he doesn't decondition during this time and gym access on the road is much more difficult to come by," Daigneault explained.

This will rule Gilgeous-Alexander out for Sunday's road finale against the Charlotte Hornets before the team joins the MVP candidate back in Oklahoma City for a four-game home stand to end the regular season.

Williams was listed as doubtful throughout the day, and despite going through shoot-around , the team's second-best scorer will not be able to give it a go tonight in Indiana.

Unlike Gilgeous-Alexander's status, Williams's playing status is still murky regarding Sunday's trip to the Queen City.

The Pacers are fighting for the right to stay in the top-six out east with the Miami Heat just a half-game back set to push them back to the Play-in Tournament. The Thunder sit a game back of first place in the Western Conference.

Want to join the discussion?  Like Inside the Thunder on Facebook  and  follow us on Twitter  to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also  meet the team  behind the coverage.

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Pitching continues to pace Arizona baseball heading into final California road trip

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At this point a year ago, Arizona was 3-9 in Pac-12 play and in the midst of a 10-game conference losing streak. It was around this point that coach Chip Hale had come to the realization the Wildcats were going to need to score big every game to have a chance to win.

What a difference a year makes.

As the UA (14-13, 7-5 Pac-12) heads to California for the final time of the Pac-10/12 era it does so with the top pitching staff in the conference. It has a 3.46 ERA in Pac-12 play, almost a full run better than Oregon State (4.28).

Upcoming Arizona baseball schedule

• Friday at Cal (6:05 p.m. PT, Cal Live Stream)
• Saturday at Cal (2:05 p.m. PT, Cal Live Stream)
• Sunday at Cal (1:05 p.m. PT, Cal Live Stream)
• Monday at Stanford (12:05 p.m. PT, Stanford Live Stream)

“I couldn’t ask for more,” pitching coach Kevin Vance said. “The starters have been elite, giving us chances to win every weekend, and our pen is just getting better.”

Vance, along with player development director John DeRouin , were brought in by Hale after Arizona posted some of its worst pitching numbers in program history a year ago. Many of those same pitchers are back, including Friday night starter Jackson Kent and the bulk of the bullpen, yet nearly all are posting better numbers than in 2023.

“We’ve been able to unlock some different shapes in pitchers,” Hale said. “Maybe some pitches that we didn’t lean on as much last year, or the year before, that those certain guys are throwing now that’s making them more successful.”

The starting pitching has been solid all year, with the trio of Kent, Clark Candiotti and Cam Walty combining for a 3.16 ERA in starts including 3.07 in Pac-12 play. Candiotti threw a complete game last weekend during Arizona’s home sweep of UCLA, while Kent has gone at least five innings in every start and pitched 7-plus twice.

That actually delayed the bullpen’s development, Vance said, because it reduced opportunities for his relievers and made it take longer to find the right roles for each. But as the season moves into its second half the Wildcats have identified their best pen arms and when to use each.

At the top of that list are right-handers Kyler Heyne and Tony Pluta , who have combined to allow just three earned runs in 24 innings over 22 appearances.

Heyne, a junior, transferred from Kansas State and has an 0.96 ERA with 12 strikeouts against two walks in 9.2 innings. Pluta, a sophomore who made seven relief appearances in 2023, has a 1.23 with a .157 opposing batting average and hasn’t walked a man in 14.2 innings.

“All three pitches (he throws) are unique, something that hitters don’t see very often, so that was kind of what intrigued me about him,” Vance said of Heyne. Of Pluta he called him the strongest player on the team, a machine: “Whenever a pitch is called I really liked the chances of him executing it.”

Those two and sophomore righty Casey Hintz have become the top three options, but lefties Eric Orloff and Bradon Zastrow have been used in key situations and senior righty Dawson Netz is returning to his old form after some struggles early in the season.

Of Arizona’s 27 games so far, 16 have been decided by three or fewer runs including nine by one run. The UA is 3-6 in 1-run games, winning two of those in the triple walkoff sweep of UCLA

“We haven’t been playing the best baseball we can play, and the fact that we’re in each and every single game just tells you we got some special here,” Heyne said. “I love the high intensity, the hey, do not give up a run here. I love that feeling, because it’s my time to shine. This is my time to prove that I’m supposed to be in this spot. I think it’s it’s cool to be able to come into those spots and it’s a good opportunity to really showcase myself.”

Golden State goodbye

With Arizona moving to the Big 12 in 2025 there will be no conference games in California for the first time since the Wildcats joined the Pac-10 in the late 1970s. Hale, a NorCal native, said he has full intention of trying to schedule a trip west during nonconference play every year or every other year, whether that be against one of the former Pac-12 teams or someone else.

Because the Big 12 will have an even number of teams playing baseball there won’t be a bye week in conference play, leaving four weekends at the start of the season to fill up.

“With USC, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, we’d like to keep playing those teams, they’re easy places for us to get,” Hale said. “That’s the sad part. There’s excitement, there’s a lot of cool places we’re going to be going next year in the Big 12, but that is the sad part of it is losing out on the California visits. The other ones, not so much.”

The 3-game series at Cal will be followed by a Monday visit to Stanford for a nonconference tilt. The Cardinal come to Hi Corbett Field in May but Hale wanted his younger players to get a chance to play a game at Sunken Diamond.

Rotation shakeup

Candiotti, who has been the Game 2 weekend starter all season, has been moved back a day to Sunday’s finale after dealing with an illness this week. Walty will take his spot, with Kent remaining the Friday starter.

An illness has also kept freshman outfielder Easton Breyfogle out of the lineup the last two games and he isn’t on the road trip. Redshirt freshman TJ Adams has started in left field in Breyfogle’s place, going 3 for 8 with three runs scored.

With Adams in the lineup the UA scored 10 against UCLA (in 12 innings) and nine in Tuesday’s win over New Mexico. The Wildcats’ batting average has risen to .282, while in Pac-12 play it’s at .266.

Promising playoff outlook

Despite just getting back over .500, thanks to a 4-game win streak, Arizona is in the projected NCAA Tournament field according to both Baseball America and D1Baseball . But just barely.

Both sites have the Wildcats as one of the last four teams in, with BA sending them back to Fayetteville, Ark., and D1 putting them in the Clemson Regional. Both project the Pac-12 to get four teams into the field.

“I think that’s why we played such a hard schedule early,” Hale said. “The points you get for playing those on the road or in neutral sites are huge, and it made us better. But we got to continue to play well. I mean, our conference as a whole has to play better for the RPI to stay up. And we just have to continue to try to win series.”

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On the Road with Eli(zondo) and Adric ... in Minneapolis

The Guide explores Target Field

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[Author’s Note: usually the song with each entry has some tie to the region, honestly, I remember driving to the Wisconsin border while listening to Gordon Lightfoot.]

So you’ve decided to heed the call to adventure . Good for you. If you need to refer back to what the Guide actually is or who I actually am, please refer to the included links.

The best customer service in the Major Leagues

Introduction.

The Guide has the following to say about going to a game at Target Field:

It’s nice. Too nice. Is this ballpark is what baseball heaven is like? Oh wait, the weather has just turned and now I am physically miserable.

Target Field is good — really good , when the weather cooperates. When the weather does not cooperate, you will long for the comforts of a dome.

Going to a game at Target Field should not work. Located in central Minnesota, Target Field is one of the most northern stadiums in North America, with only Seattle being more north. The stadium is on a tiny plot of land in a downtown city in the upper Midwest.

If you overthink it, you can dwell on every feature at Target Field and how it should not work. And yet, in the heart of Minneapolis, you have a stadium that is more than the sum of its parts. You have an experience that every Dodgers fan should experience every two years while visiting the home of the Minnesota Twins .

Like its divisional cousin in Kansas City , if you are going to watch a ballgame, and the weather cooperates, which is a mighty big if, you should have a nice time. The following is all you will need to know about going to a Dodgers/Twins game at Target Field.

The Five Questions of the Guide:

1. is it worth going here, yes, it would be best if you considered going here every two years..

Enjoying a game at Target Field involves answering two questions, one of which you will not have any control over whatsoever.

• Will the weather cooperate?
• Like in nearby Milwaukee , are you willing to get what you pay for?

It is pretty simple: in the upper Midwest, sometimes you are forced to play weather roulette. If the weather cooperates, your game will likely be perfect, with the right balance of temperature and humidity.

But if you lose weather roulette? Remember, this stadium has no dome. If you barely lose weather roulette, it will just be hot and muggy — typical Midwestern stuff. But if you truly lose weather roulette, depending on the time of year, prepare for freezing rain or snow.

That scenario is exactly what happened to me in April 2022. The first time I ever left a Dodger game early was April 12, 2022, when the rains outlasted the last train back to my hotel.

For the first-timer at Target Field, you can go to Guest Services and request your own First Game Certificate, as previously discussed , Moreover, if you forget or if yours is damaged, you can request a replacement from Customer Service, as you can see below.

What I cannot overemphasize enough is the quality of the customer service at this ballpark. I signed up for the MVP Tour, which was marketed as being VIP and exclusive for $100. When I was late due to my Uber driver somehow being lost in the adjacent parking garage, Twins’ customer service reached out to me by cell and gave step-by-step instructions for the driver, then had someone meet me at another gate so that I could join the tour group.

But I’m not done! Then, when inclement weather forced an early end to the tour, the Twins’ tour leader gave each of us roughly $50-60 worth of Twins’ swag. I ended up giving most of it away because you know, I’m a Dodger fan, but I deeply appreciated the gesture.

And I’m still not done — two weeks after I got home, I got a thank you card for visiting Target Field, which I still have to this day.

When I rave about the customer service at this ballpark, I mean it. The only note I have is to not bring a tripod or a selfie stick to the ballpark. The ushers had a particularly aggressive response to protecting the intellectual property of baseball. So as long as you do not commit that faux pas, you should encounter what I consider the best customer service in baseball.

2. How should I get there?

Unless you lived nearby, I could hardly expect anyone to do anything but fly to Minneapolis. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) is a Delta Airlines hub, so getting to Minneapolis is fairly easy. Plus Minneapolis is serviced by Sun Country Airlines, which is basically a better version of Frontier Airlines.

One has multiple options to get to Target Field. If one picks a hotel close enough to the ballpark, one can just walk to the ballpark as the stadium is an urbanized area. For one game, I took a rideshare to get to the ballpark, and for the other, I used the light rail system to get to and from the ballpark.

Personally, I find the area around Target Field to be a bit maze-like, and some extra signage and lighting is needed to find the light rail station, especially in inclement weather. I found that rideshare was hit and miss as to getting and from the ballpark as the drivers I found did not know the area very well. Personally, it takes a special talent to get lost in a parking garage that is literally attached to the stadium.

It looks as if there is more mass transit servicing Target Field than when I last visited. Considering the urban nature of the area by the ballpark, I would not advise renting a car and parking at the ballpark unless one was a local. While there are 7000 parking spaces in the adjacent garage and about 25000 parking spaces in downtown , one getting to the game by car will need to use SpotHero find parking near the venue. Thankfully, the prices appear to be reasonable if one is willing to walk the rest of the way.

The downside to taking the light rail is eventually it will stop running for the night, so plan accordingly. If you pick a nearby hotel, this issue will likely be a minor one. However, if one picked a hotel that is further away, which is a perfect segue to the next question.

3. Where should I stay?

Now, as we have established most Dodger fans coming into Minneapolis are likely out-of-towners, most fans who use this Guide entry will likely be flying into MSP. As such, most visitors to Target Field will likely not have a car. There are quite a few hotels in the vicinity of Target Field, and most of them are in downtown, relatively close to Target Field.

You might be tempted to try to save some money by being farther away from the ballpark. After all, the light rail extends to MSP and has a stop at the nearby Mall of America. I made this mistake and I would recommend that one does as I suggest, rather than what I did. If I had to do it over again, I would have just paid a bit extra for a nearby hotel rather than try to refine some so-called inefficiency by trying to be the Mall of America and MSP.

After speaking to a few sources in Twins Twitter, they recommended hotels including the Best Western Plus The Normandy, as it is an excellent combination of both price and proximity to the light rail. One could technically walk three-quarters of a mile to Target Field, but I would just walk a couple of blocks to the station, buy an all-day pass, and not worry too hard about getting to and from the stadium.

4. Where should I sit?

Normally, I give you a range of options for where to sit for a road Dodgers game. However, this time, the seating recommendations are fairly simple. Ticket prices at Target Field are extremely reasonable for the venue’s beauty. Like seeing a Pittsburgh Pirates game in Pittsburgh, the ticket prices are far more reasonable than at Dodger Stadium.

The design firm, Populous, designed PNC Park , Target Field, Oracle Park, and Oriole Park at Camden Yards, among others. If you have been to PNC Park, you can see the influences at Target Field.

Again, the main difference is the weather. Warm rain in Pittsburgh is no big deal. Cold or freezing rain is a much different story. As such, there is only one place where I would recommend sitting regardless of the weather. Otherwise, feel free to sit wherever you like, just be mindful that seats behind home plate or the dugouts will cost you.

These seats were called Delta Club seating when I last went in 2022. Now these seats are called Thirvent Club seating. As you can see from the photo, you have a great view of the game but you also have access to the climate-controlled club area with indoor vendors and televisions to see the game, if the weather does not cooperate.

Here’s the kicker about these seats: you cannot buy single-game tickets in this section directly from the team as they are technically luxury seats. For these seats, you can get them on the secondary market, and on average are $50-100/ticket. All things considered, these seats are quite the bargain.

5. After your trip, is it worth going back?

• Hey, that was fun! This trip needs to be a yearly event, if possible! (assuming the weather cooperates)

I attended two-ish games at Target Field in April 2022. The Dodgers won both as Kershaw flirted with perfection . Weather aside, I would go again. The only reason I pass on going is that there are other ballparks to visit and sometimes the charms of Minneapolis are best felt in months other than April.

Going to a game here is not a perfect experience, but it is damn good, assuming the weather cooperates. At its worst, going to Target Field is a bit like going to Target on a Sunday afternoon: you question your life choices while surrounded by the bourgeois. At its best, Target Field is at least in the conversation of upper-tier ballparks like PNC Park and Petco Park ,

More From True Blue LA

• April 8: Dodgers 4, Twins 2
• Twin killing by James Outman & Shohei Ohtani
• Updated Dodgers 40-man roster
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• Dodgers activate Brogdon, option Varland to Triple-A
• On the Road with Eli(zondo) and Adric: The 2024 itinerary of field research for the Guide

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Victor Wembanyama, Spurs open final road trip vs. ailing Grizzlies

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- UConn knew no one could take away its 2023 title, but the Huskies went out and got another one just for good measure.

With one order of business now out of the way, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors will give one last shot at simplifying their path forward.

The reigning champion Denver Nuggets enter the season's final week in pursuit of the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, beginning a stretch of three road games in their final four dates with a visit to the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.

Two teams as interested in scoreboard-watching as they are in facing each other duel Tuesday night when the Sacramento Kings visit the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Negotiations between stakeholders have cleared a path for a 16-team Club World Cup to bring the best sides from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres together starting in 2028, multiple media reports said on Tuesday.

Elly De La Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds opened their four-game series with the visiting Milwaukee Brewers in thrilling fashion Monday. Now they hope to continue that momentum Tuesday.

The Cleveland Guardians and Logan Allen will try to continue their early-season dominance when the left-hander takes the mound against the visiting Chicago White Sox in the second game of a three-game series on Tuesday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs will look to solidify their playoff position when they face the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J.

The Pittsburgh Pirates will turn to veteran left-hander Martin Perez as they try to complete a two-game series sweep of the visiting Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon.

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Solar eclipse 2024: Follow the path of totality

Thinking of taking a last-minute drive to see the eclipse here's what to know.

Geoff Brumfiel

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred. AFP Contributor/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Ore., a few days before the 2017 total solar eclipse. Experts say traffic could be heavy, but eclipse watchers shouldn't necessarily be deterred.

NASA says that roughly 31.6 million people live in the path of this year's total solar eclipse, and a little under half of the U.S. population lives within 200 miles driving distance of the path of totality .

That could mean many millions of Americans will hit the road to get a better view on April 8. If you're still pondering whether or not you want to make the journey, here's what to consider.

Have some destinations in mind, and check the weather and cloud cover forecasts in advance

It's a good idea to scout out one or more locations within driving distance, so that you have some flexibility if traffic or weather is threatening your plans, says Jonathan Upchurch, a professor emeritus of civil engineering at Arizona State University who has studied travel around solar eclipses.

There are several interactive tools that show the path of totality, including Eclipse2024.org and the National Solar Observatory . You can use them to figure out what sites might work best for you.

In terms of weather, check not just the weather forecast, but also the cloud cover forecast. Some websites, such as Windy.com will predict cloud cover ahead of time, giving you a sense of whether you'll actually be able to see the eclipse in all its glory.

Everything you need to know about solar eclipse glasses before April 8

During the total solar eclipse in 2017, Upchurch says he chose to go to Idaho "because there were some great chances of having sunny skies, and I had the opportunity to be nimble and relocate if I wanted to."

Before driving into the path of totality, make sure your gas tank is full and that you've got everything you need

During the last total solar eclipse in 2017, it's estimated some 5 million people took to the roads, and those numbers will potentially be much higher this year.

Given all that, Upchurch says it's important to make sure you're taking what you need into the path of totality. You should make sure your car is gassed or charged up, and that you have plenty of snacks and water with you in case you get stranded for a while, especially when trying to leave.

Solar Eclipse 2024: Totality stretches from Texas to Maine

Simple tips to safely photograph the eclipse with your cellphone.

Also don't forget to bring eclipse glasses, which must be worn anytime you're looking at the sun, except for the few minutes when it is completely blocked by the moon.

Some state emergency planners also recommend bringing a paper map or road atlas in case cellular networks become overloaded with visitors seeking directions from their phones.

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone! Erika Goldring/FilmMagic hide caption

Don't forget your eclipse glasses everyone!

Arrive early and stay late

Once you figure out where you're going to watch the eclipse, and you've got your supplies, try to get there early. Although traffic is likely to be heavier than normal on the morning of eclipse day, it still should be possible to reach many destinations without too much hassle, says Upchurch.

"Leaving is definitely going to be more of a problem," he says. As the eclipse concludes, people will take to the roads all at once to try and get home as fast as they can. In 2017, that led to traffic jams that lasted many hours in some areas. If possible, Upchurch says, people should stay put for a while to try and avoid the worst of the post-eclipse rush, which in 2017 stretched even into the following day in some parts of the country.

Here's what time the eclipse will be visible in your region

And one more thing: If you do find yourself on the move near the time of the eclipse, state officials stress that you should not simply pull over to the side of the road or highway you're driving on. It's important to be parked legally and safely at the moment of totality.

If you're already in the path of totality: Relax and enjoy!

Several major metropolitan areas including Dallas, Indianapolis, Cleveland and Buffalo are already inside the path of totality, so there's no need to seek a better view, Upchurch says. You'll probably have the most fun simply staying where you are.

Shots - Health News

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. here's why.

If you're on the edge of the path of totality, however, you might consider making a short trip to get closer to the center of the eclipse's path.

"If you're within about 40 miles of the center line, you'll have two-and-a-half minutes or more" of complete totality, Upchurch says. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth making the trip to a more central location.

Despite studying the potential hassles of traveling extensively, Upchurch says he's still looking forward to seeing the 2024 eclipse, which he plans to watch from Texas.

"Totality is absolutely spectacular," he says. "If you have a chance to witness it, I would do it."

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