Don't Stop Now

May 2, 2011
Halpern delivers a summer road-trip novel with dark undertones, suggestive of a John Hughes film in its humor, pathos, and keen eye for the teenage mindset. Lil, a recent high school graduate who breezed through her senior year, has just heard from her sort-of friend Penny, who has faked her own kidnapping. Pretending (to herself and others) that she doesn't know why Penny took off, Lil persuades her best friend Josh to drive to Portland, Ore., to find Penny. Armed with cheesy Wisconsin-themed T-shirts and a sense of adventure, Lil and Josh travel west, visiting strange roadside attractions and staying in even stranger hotels, while Lil wrestles with her longtime, unrequited love for Josh. There isn't much sense of mystery to the tripâpainful passages from Penny's viewpoint make clear the reasons behind her departure, and they find her too easilyâbut Lil's strong narrative voice and banter-filled relationship with Josh are immediate draws. As she did in Get Well Soon and Into the Wild Nerd Yonder, Halpern demonstrates her skill in creating outsidery everyteens trying to make sense of their lives. Ages 13âup.

May 1, 2011

A road trip from Chicago to Portland, Ore., in a Chevy Eurosport with Dad's credit card for expenses makes for a mildly enjoyable summer read.

The trip's not really about Lillian's stated need to find Penny, who might have faked her own kidnapping. No, it's more about spending time with best friend Josh, who has never shown any romantic interest in Lillian, and enjoying a little freedom after graduation from high school and before the reality of college. Both Josh and Lillian enjoy the peculiar, and they aren't afraid to indulge their whims. As they proceed from the House on the Rock to various museums and roadside highlights such as Wall Drug, the two find themselves struggling with Lillian sexual attraction for the uninterested Josh. Through it all, Josh and Lillian manage to let their quest for Penny, who is less a friend than an obligation, keep them on the road and moving forward. The dialogue sounds true without being crude and repetitive, and readers will enjoy narrator Lillian's sharp wit. Credibility issues—the lack of financial limitations, miraculously blase parents and the relative lack of interest from the authorities regarding Penny's whereabouts—keep this closer to fantasy than anything deeper. 

There is enough weirdness in this lighthearted road trip to keep it entertaining, although there is not quite enough depth or suspense to make it rise above the average. (Fiction. 14 & up)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-It's the summer before college, and Lil is ready to take it easy. She has money from her bat mitzvah and a partner in crime: her best friend, Josh. Her plans are thwarted, though, when a high school acquaintance, awkward Penny, leaves a phone message for Lil saying only, "I did it," and disappears. Lil is torn between her desire for a drama-free summer and a conscience that won't let the message go. Calls from the missing girl's parents, the police, and the FBI don't help, either. Lil and Josh take matters into their own hands and try to find Penny themselves, helped by more phone messages from her. As the two drive from Chicago to Portland, OR, they try to figure out if they are just friends or more. Throughout, Penny's diary entries interrupt Lil's first-person narrative to paint a picture of an insecure young woman in an abusive relationship. When Josh and Lil finally find her, all three have changed in positive ways; however, their overall motivations don't make a lot of sense, so the book's resolution lacks impact. At times the story suffers from detailed accounts of the kitschy tourist traps the teens visit along the way, and Penny's heady story line never really gets the kind of attention it deserves. Still, Josh and Lil have the kind of carefree trip that many readers will find enviable and about which they will enjoy reading.-Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Lillian and Josh have just graduated from high school, and though they plan to go their separate ways, right now they have the summer together. But Penny, a mutual acquaintance, has faked her own kidnapping, and only an obscure clue left on Lils cell phone points to where she might be hiding. Lil and Josh decide a road trip from Chicago to Portland is the best way to find Penny and bring her home. Along the way, they max out a credit card, see the sights, and realize that their deep friendship might become something more. Halperns novel of self-exploration is thoughtfully executed and similar in tone to Morgan Matsons Amy & Rogers Epic Detour (2010). Heavier scenes, including Pennys revelations of abuse, are well balanced with humor and entertaining road-trip experiences. The uncertainty of what the future holds will resonate with high-schoolers; reflecting the momentum of their journey, Lil and Josh travel through a haze of ambiguity about the present and take steps toward their future.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)