Road Tripped

by Pete Hautman

“Superb road trip novel. By turns introspective and humorous.” —Booklist (starred review)

In this captivating story about loss, love, and changing your ways, National Book Award­–winning author Pete Hautman imbues the classic road trip novel with clever wit and heartfelt musings about life and death.

Steven Gerald Gabel—a.k.a. Stiggy—needs to get out of Minnesota. His father recently took his own life, his mother is a shell of the person she used to be, and his sort-of-girlfriend ghosted him and skipped town. What does he have left to stick around for? Armed with his mom’s credit card and a tourist map of Great River Road, Stiggy sets off in his dad’s car.

The only problem is, life on his own isn’t exactly what he expected and, soon enough, he finds himself at a crossroads: keep running from his demons, or let them hitch a ride back home with him.

• ISBN10: 1534405917
• ISBN13: 9781534405912
• Publish Date: 9 June 2020 (first published 14 May 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Stiggy believed he was an a-hole magnet. He just attracted negative people and negative attention, or so he thought. An impromptu road trip took him away from his hometown, and gave him the space to reflect on his father's death, the demise of all his relationships, and himself.

I had an interesting relationship with Stiggy. He was very self absorbed, way too cynical for someone so young, and pretty much unlikable. He also often thwarted any kindness by lashing out. I think that's why I appreciated his personal journey so much. It was great to see him grow and have those "a-ha" moments, and I liked the way Hautman went about it.

On his road trip, Stiggy encountered many interesting characters and situations. Each of these events were sandwiched between flashbacks that related to a particular aspect of himself or his life. I thought it was a great way to give us the backstory, while also highlighting the realizations he was coming to.

It was also fun to travel through the midwest. The majority of the books I read are set on the coasts, and if they are in set in the midwest, it's always in Chicago. Therefore, it was a nice change of pace to travel along the Mississippi River with Stiggy.

I do wish a few things would have played out better for him, but I was happy that he got the answers he needed concerning his father's death and his recent breakup. I was also glad he got to atone (sort of) for what he did to his friend Garf, and I was very hopeful for him by the end of the book.

Overall: An engaging personal journey reminding me that you get out of life what you put into it.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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