Road Trip Books

Just finished reading this wonderful little book about the experiences of an eleven year old girl and her family during a road trip from Arizona to California by way of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Oregon in 1924. The stark realities of road travel in 1924, especially for those who had only limited finances and few personal luxuries but possessed a large measure of ingenuity and a rich spirit for adventure, are described by the author in a straight forward no frills style that will entertain you from start to finish.

A young woman, travelling in Paris with her boyfriend, receives a frantic call from her niece in Canada. The girl's mom has gone off the deep end, and the niece doesn't know what to do. Please help.

The aunt, named Hattie, has reached an ambivalent plateau with her boyfriend, and she's been down this road with her sister before. She knows what's at stake, and that her niece and nephew are too young to handle things alone. Family comes first. The boyfriend can wait. Hattie comes home.

Min, her sister, is a career psychotic. This is one of the worst instances, however; she has apparently been self-confined to bed for ages, leaving her 15-year-old son, Logan, and her 11-year-old daughter, Thebes, to go it alone. Thebes has been running the house, but has come to the end of her rope. With Hattie's help, they get Min to the local psych ward, and hoping that she is under good care, Hattie regroups the kids at home and assesses things. Logan is running wild, coming home drunk, and with no apparent interest in anything except playing basketball. He has become a non-communicator. Thebes more than makes up for him; she talks constantly, and is extremely precocious, engaging her aunt Hattie in conversations totally out of the scope of an 11-year-old. Hattie, thinking there is no way Min will be out of the psych ward any time soon, and wanting to get back to sorting out her own life, comes upon the plan of taking the kids to their father, Cherkis. The only problem is, she has only the vaguest idea where Cherkis is...somewhere in the Western United States.

So begins a wacky, sometimes wrenching journey through the empty fastnesses of America, as Hattie, Logan, and Thebes travel through the Dakotas and beyond, in their search for the childrens' father. Along the way they learn quite a bit about each other, and that differences can be set aside. Hattie is constantly concerned with rounding up Logan, who wanders off, being a teenager basically, and also concerned with providing a sound base of support for her vulnerable and smart young niece.

This was a thoroughly engaging read, and I zipped through it in two days (I am the world's slowest reader, also). You want to reach in and hug Thebes and tell her everything will be okay; you occasionally want to whack Logan, but you also see how confused and upset he is inside. And you want to boost up Hattie and give her a hand, as she worries about the kids, worries about her sister Min back in the psych ward, and worries about whether she can keep the van moving through a landscape that screams emptiness and impending trouble.

A very easy book to get through, and slightly reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine, without the upbeatness of that story. Here everyone is battling inner demons, but they manage to unite as a family and come together.

I really enjoyed this book, although it was not a momentous work. Definitely good for a quick read.

The archetype of two sisters, one dark, the other fair, is rich in literature. The Flying Troutmans hasn't got much to add other than a disdain for quotation marks. Take two parentless adult daughters, one mentally ill, the other stuck as the perpetual caregiver, add two precocious children and a runaway spouse to the crazy one, an evasive Parisian boyfriend to the other one, and stir.

Younger sister Hattie is living in Paris when she gets a call from her 11-year-old niece. Her mother/Hattie's sister Min who has chronic mental illness is practically catatonic and is refusing all care. Hattie gets on a plane and finds a chaotic household where her niece Thebes and 15 year old nephew Logan are fending for themselves, calling their school with disguised voices to provide absence excuses for themselves. Hattie gets Min into a mental hospital, where she completely withdraws. Min's denial of her children and suicidal wishes move Hattie to pile the kids and a random assortment of stuff into the family minivan in a quest for Min's ex, the kids' father. Hattie is irrationally hoping that despite having lost touch with him, he'll want to take the kids and she can try to live her own life.

Most of the time, The Flying Troutmans feels like a made-for-Hollywood, or at least independent film, creation. It's got the pert, chatty Thebes, smart in so many ways, but naive in others (unrealistically so at times). It's got the brooding teenager who has a sensitive side. It's got a journey across America (not vividly described at all) with a changing cast of supporting characters, and a family values story line. At the end of the movie, there'd be a lot of hugging and the suggestion that everything will be all right. The book can't come to a resolution about the happy ending. In a way, the Flying Troutmans is a long messed-up chapter in the character's messed-up lives. Min's mental illness has permanently warped the lives of the rest of their family. None of them seems to have learned any new coping skills or undergone any character development over the course of the novel. Min is bound to have another episode, Hattie can't stay away, the kids still don't take showers. Hattie may have gotten to know her niece and nephew better, but is that character development?

Furthermore, back to reality: where are all these people getting their money from? Nobody in this book seems to hold a job, yet phones still work, food appears, gas fills the car...Furthermore, the book describes Thebes especially as being so filthy and ragged that I'm surprised that Family Services didn't pull them over on their journey. The picture is vivid and disturbing, but should have caused more of a stir along the way.

I'm not sure what the Flying Troutmans is about. Craziness? Family ties? Others have told these stories better.

I have picked up this book a dozen times and just can't get into it - the style is somewhat disjointed and the charcters hard to relate to.

I feel ambivalent about this book. It was well written I wasn't crazy about no quotation marks but I got used to that but the subject matter isn't my favorite--mental illness. I doubt that it's anyone's. I can see what mental illness can do to a family and this poor family has been through the wringer with Min, the mother of 15 y.o., Logan, and 11 y.o., (Theodora) Thebes. Hattie, Min's younger sister, came from Paris, her live-in boyfriend broke up with her right then anyway, after getting a middle of the night call from Thebes that Min is ill again. There is no one else to call!

Min is committed to the phych hospital and Hattie doesn't know what to do with the kids so she decides to tell them their mother wants them to go see their father, Cherkis--Min chased him away when Thebes was a baby and he finally gave up trying to see them. He moved to South Dakota from Canada.

In flashbacks Hattie gives us a lot of her life with Min through the years and I couldn't believe what had happened in their lives. Min has been sick from the day Hattie can remember and maybe so are the rest of the family!

The author has created a bunch of 21st Century hippies-they are artists and strange souls LOL To be truthful I had a hard time with all the characters I couldn't believe that they were so very different and so young really--I don't think anyone in the book is over 35. I was compelled to finish the book and it was only the last chapter that I did finally like Hattie. She becomes a person not just Min's shadow!

It wasn't my type of book but with this Vine program I'm trying to read a variety and this is one of the variety.

Other reviewers have likened the book to the movie, "Little Miss Sunshine." But apart from a dysfunctional family making a road trip in a dilapidated van, the two have nothing in common. The movie had a plot and well-developed characters who had some tension among them and whom we understood and felt for. The book, on the other hand, has not much of anything. There is no real plot or character development. We have no real idea who the characters are, how they came to be the people they are (apart from the damage inflicted on them from being related to one another, or, except as the result of a hastily wrapped-up "conclusion," where they're going. And they're not particularly believable. While there may be some basis for understanding Hattie (the aunt) or Logan (the 15-year-old son), Thebes (the 11-year-old daughter) is so preternaturally "sophisticated" that it makes them all seem more like "characters" than "people."

In the end, but for a few entertaining one-liners, the book is rather a bore. If the Troutmans are "flying," they're doing an awful lot of wing-flapping to stay in one place.

Hey I can not help but laugh a little at these reviews. If I had paid for this book I would probably be equally as harsh. As it was I got it from the library. Ms. Mojtabai you have the length right. And you have the flashbulb effect working pretty well for you. The climax scene got a bit confusing. Your social message was not lost on me, and while not very sympathetic to it, I think you did manage to make me feel for the less fortunate. Well done there. Try it again I think. I can't put my finger on what was missing, a certain "Je ne sais quois". But try again. Really.

One of the hardest novels to write in my opinion is a traveling novel where the characters do not have much to do with each other except for minor interactions. All That Road Going is this type of novel. The basic premise is a bus traveling cross country while the passengers live lives of quiet desperation. It is this quiet desperation that we get to witness through the subplots of the book.

A.G. Mojtabal has done a remarkable job of showing ordinary lives in such morbid detail. He uses minor interactions between the various passengers to cut between the vignettes each character is living and why they are on this bus. His character studies are superb. From children traveling together to the bus driver, each character is very real and flawed. The brilliance here is that you are left with the feeling that there is no redemption at the end of this trip for anyone

My complaint is not with his characters or his choice of topic, but with the threads that tie them together. He uses minor incidents to move from character to character. The problem is that there is not plot to move the bus along and the one that Mojtabal uses does not work very well. It is hard to put my finger on it, but something is missing. It is a shame because the character studies work well just not the underlying reason for the trip.

All-in-all, this is an enjoyable book and a nice fast read. Recommended

Disclaimer: I took a creative writing class from A.G. Mojtabai when I was an undergraduate at the University of Tulsa. I don't think that will bias me in any way (though recognizing the author's name is what caused me to select this book).

This is very much a literary novel. Nothing really happens; it doesn't have what you could truly call a plot. It has a collection of characters, who are interesting and well-drawn, thrown together in a Greyhound bus lumbering across the country. It jumps from one point of view to another -- the young teen who has just given up her baby, the octogenarian who wants to help, the elderly man who walked out on his dying common-law wife -- and we get to know the characters fairly well, but nothing ... happens.

I say this with no sarcasm: if you are the kind of reader who doesn't really need a plot to enjoy a novel, you may well enjoy this one. Myself, I sat there enjoying the characterization but also thinking, "I'm halfway through the book. Shouldn't something be happening by now?"

I give "All That Road Going" three stars because it *is* well-written, and the characters *are* interesting and well-realized. The fact that it doesn't have a plot meant I enjoyed it less, but for those who like this sort of literary novel, I think it may be a very good one.

Any bus on the road has the potential for inspiring at least 30 stories, since each combination of riders can create, as the author says, "...a temperature, a kind of human weather." If this book is approached more as a series of linked stories rather than a novel, it has more impact. I get the impression that this started out as a series of linked short stories that evolved into novel form so that shared experiences would heighten the drama. In this, it is successful. Some of the stories are more engaging than others with more surprises. It is well written, with evocative images of a bus going through the night in the Heartland. The only quibble I have is that there is an unfinished quality to the book, but that is the downfall with short stories. They are meant to be slices of life and insight, not histories completed resolved.

The Highway to Hell has long had a soundtrack; now it has a novel. "All That Road Going" takes place almost entirely on a Greyhound bus traveling across the American midwest. But the bus really goes nowhere: those passengers who have a destination are destined, indeed, to suffer and fail when then arrive. Every character in the book is teetering on the brink of disaster, physically, spiritually, or emotionally. In reading this novel, you'll feel the razor's edge that separates them -- or fails to keep them separated -- from ruin.

You won't want to put this down for the same reason that people can't help looking when then pass car accidents on the freeway. When you're done, the bleakness will haunt you for days. This book is a sad, touching, incisive look at the human condition, and I highly recommend it for the reader who enjoys books that make you think.

I remember reading this book and thinking how interesting it would be; but I found his comments a bit grating after a while. I'm sure it was a terrific trip, but I feel this might have been more judiciously edited.

I was initially worried that this book would be too much about the car and not enough about the road...or Florida for that matter. It seemed as if the book took FOREVER just to get out of Florida. I was also worried that this book would be too much of a male fantasy. Luckily that part turned out not to be true and made for enjoyable reading.

But once the author got into Utah and places north and west of there things picked up. He met interesting people in bar and restaurants, saw a few oddities along the way.

The author unwinded as the journey continued. He talked about his previous cars, his previous wife and his previous jobs. Strife between his current wife was obvious from the start and I wonder if this trip was an excuse to mull over the end of his marriage. One never finds out.

The trip ended upruptly on the west coast. I thought it was a bit of a letdown; perhaps disillusionment seeped in and the author resided to his fate. He dropped off the Porsche in Portland and the love story with the car was over.

We've all seen this guy at a stoplight and cringed. Ballcap pulled down to conceal creeping baldness, wraparound sunglasses in place to allow maximum "leerage," arm propped self-consciously atop the steering wheel -- a reminder that adulthood for some is just a sad continuation of high school, a pathetic attempt to prove one's sexual desirability by dressing the part. The saddest aspect of this ego trip are those left behind, particularly the author's third(!) wife, who clearly recognizes (present tense) that she can't trust him around other women -- women he approaches throughout the text as "possible scores." Gross book.

Here's the life lesson this book confirmed: if you're going to share a long road trip with a companion and a car, best select both carefully. The Porsche Boxster featured in this book is obviously a primo vehicle for the journey. Alas, James Morgan is not the companion of choice, and this book -- whose premise of a Interstate journey from Miami to Portland atttracted me to it -- lost a star about every fifty pages. Ruminating on whether Americans as a people (and we are basically talking men here -- women exist mostly as ornaments impressed by cars) long most for the open road or the comforts of home, Morgan tells car stories, but not enough of them or particularly interesting ones. He worries about the designs of people he meets along the way and how much he spends on the motels where he stays. Earrings, scruffy beards, long straggly hair on those he meets seem to evoke in him images of horrors about to be inflicted on his person, although these folk invariably offer him kindness both small and large. Frequent flashbacks to his adolescence -- wink, wink -- hint strongly at the seductive qualities of cars he owned in his early driving years. He quarrels with his wife before embarking from Miami and too many pages are spent alluding to this quarrel (details of which are never shared) and the in-trip visit and numerous telephone calls that only seem to exacerbate it. On the evidence of this book, Morgan's trip brought more bother than pleasures or answers, and he writes of it with prose that is neither original or engrossing. My advice: don't subject yourself to his angst. Instead, take a fast car out for an open road run.

James Morgan describes driving a Porsche Boxster from Miami to St. Louis to Portland to San Francisco. Morgan seems like the sort of person who experiences life as a series of car stories, and during the journey, he tells his life history with an emphasis on the automotive angle. The pivotal part of his road trip is in Portland, Oregon, which is famous for its anti-car, pro-transit policies that are known as the "new urbanism." Morgan attacks the new urbanists, and wonders why anyone would choose to stand on a windy rain-drenched street waiting for the bus when they could be driving their own car instead. It's particularly ironic when Portland planning specialists use contorted rationalizations to explain why they drive to work instead of taking the public transit that they're forcing down the throats of their fellow residents.

Morgan writes well, if you don't mind the autobiographical element overpowering the travel narrative. However, he's a dyed-in-the-wool car buff writing for other car buffs. Unless you're the sort of person who loves talking about cars, you may have difficulty connecting with this author.

This is Z-grade fanfiction at its worst. Although they're ostensibly tied in with the FRIDAY THE 13th franchise, Eric Morse's books have little in common with the series and instead offer rote young adult "horror" that wouldn't even pass muster with the GOOSEBUMPS crowd. Want poor characterization? Check. In the mood for poor grammar and internet fanfiction-level writing? Check. Inept plotting? Double-check. It's no wonder the publisher buried these books rather than giving them any sort of release. Whatever small amount the "author" was paid for turning out this drivel was way too much. Avoid at all costs.

Road Trip, the fourth and final installment of the Friday the 13th series by Eric Morse is an excellent book, completing Morse's round up of loose ends left over by the movies!! With Road Trip, Morse concludes the series with some very unforgettable scenes. I don't want to give too much away, (especially for price!)Road Trip begins when a bus loaded with football players, cheerleaders, and a mascot goes off course and crashes into Camp Crystal Lake, of course murderous hilarity ensues! Any fan of the Friday the 13th movies will absolutely love these books, my personal favorite being Carnival. I'm sorry but when I talk about these books I have got to praise Eric Morse a lot, he wrote these books so well at times I felt I was actually in them, that is how good these books are and completely make them worth the money. To tell you the truth, these books are probably better than the upcoming Jason X release and promise to give you more enjoyment.

It was a good book but not as scary as "The Carnival". Teddy, got his revenge with the mask, for being treated like dirt. Some of the killings were pretty grousome. It wasn't exactly what I expected from the title "Road Trip". Eric Morse is a great author and I would like it if this wasn't his last Friday the 13th book.

This was the first F13 that I read. I read it over after reading the other F13 novels, and I found this one to be...different. As someone else reviewing this said, it isn't really a horror story. No, it isn't. The story is deeper then that. It lets the school mascot, the geek who is tortured at school, relieve his inner pain when he gets a hold of the hockey mask. The story is almost dramatic in a way. It's weird, but a very interesting idea. In this story, the victims deserve everything they get. Now, for the many who say all books made from movies don't have anything to do with the films (the Halloween series and this) that doesn't matter much. And really, this book is a lot like the movie. The revenge part. The mascot getting revenge is just like Jason in the movies. Of what I know, no one liked Jason as a kid befire he died in the movies. In a background kind of way, the two have a bond. This was a very creepy story, but I know there could have been a little more. The setting was very scary, and it wasn't milked for all the fear it could have made someone feel. The ending was okay; I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. I recommend Mother's Day, the first of the series. It is, in my opinion, the best of all in the series and it seems a lot like the movies, except more creative.

I was very disapointed when I spent $4.00 on this book.For one the discriptions are lame and chessy.Whoever wrote this book has no imagination.It also practaically nothing to do with the movie.I wouldnt even recomend this book to my worst enemy.

Bought this book for my dad who was going to take a trip down the Alcan highway! He enjoyed it lots!

A delightful little book showing mostly native wildlife and scenics, as well as people and sights and signs along the Alaska Highway. Almost all the photographs have captions that tell the locations along the highway where they were taken, and the text gives an entertaining general narrative describing the highway from start to finish.

This is not a travel or wildlife field guide, but an inspiring pictorial book for a photographer or nature lover, showing and describing areas where many of the wild animals and interesting sights may be found. Erwin and Peggy Bauer, who both passed away this past year, were outstanding partners in a wildlife photography career spanning many many years.

I plan to travel the Alaska Highway this summer by RV and definitely will be taking this little book with me.

The description of this book indicates it is hardcover. It IS NOT a hardcover book. It's also very small. There are a lot of good pictures, but little writing. If you are looking for a nice hardcover book with lots of details - this is not it.

The authors provide a view of the Alaska Highway as it is in this century, not the previous century. The Alaska Highway of this century is not the dusty, gravel road of the previous century. This book allows the reader to formulate expectations of an Alaskan Highway journey in 2003. The authors also provide information on likely places to spot caribou, bison, muskoxen, and wolves. Their photographs capture wildlife, scenery, relaxing side trips, local humor, and glimpses into the past in a vibrant, brillant, informative, and tantalizing manner. The text is refreshing. I'm glad I bought this book and I would recommend it to others. For those planning to travel the Alaska Highway in the near future, this book is a great supplement to the 55th Anniversary (2003) edition of The Milepost.

I was rather disappointed when I finally received this book. The cover is a perfect example of my problem with the book. Take notice of the subtitle, "A Portrait of the Ultimate Road Trip". Now notice the picture of the highway to the left, and a seperate picture of a brown bear to the right. For a book about something as visually exciting as the Alaska Highway and it's surroundings, I counted only 3 pictures that actually included beautiful scenery with the actual Alaska Highway. No pictures of wildlife and the highway. How about a picture of a brown bear crossing the road or a beautiful sunset blanketing the highway with golden rays of sunlight. If that is what you expected, you won't find it here.
In several instances the words describe how often one will encounter bison heards, grizzly bears, caribou, and moose crossing the highway, but not once is there an image of any of these creatures near anything remotely resembling asphalt. There are great pictures of these animals by themselves, but they could be stock photography from who know's where. The author's describe a mountain range coming into view as a beautiful backdrop to the Alaska Highway, so then why do they not show me a picture of the highway backdropped by this awesome mountian range? Instead they show me a picture of a lynx!?
Maybe my expectations of this book were too literal, and I expected too much from it. I mean I love dogs, but when I buy a book on the Alaska Highway I want to see it, not close ups of people's cute dogs. I counted 5 dog pictures, compared to the 3 pictures of the actual Alaska Highway. I think this book should be renamed; "The Alaska Highway and the Dogs That Live Off to the Side".
I must say that this book did make me more interested in the Alaska Highway, but not for anything it did, but for what it didn't do. It described the most beautiful images, but left your imagination to paint the picture. Disappointing.....unless you like dogs.

I recognize Gaylen and Delia. Unfortunately, that means there are families so touched by deep, dark secrets that members of those families become unable to function in a normal relationship. We all have those broken spots in our lives...can we swing in a circle and not bump into someone who is scarred?

Delia is flighty, rebellious and out of control. She peppers her surroundings with emotional buckshot. Gaylen spins like a toy top, bouncing and whirling elsewhere (anywhere) attempting to do what she knows is right. Her crippled past guarantees that those right things will fail.

This novel is a very gritty read. Not your traditional inspiring Christian fiction. If there are categories of Christian fiction...one being sharing the hope and light of Christ and His power, the other showing how desperately hope, light and power are needed, Painted Dresses falls in the second category. You won't feel warm and fuzzy after reading it. You may find hope, it's not a hopeless read, but it is a very long look into lives of people who spend weeks and months grasping, gasping and trying to protect their view of themselves, regardless of the cost.

I applaud Patricia Hickman's desire to open a closet door, and if you love fiction that goes to the dark place in a human's soul, you definitely need to read the first chapter. Those who've been there may find healing by opening up and peeking in.

Heart wrenching and suspenseful at the same time. This semi autobiography is a eye opener and warning to all that may suspect or have suspicions about their childhood.

Painted Dresses by Patricia Hickman is a story of one woman's search for her place in her family her marriage, and her world. Gaylen arrives home to organize her father's funeral and take care of his effects, but ends up on the lam with sister Delia and delivering a series of painted dresses made by Aunt Amity. Delia is troubled; it's never clear if she suffers from some kind of mental condition or is just off. She shoots her boyfriend's wife after a confrontation and is not at all remorseful. Gaylen grabs Delia and runs. She's running herself from a broken marriage and the damage she did to her husband's aircraft business by crashing a plane. When visiting deceased Aunt Amity's cottage, they discover that she had made paintings of several different dresses, and each is marked with the intended recipient's name. With no better plan in mind, the two sisters deliver the paintings, picking up bits and pieces of family history on the way. Gaylen is incredibly difficult to understand. Her actions are always reactions, and she has trouble trying not to control Delia. The hidden truths she discovers about her parents and her own history are devastating. The opening chapters are cloudy and distant; it feels almost like the characters are in a dream. When the truth about the past is revealed, the story suddenly becomes much clearer and moves quickly. It's a powerful story, but honestly but Gaylen and Delia were difficult to relate to. It was hard to care about Gaylen's marriage when both she and her husband acted like immature brats. It's a good book with some rough spots.

It's probably my own fault that I'm disappointed in Painted Dresses.

The acknowledgements mention an editor I highly respect and another author I enjoy. The press material said, "In the rich tradition of powerful Southern writing..." and I was hooked. Anticipation at reading something akin to Anne Rivers Siddons or Margaret Maron tickled my page-turning fingers.

Chapter One lived up to my hopes. I was ready to love Gaylen Boatwright and her quirky sister Delia as much as I loved Siddons's Shep Bondurant and his cousin Lucy Venable. But once the scene was decorated and the characters set on their journey, Hickman lost her way-and me.

First person stories are tricky and Hickman doesn't pull it off. She falls into the easy traps of too much telling, and not enough detail to pull the reader in. By the end of the novel, the characters are conversing with no subtexting, description, or nuances to help the reader fill in the emotion.

The characters themselves aren't sure who they are. Gaylen and her husband Braden are estranged-but I didn't care if they mended the relationship. Gaylen shared a flashback to Braden's rudeness when she was a newlywed learning to cook, and I disliked Braden and understood Gaylen's ambivalence. Later though, I learned Gaylen brought much of their problems on herself. Of course life is like that, with no one clearly to blame. But I never felt sure who was supposed to be growing up and changing and getting their life together, Gaylen or Braden.

Delia ranged from quirky and charming to delusional and violent, a threat to herself and others.

The sisters began a quest to learn why their half-brother was evicted from the family when they were children. Along the way, they deliver artwork by an aunt whose creations started as dresses belonging to family and friends. I loved visualizing the art. The painted over fabric is a lovely metaphor for the secrets Gaylen and Delia tried to uncover.

Painted Dresses is a near miss. But as I said, it's probably my own fault for expecting too much.

Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer's comments.

Twenty something Gaylen Syler-Boatwright had dreams of forever when she married; now her marriage is dead and her fantasy nuked as she and Braden broke up. With her father dying, she comes home to Boiling Springs, North Carolina to say good-bye and to bury him. Afterward needing to escape, Gaylen accompanied by her flakey younger sister Delia leaves town to hide away at her late Aunt Amity's mountain cottage.

Gaylen figures in this isolated locale she will be left alone to reassess her goals. However, her aunt's cabin is freaky as on display is a gallery of framed painted dresses accompanied by a fascinating travelogue. The two sisters agree to hit the road to meet family members they never knew existed and learn more about the original owners of the painted dresses.

This engaging intelligent character study makes a strong case that hiding family shame makes the incident even darker and more shameful even if it is never exposed; those concealing the truth know it in their hearts. Although some might challenge the truth will free you concept, Patricia Hickman makes a compelling argument. Filled with angst, the Syler sisters seek solace as they search the new south for their heritage.

Harriet Klausner

Found this a great help on our cross-country trip in May 06.

If you're heading out on a tour of the Mother Road, take this with you. Along with listings for sites you won't find in some other guides, this book also has addresses and phone numbers so you can contact hotels, etc., in advance.

When I was setting up my agenda for a Route 66 tour, this is the only place I found a reference to "Elmer's Place." Check it out when you're on the road...

This book is all but useless, really advise not to waste your money...It will not help you as you drive down the road...it has a few places to stop and see and that's about it!! Get a good guide like the Route 66 Adventure Handbook and the EZ66 Guide for travelers......see you on the road!!

I was disapointed to see a book about a US NATIONAL LANDMARK printed in China. This fact is not mentioned in the amazon.com description.

This book was not produced by an "insider" - that is, by someone who lives/lived in the area or traveled US 66 frequently. Instead, it's an international group. Now I suppose that makes it easier with which to plan a trip given that I too, am an outsider (from the US 66 area of the United States). But please, let's print something so near and dear to many hearts of many Americans, right here in the United States. Please.

Also, the color maps: Convenient, very tiny (I purchased a larger, hand-drawn map series together with this book). However, on these maps, it's very difficult to discern between the "original" US 66 route and the "alternate" or "updated" route, as they're in the same (purple) color. The original have more of a haze, and the revised, a more "crisp" color border around the roadway on the map. Perhaps a more contrasting color scheme could have been used.

When I first saw one of these books in the bookstore, I shook my head in disbelief. Yet another attempt to make the bible hip for young people. My curiosity got the better of me and now I am hooked! Warning: if you don't have a sense of humor, put the book down now. If you are looking for a literal representation of events of the bible you will be tremendously disappointed. That is not the purpose of these books. Instead, if you are looking for something to give to the most cynical of your friends or to the smart kid with no attention span, here is what you give him/her. What I like about this version (as opposed to the other Manga Bible) is that this is a truly original adaptation of scripture meant to introduce someone to the bible, not to replace the reading of the bible. I look forward to collecting them all!

First, lets clarify that this is not manga. At best, its manhwa, but really, I think calling that is an insult to manhwa. The "art" in this volume is absolutely, completely horrible. A 10 year old could do better than this. Although this is marketed for kids, I suspect most of them would also throw the book down in disgust. Kids aren't stupid and they recognize bad art work. The text itself is okay, though there is some inappropriate humor that conflicts with this being a presentation of the bible, but as a whole Tyndale's Manga Bible is a far better choice.

First I should say that it would be worthwhile for parents to review the page inserts on the publisher's home site as some may find the style & humor used in this graphic novel irreverent since this is a retelling of the bible as a comic with the author's own style / humor in it.

For instance for the fall of man, Adam sees Eve happily eating the fruit and has a shocked look on his face. Eve says, "Adam, this fruit is tasty. Why don't you try one?" "Eve, God told us not to eat from this tree...!" says Adam. "C'mon it's good." says Eve. "We'll get in trouble with God..." says Adam. Eve's eyes tear up, "Oh Adam... you've changed...I'm telling you it's good, but all you can think about is getting in trouble with God..." Adam says, "Changed? What are you saying? If you say its good I'll eat whatever you say." Then Eve winks with a grin at the reader and as Adam takes a bite she says, "Girls can make guys do anything..."

That was borderline for me.

The book steps kids through the books so they know the people and events in a section of the bible that normally kids this age would normally skip with a few exceptions. We've read through children's bibles to cover these with our kids, but my six year picks this one up on his own. However, it is not a substitute for the real bible when they become old enough since knowing people & places does not constitute faith.

In summary, I find it to be a fun complement to any child's religious experience with the old testament, but certainly not a teaching of the underlying principles and applications to their lives. That is left to parents (as it should be).

The art is great.

Obviously, this book is not a translation in the usual sense of the word. It is a translation, however, into a different visual realm. Manga is a Japanese art style used in comic books (the animated equivalent being "anime").
For those who want to introduce the Bible to kids 5-13, this would be a good way of doing it. The art is quality. I recommend it!

I bought this book before I read the reviews, and I'm glad I did. The Hudson River Valley is expensive. That's why no cheap lodgings are in the book. We stayed at the Peekskill Inn and found it very affordable as well as charming. The book is small enough for an easy carry - as befits a weekend tripper. It's nicely divided into possible weekend trips so the reader can choose which area fits their mood. Each area gets a thorough review of what it has to offer - not just food, lodging, cultural events, but an understanding of where the area has been and what it has to offer the traveler. The icing on the cake is that the book is fun to read, e.g. "Woodstock feels like an unmade bed - comfortable but disheveled."

I am a Lonely Planet enthusiast and usually use them as my main source during trips and collect them for armchair reading. I saw this and picked it up since I live near the area and have not ventured there in a long time.

This book should only be purchased if you already have the Moon Handbook to New York. I just got the Moon after using this and another guide on previous trips and I feel foolish.

First of all, the money you save by buying this little diary may very well be spent anyway since Ms. Williams doesn't seem to have any interest in anything but high end B&Bs, so if you are on a budget and don't mind a clean but boring room there are no listings, that's none: zero. I found places like this but at random, and almost stayed in a dangerous area because I knew of no alternatives. Moon lists all acceptable motels and B&Bs and lets you decide what you want and how much dough you have.

Second, Ms. Williams likes cool coffee shops, eatieries, shops, but doesn't seem too keen on turning out much copy on historical and cultural sights, so there is precious little coverage. Moon's background info is superior and again, they list all the options and let you decide. Moon New York has more overall info on Hudson Valley despite the fact that it covers the rest of the state as well, and if your car can go over 40 mph I'm sure there's something in a neighboring area that suit your tastes.

And I know LP has other regional guides, but would it kill them to throw in more coverage of the Catskills? We're not talking about Miami to Greenland here, just what's within a two hour drive.

I just returned from a trip to the Hudson River Valley using this book as my primary guide. WIlliams' style was entertaining, and her restaurant advice terrific when it came to The Calico Restaurant in Rhinebeck (we had a fabulous meal) but important details were neglected.

WIlliams' accurately described the town of Hudson, with the town center choc-a-bloc full of antique shops, surrounded by urban decay. With a love of antiques, I planned a trip to Hudson to for an extensive 'tique crawl only to discover 99% of the shops are open ONLY Friday-Sunday. Hudson being far north of my base, the travel time ate much of the day making a last minute change of plans a real challenge.

Likewise, she neglected to mention in any detail the Institute for Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, which is a fascinating place with an excellent perennial garden and very pleasant, helpful and knowlegable staff. Fortunately, we stumbled onto this place by accident, but it was a trip highlight.

Short shrift was similarly given to the many wineries in the area, merely mentioning their existence but with few details.

The maps were helpful, and as I mentioned earlier, our lunch in Rhinebeck at the Calico Restaurant was divine so she gets credit for that. Otherwise, think of this book as a basic intro only and plan on doing much more research before you depart for the Hudson River Valley.