Road trips are really the epitome of summer. What’s better than driving down an open road with your best friends, blasting your favorite music and eating all the junk food? You have the freedom to decide where you’re going, and to see all the dumb tourist stops along the way.
It’s no surprise that many young adult novels use this idea to parallel the main character’s own journey toward something–whether it’s acceptance, romance, or the unknown future. We long for the trips of spontaneity that these characters embark on, taking the journey with them through the magic of story.
While you’re daydreaming or planning your next road trip getaway, check out these books to inspire your inner vagabond!
1. Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Not only does Mosquitoland feature an epic road trip, the cover itself just screams summer. After being dragged from Ohio to Mississippi by her father, Mim Malone is desperate to get back to her mother. So, she gets on a Greyhound bus, soon to be joined by some unlikely companions. But what was supposed to be an easy trip is soon supplemented by its own twists and turns, forcing Mim to come to terms with challenges from her past. Mim’s journey is all about self-discovery and acceptance as she rediscovers things about herself that she had long forgotten.
2. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
One of John Green’s lesser known books, An Abundance of Katherines follows Colin Singleton, a boy who has only ever dated girls named Katherine. Nineteen girls named Katherine, actually. After his most recent break up, Colin embarks on a road trip with his best friend in order to prove his Therom of Underlying Katherine Predictability–a therom he’s been working on in order to predict the length of any relationship. Drastically different from John Green’s successful Looking for Alaska, you’ll long to join in the antics of Colin and his friends.
3. Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Loosely based on Don Quixote, Going Bovine finds us face to face with Cameron–a sixteen year old who just wants to make it smoothly through high school. But when Cameron finds out he’s deathly ill, his plans quickly change. When Dulcie, a punk/angel hybrid, tells him there’s a cure, he’ll go to any lengths to get it. So he embarks on a road trip with the most unlikely companions: Dulcie, a dwarf, and a yard gnome. Libba Bray expertly weaves reality and fiction together in Cameron’s story, making you question what’s real and what isn’t.
4. Paper Towns by John Green
Gasp! You put two John Green books on your list? Yes, yes I did because how can you have a road trip list without Paper Towns? Quentin has been in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman, his mystical neighbor, for years. One night, she climbs into his window and takes him on an epic night of adventures. The next day, she disappears. Quentin is desperate to figure out why, following the clues Margo left behind and convinced that it means she finally loves him back. A little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance, and a lot of adventure, the perfect combination for summer.
5. All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Finch and Violet meet on the bell tower at school, both thinking about jumping off and ending things. After talking each other out of it, the two pair up for a school project where they have to document the natural wonders of their state. The two are only able to be themselves when they’re together–but as Violet begins to heal, the darkness keeps closing in on Finch. Punctuated by mini road trips, Niven’s book is equal parts hopeful and dark, a perfect supplement for those rainy days.
6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
Ginny embarks on an epic summer adventure all thanks to her aunt–and her thirteen little blue envelopes. The first envelope gives Ginny $1,000 for a plane ticket. The second, instructions to a flat in London. The third simply says: find a starving artist. One by one, Ginny begins to step out of her comfort zone, spurred on by the instructions her aunt gives. Her whirlwind trip throughout Europe is inspiration to make a trip of your own–and to step out of your own comfort zone.
7. Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Driving together to college orientation sounded like a good idea when Courtney and Jordan were dating. Now that they’ve broken up? Not so much. It’s too late to make changes, so Courtney decides she can suck it up for a few days. After, they can go their separate ways. But Jordan is hiding a secret–he’s still in love with Courtney and he can’t tell her the real reason that they broke up. Put two exes in a car together and you’re sure to get a drama-filled romance, which is exactly what this book is. Romance, road trips, college–the perfect recipe for a summer read!
8. Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown
When Kendra, the “perfect child,” is caught cheating on a test, her only solution is to run away with her brother Grayson, who was diagnosed with OCD. She figures that once she’s put enough distance between her and the problem, she’ll be able to figure out where to go next. The only book on the list to feature a pair of siblings on a road trip, you’ll see how road trip complications can help strengthen a complex sibling relationship.
9. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson just recently found out that he’s the son of Poseidon, propelling him to Camp Half Blood for demigods just like him. But he’s quickly thrust into a mystery surrounding Zeus’s lightning bolt, and in order to stop a war between the gods, he must travel across the United States to open the gate to the Underworld. The first book in a series of epic stories inspired by Greek mythology, Rick Riordan will make your summer road trips a bit more magical.
10. Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Leila’s on a road trip so that she can see the Northern Lights in Alaska. Along the way, she meets four different strangers: Hudson, Bree, Elliot, and Sonia. Each of them find a friend in Leila, and each of them are desperately sad when she leaves; she alters something about each of their lives. Leila’s own journey shows her things about herself that she could never acknowledge before–and learns that in order to find yourself, sometimes you have to get lost first.