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Road Trip! Perkins’ Recommended Reads
Are we there yet? Stories from the road. Whether it’s a drive to Grandma’s house or a lengthy tour across the country, most of us have had the opportunity to go on some kind of road trip.
Are we there yet? Stories from the road.
Whether it’s a drive to Grandma’s house or a lengthy tour across the country, most of us have had the opportunity to go on some kind of road trip. Journeys like this can lead to some great conversations, opportunities to read a good book, new and adventurous experiences, or just the chance for some quiet time for thinking and self-realization.
The books on this list include accounts of real or historical road trips, and expedition stories in different genres. There are tales of friends, family, and even strangers traveling together, having fun (and sometimes arguing!), and making discoveries along the way. Try reading one of these titles on a road trip for an enhanced meta book experience.
Digital book (DB), braille (BR), large print (LT), and audio described videos (DVD) copies of these titles are available from the Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Leah Ellenbogen
Children’s Resource and Service Librarian
Perkins Library
Before I Forget
Leonard Pitts
Former soul singer Moses “Mo” Johnson learns he has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Mo collects his teenage son Trey, an unmarried father facing armed robbery and murder charges, for a road trip to visit Mo’s estranged and dying dad and find forgiveness. Strong language and some violence. 2009.
Download Before I Forget, DB 71387
The Borrower
Rebecca Makkai
Children’s librarian Lucy Hull discovers ten-year-old Ian Drake hiding out in the stacks after closing one night. Ian is determined to get away from his controlling parents, who try to restrict what he reads to anti-gay literature. Ian draws Lucy into his plan. Some strong language. 2011.
Download The Borrower, DB 83480
The Clasp
Sloane Crosley
College friends Victor, Nathaniel, and Kezia reunite at a wedding. Victor hears about a valuable necklace that disappeared in France in WWII and convinces the others they need to go on a road trip to find it. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2015.
Country Driving: A Journey through China from Farm to Factory
Peter Hessler
American journalist recounts his 2001-2007 travels chronicling the impact of the automobile on China. Describes his 7,000-mile road trip along the Great Wall; sojourn in Sancha, a farming village near Beijing; and examination of an urban-development project. Discusses China’s highways and how driving affects farming, business, and family life. 2010.
Download Country Driving: A Journey through China from Farm to Factory, DB 72697
Don’t Fail Me Now
Una LaMarche
Five interracial half siblings come together for the first time. They embark on a cross-country road trip in an old station wagon to confront their absentee father before he dies. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers. 2015.
Download Don’t Fail Me Now, DB 82281
Driving Miss Norma: One Family’s Journey Saying “Yes” to Living
Tim Bauerschmidt
A full-length memoir based on the popular Facebook page of the same name chronicles the remarkable cross-country journey of the effervescent 90-year-old Miss Norma, who in the face of terminal illness embarked on a transformative road trip with her son, daughter-in-law and giant poodle.
Download Driving Miss Norma, DB 88643
The English Major
Jim Harrison
After his wife leaves him for another man, sells their farm, and keeps most of the proceeds, sixty-year-old ex-teacher Cliff takes a road trip. Along the way Cliff has an affair with a former student and visits his globe-trotting gay son. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2008.
Download The English Major, DB 68660
Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure: The True Story of a Great American Road Trip
Matthew Algeo
Author retraces the 1953 2,500-mile cross-country road trip of Harry and Bess Truman. Describes the Trumans’ post-presidential life in Missouri, when they lived on Harry’s army pension, and provides first-person accounts of the original journey. 2009.
Download Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure, DB 69543
Download Braille, Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure, BR 18519
Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip
Dayton Duncan
Account of the first cross-country automobile trip in the United States. In 1903 Horatio Jackson, a thirty-one-year-old Vermont doctor, bet fifty dollars that he could drive from San Francisco to New York despite only 150 miles of paved roadway in the entire nation. Introduction by Ken Burns, maker of a companion PBS documentary. 2003.
Download Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip, DB 57572
Download Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip, BR 15229
The Last Forever
Deb Caletti
After her mother’s death, Tessa struggles to hold onto her friends, boyfriend, and happiness. Then, during an impromptu road trip, she meets Henry, and the secrets they share give her a chance at healing. Some strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2014.
Download The Last Forever, DB 79946
Live and Let Growl
Laurien Berenson
When her aunt Peg lands a gig as judge at a Kentucky dog show, Melanie Travis welcomes the opportunity for a road trip. Too bad a killer has planned a deadly detour. 2016.
Download Live and Let Growl, DB 88036
The Lost Sun
Tessa Gratton
In an alternate U.S.A.—the United States of Asgard—Soren Bearskin, son of an infamous berserker, and Astrid Glyn, daughter of a renowned seer, embark on a road trip to find the missing god Baldur, whose absence is causing panic. Some violence. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Download The Lost Sun, DB 77008
Man Made Boy
Jon Skovron
Tired of being sheltered from humans, seventeen-year-old Boy, son of Frankenstein’s monster and the Bride of Frankenstein, runs away from his Times Square theater home and embarks on a wild cross-country road trip. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. For senior high and older readers. 2013.
Download Man Made Boy, DB 77557
One Plus One
Jojo Moyes
Single mother Jess Thomas is struggling to raise her ten-year-old math-genius daughter, Tanzie, and teenaged stepson, Nicky. To give Tanzie a chance at a prestigious school, they fly to England and take a road trip to Scotland with technology wizard Ed Nicholls. Nothing goes as planned. Strong language and descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2014.
Download One Plus One, DB 79917
Download One Plus One (Spanish), DB 83956
Porcupine of Truth
Bill Konigsberg
Mopey about having to spend the summer with his estranged father in Billings, Montana, seventeen-year-old Carson’s vacation prospects improve after he meets Aisha, a beautiful lesbian, and the two embark on an epic road trip that will transform them both. Strong language. Stonewall Book Award. For senior high and older readers. 2015.
Download Porcupine of Truth, DB 84155
Download Braille, Porcupine of Truth, BR 21416
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Jesmyn Ward
Thirteen-year-old Jojo has been raised by his grandparents, as his black mother, Leonie, is a drug addict and his white father, Michael, is in prison. When Michael is released, Leonie packs Jojo and his baby sister in the car for a nightmarish road trip. Violence and strong language. 2017.
Download Sing, Unburied, Sing, DB 89552
Download Braille, Sing, Unburied, Sing, BR 22096
Spinsters
Pagan Kennedy
Fran and her older sister, Doris, are unmarried and in their thirties when their ailing, widowed father dies in the 1960s. Growing old with Doris sounds fine to staid Fran, and the sisters accept an invitation to move in with a spinster aunt. But Doris soon becomes restless and takes reluctant Fran on a long road trip. 1995.
There Will Be Lies
Nick Lake
Shelby Cooper, nearly eighteen, has been overprotected by her single mother all her life; but after a car accident, Shelby’s mother steals her away from the hospital and takes her on a long desert road trip. Shelby soon discovers her mother hasn’t been honest with her. For senior high and older readers. 2015.
Download There Will Be Lies, DB 80702
Download Braille, There Will Be Lies, BR 20665
Tocqueville’s Discovery of America
Leopold Damrosch
Prizewinning biographer reconstructs French historian Alexis de Tocqueville and his friend Beaumont’s nine-month journey through the United States in 1831-1832. Captures the young nation’s mood through letters and documents reflecting Tocqueville’s perspective. 2010.
Download Tocqueville’s Discovery of America, BR 19179
Trip: Andy Warhol’s Plastic Fantastic Cross-Country Adventure
Deborah Davis
Profile of artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and an account of the road trip he took from New York to California. Describes artistic and business influences of Warhol, his personal relationships, and the works he accomplished. Argues that this trip was a pivotal point in his career progression. 2015.
Download Trip: Andy Warhol’s Plastic Fantastic Cross-Country Adventure, DB 83356
A Turn in the Road
Debbie Macomber
Bethanne, from A Good Yarn (DB 61808, BR 16187), and her daughter join Bethanne’s former mother-in-law Ruth on a cross-country road trip to Florida. Ruth heads for her fiftieth high school reunion while Bethanne considers her ex-husband’s wish to reunite. Along the way Bethanne falls in love. 2011.
Download A Turn in the Road, DB 73225
Download Braille, A Turn in the Road, BR 19392
The Wangs vs. the World
Jade Chang
Charles Wang has built a cosmetics empire. When it comes crashing down around him, he plucks his children, Andrew and Grace, from their exclusive schools and, with his second wife, Barbra, sets out on a cross-country road trip to pick up oldest daughter, Saina. Challenges await them all. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2016.
