 | Four for the road Author: Reilly, K. J. | |
| Price: $10.65 | ||
Summary:
When seventeen-year-old Asher embarks on a road trip from New Jersey to Graceland to get revenge on the drunk driver who killed his mom, he brings along three new friends from his bereavement groups.
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (06/01/22)
Booklist (+) (07/01/22)
The Hornbook (+) (00/01/23)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 07/01/2022 *Starred Review* Asher Hunting can tell you the exact time a drunk driver crashed an 18-wheeler into his mother’s SUV, killing her. In the subsequent year, Asher has grappled with survivor’s guilt, which is exacerbated when the driver is not convicted. Asher’s deep, desperate grief makes the people around him uncomfortable; they want him to “get over it.” In that year, Asher has devised a plan for revenge involving a road trip to Memphis, ostensibly to take the driver’s daughter to her prom—he catfished her—but his real intention is to kill the driver. He recruits three members of the two grief support groups he attends: Henry, an elderly man who brings the ashes of his late wife, Evelyn, with him in an urn; and a boy and a girl his age, Will and Sloane. Asher doesn’t tell them his reason for the trip, but it turns out that each has his or her own reason for going to Memphis. They trade stories about the people they lost, which seems to help all of them. Reilly explores the avenues of grief most people don’t encounter until they are older, and she does it with bright, funny characters who hold onto one another and the truths that unfold on their trip. All go through a transformation that bolsters them, and they draw together as a family to navigate their grief. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
Booklist - 07/01/2022 *Starred Review* Asher Hunting can tell you the exact time a drunk driver crashed an 18-wheeler into his mother’s SUV, killing her. In the subsequent year, Asher has grappled with survivor’s guilt, which is exacerbated when the driver is not convicted. Asher’s deep, desperate grief makes the people around him uncomfortable; they want him to “get over it.” In that year, Asher has devised a plan for revenge involving a road trip to Memphis, ostensibly to take the driver’s daughter to her prom—he catfished her—but his real intention is to kill the driver. He recruits three members of the two grief support groups he attends: Henry, an elderly man who brings the ashes of his late wife, Evelyn, with him in an urn; and a boy and a girl his age, Will and Sloane. Asher doesn’t tell them his reason for the trip, but it turns out that each has his or her own reason for going to Memphis. They trade stories about the people they lost, which seems to help all of them. Reilly explores the avenues of grief most people don’t encounter until they are older, and she does it with bright, funny characters who hold onto one another and the truths that unfold on their trip. All go through a transformation that bolsters them, and they draw together as a family to navigate their grief. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.
