Recommended Ages: Gr. 4-7

Plot Summary: Samantha and her mom are traveling to Florida to see her Gram's new digs. Mom gives Samantha one of her new ideas, a Letters to Me Journal, which is what Samantha uses to tell the story. And what a story it is, with lots of surprises and tons of bad luck. Gram's old home was immaculate and Samantha had to worry about being very careful so Samantha was worried about Gram's new home, which to Mom's dismay was not 8.5 minutes from her home but instead in Florida. Her new home is casual but the first big surprise comes when Mimi knocks on the door with Gram out and explains something about a road trip and karaoke. Apparently, it was Gram's dream (with her late husband) to sing karaoke, so now she's going to drive her new convertible mustang around Florida to sing at a few senior karaoke competitions, hoping to qualify for the finals at the fair. Mimi is going along for the ride with plans to deliver a bunch of bibles to a few different churches. Samantha and her mom are traveling with Gram and Mimi, until mom declares she needs to head back home for work meetings. Then another surprise is that Mimi relative Brandy will be joining them as well. What a surprise when it turns out Brandy is not a girl, but a boy named Brandon who is super cute! How will Samantha get through this road trip? With one misadventure after another, will they accomplish any of their goals?

Setting: Florida

Characters:
Samantha - 12 yo, 7th grader
Mom - works at a place called Make It Take It, always happy, optimistic, and cheerful except when she's worried about her mom
Gram - 77 yo, widow
Mildred - AKA Mimi, loves to pray

Recurring Themes: summer vacation, family, journaling, responsibility, Florida, finding a talent, road trip, mishaps

Controversial Issues: none

Personal Thoughts: When describing this book, it sounds fun. If I listed all the crazy things that made the road trip difficult, like swerving to avoid a turtle and ending up getting the car stuck in the mud, then having to walk all the way to a town but only finding an empty church, etc. if would be quite unbelievable. I like all the ideas of this book, but I did not love the writing. It was slow, probably because of the gimmick of the way it was written as a journal. I also felt uncomfortable every time Mimi talked about prayer but as Samantha learned she prays about everything it felt less uncomfortable to me. In fact, I liked that Samantha started to question how some of the answers to the prayers could actually be answers.

Genre: realistic fiction

Pacing: slow
Characters:
Frame:
Storyline:

Activity: ( )

Samantha Is a rising seventh grader and the thought of spending summer vacation with her grandmother in Florida isn’t exactly what she considers a fun happening.

Nevertheless, she is pressured into visiting her recently widowed grandmother. Then the poor girl, learns that she will not only be staying with her feisty Grams, but will be riding along with her and her pickle ball friend who is just as feisty. Grams is attempting to fulfil an item on her bucket list by singing karaoke.

And to top it all off, Mimi, the Pickle-ball friend is bringing her hunky eighth grade grandson, Brandon. I might also mention that Grams is driving her new Mustang

The foursome are about to embark on a very quirky tour of places NO ONE ever visits in Florida. Stops include... an alligator-infested road where their car breaks down, an empty church where they spend an uncomfortable night, a ramshackle cabin, the worst public restroom since indoor plumbing had been invented, a filthy not-barbecue joint and that’s just the beginning!

Many of the stops are interrupted by anxious calls from Sam’s stressed-out, workaholic mom, who’s trying to maintain control of a seemingly gone-wild Gram.

This is a happy, fun read filled with wild, lighthearted adventures of a summer trip to remember.

The tale is written in journal entries adding to the fun of this book. ( )