How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

How My Summer Went Up in Flames
Author: Jennifer Salvato Doktorski
Pages: 307
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

This book was available on Pulseit, so I decided to read it since I've seen it come up in various blogs. The summary of the book seemed interesting. Lighting your ex-boyfriend's car on fire? Hilarious. Perfect revenge if you ask me.

But this book failed to impress me. Rosie was annoying, to the point where you want to slap some sense into the character. She kept bothering Joey, acting like an clingy girlfriend. She sent him text messages, kept calling him, etc. I seriously don't get it. Rosie, Joey cheated on you. You should be ignoring him. He should be the one wanting your attetnion. But no, it's reversed, you guys.

Rosie is out on a road trip with her best friend, Matt and his friends, Spencer and Logan. Her parents hope to put distance between Rosie and Joey. This sounds like a perfect summer read, doesn't it? No. This book was disturbing. First of all, why doesn't Rosie have a seperate room? She stayed in the same hotel room as them. Three guys and one girl? I have a hard time grasping this. Just wait, this is the best part, when went go camping, Rosie slept in between two guys, Matty and Logan.

Uh, yeah no.  What kind of parent agrees to this? I know her parents trusted Matty, but still, wouldn't this bother parents?

Eventually, the characters grow on you. Rosie starts moving on and actually begins to live life without thinking of Joey all the time. Oh yeah, heads up, 50% of the book may be unbearable for you, depending if you like a whiny main character or not.

Overall, this was an okay book. I would definitely not read this again. If you want a good road trip book, Amy's and Roger's Epic Detour is a fanastic one. 

2/ 5 STARS