100 Sideways Miles

Summary:
Finn was injured in a freak accident that killed his mother and left him scarred when he was little. If that wasn't bad enough, his dad wrote a book and made Finn the main character. Now everyone who meets him thinks of him as a character and not a real person. His best friend Cade is the only one who treats him normally. When Finn's girlfriend moves away leaving him heartbroken, he goes on a road trip with Cade that leads to Finn finding some independence and a sense of free will while facing a flood and becoming a bit of a hero along the way.

Strengths:
100 Sideways Miles is offbeat and somewhat absurd and that's one of its strengths. The plot is as quirky as the main character. The unpredictable nature of the story and the humor throughout makes it a clever and fun read. Finn's voice is warm and real and this narrative style means that the reader cheers his successes and mourns along with him at his failures and heartbreaks. The symbolism in the book meant there were portions I went back and reread just to see what I missed before.

Smith, A. (2014). 100 sideways miles. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.

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