How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski (review)

"First I lost my heart. Then I lost my mind." So says Rosalita, who went from being Joey's adored girlfriend to his spurned ex with dizzying suddenness, and who responded by torching all Joey's gifts to her in his driveway—which apparently set his car on fire. Even slapped with a restraining order, Rosie is finding it hard to resist drivebys and Facebook stalking, so her parents decide she's accompanying her neighbor and longtime platonic friend, Matty, Matty's friend Logan, and Logan's brother Spencer on a cross-country trip to deliver Logan to school in Arizona. Rosie initially fights the trip and resists its wonders, but she eventually finds herself enjoying the weird stops, the interesting people, and the guys she's traveling with—especially good-looking Logan. Rosie's lack of self-restraint is both authentic and in keeping with her character, and while the book clearly understands she's gone overboard, it's also obvious that Joey is using the situation for his own benefit. The Great American Road Trip plot is solidly handled, with the changing dynamics as the ride goes on believably portrayed. It's unsurprising that Rosie starts falling for Logan, but that development is part of a larger and more original story about Rosie's horizons being broadened generally, as the half-Ecuadorian, half-Italian girl who's never been out of New Jersey or thought about life beyond marrying Joey begins to delight in seeing the world. While Rosie isn't as desperately cautionary as some recent stalker girls (Graham's Stalker Girl, BCCB 9/10 and Hoffman's It's Not You, It's Me, BCCB 9/09), she's a raw and spirited companion on a road trip, and readers will want to ride along.