I like Bill Bryson’s writing for the first few chapters of the first book of his that I read (“Neither Here Nor There”). I even mused about what a great travel companion he must be. Then I started to wonder if there was anything that he actually liked, anywhere. I had no intention of reading another of his books, but forgot to take this one off my library list and decided to give him another shot. Once again, for a chapter or two I was charmed. What a great idea! Take a few months to travel the US and write about the places you encounter! Except apparently Bill Bryson is unsatisfied by anything America has to offer. He ever so gently reminds the reader that he was smart enough to distance himself from his humble beginnings years ago by moving to England. My opinion is that he took this journey, not to revel in the kitchy wonders of small town America, but to poke fun at those of us stupid enough to continue to live here. He gets to make snarky comments about America and write the whole thing off as a business expense. Well, Mr. Bryson, you are welcome to move back to wonderful England at any time. I certainly won’t be begging you to stay.

I disliked that the author felt she needed to use so much bad language to accurately (and interestingly) portray teenage conversation. Once I got past that, I found the characters likeable, if a bit plastic. That she put in such a flawed, yet likeable character in Marcus was what finally won me over. I can see why these books are so popular.

What a sweet, lovely book. It was comfortably old-fashioned. I wish I’d read it when I was the age of the narrator, as I’m sure I could have identified. Worth reading!