Review: Joyride by Anna Banks

Joyride

by Anna Banks

June 2, 2015

288 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.

It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.

Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.

All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

Review

I'm always looking for stories that have unique storyline and Joyride sounded like one. It touched on sensitive topics like immigration and mental illness which I found so relevant to today's world. While I couldn't say this book blew me away, it was an enjoyable read.

Carly was a down-to-earth character for me. She's smart and responsible even if the circumstances around her force her to act otherwise. I hated the way her brother and mother treated her - guilting her into working 24/7 and giving up all her earnings. I definitely understand family is important but their attitude and expressions just didn't sit right with me. Add to that they were blindly trusting a stranger, it was all very cringe-worthy. Carly was right to question El Libratador. Her solid mature thinking really resonated with me. "Or are we all just varying versions of bad people, some trying harder to be good?" (eARC p. 112).

I wasn't a big fan of Arden. Nothing about him stood out for me. I mean, I get that he was grieving over the lost of his sister and angry with his dad but nothing excuses the way he behaved. So selfish and immature putting Carly in dangerous positions. He was always regretting his decisions after it's too late.

Ultimately, not being a fan of Arden was probably why I couldn't get into the romance between Arden and Carly. It wasn't quite at insta-love level seeing as she disliked him at first but then the feeling turn fairly quickly into something more. I think the relationship was a little underdeveloped because of the progression of the story (see my point in the next paragraph).

It was tough for me to get through the last half of the book. I didn't find anything engaging. My biggest problem was how the story lacked smooth transition. I felt like there were holes in the plotline. One moment we're talking about something and the next moment it's done and over with and we're already doing something else. The story was jumpy if you will.

I wasn't a fan of the ending. It felt too open-ended with minimal resolution to one of the key point of the book. Despite all the issues I had with the story, I would put Joyride in the hands of readers would enjoy a casual fast read. Afterall, who doesn't enjoy an innocent prank now and then ;)

*I received an eARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.