Advance copy. ( )

A decent teen road trip novel. ( )

I really enjoyed this story. The author did a fantastic job slowly revealing these character's stories. All the "coincidences" were great. The climax is heartwrenching but you are left with such a good feeling in the end. ( )

Disarming and predictable until the end, which wraps up a bit too quickly but with an unforseen twist. ( )

5 stars.
This is a well-written tale of four very intelligent classmates that by chance get a “right day” for themselves and those who come in contact with them.
The story begins with Destiny, a girl in her sixteenth year, living in a boarding school—the last of many. She has been surrounded by monotonous schedules day after day since she was sent to the boarding schools when she was seven years old. But this day was to be a different day; this day she was going to break the rules and take whatever came. She would have done it by herself but the beautiful car idling under a tree with no one in sight was too good to be true. However, she didn’t know how to drive so she had to find someone who would be willing to be an accomplice.
Seth is a year older and had his own car before coming to the school two months earlier. He is the only one she knows who can drive. It didn’t take long to convince him to come along since at that moment he was doing garbage duty, a truly unfair punishment. They start their adventures as they take the car and drive off. On the way out of the school they drive by the windows of all the classrooms.
Mira is an outgoing peacemaker that had adopted Destiny as her friend although Destiny doesn’t allow herself friends. She saw them and goes out to get in the car with them. Her teacher was out of the room for a moment so her escape went unnoticed.
As they drive by the hospital, right before making their get away, the school geek walks by pinching his nose with blood in his hand. He gives them one look, and he, too, gets in the car. Thus these four completely different souls drive for miles toward a new destiny together.
Although they weren’t the best of friends, fate has put them together for a greater purpose. In that day’s adventures they find friendship and much more. The foursome was able to put to rest many of the difficult things they had each endured during their short lives. Destiny is the one that has suffered the most, and thanks to her newfound friends, she is able to find peace and a brighter tomorrow.
This book is full of real life experiences and the shadows they leave behind over those that must go on when they collide with our lives. It deals with separation, love, death, friendship, and hope; all feelings that we must learn to cope with at any given time. Some of them are feelings that we would like to keep from our youngsters, but without them they will never be who they will become. We all must face setbacks in our lives to be able to progress and become whole once again, and in this book you will find that Mary has done a beautiful job of lading us through them. I recommend it to preteens and up, especially if they are going through tough times in their lives. ( )