From three critically acclaimed and bestselling authors comes one story - equal parts charming, hilarious, and emotional - of a road trip that proves that sometimes it doesn't matter where you're going, since getting there is half the fun.
Three girls who couldn't be more different have one goal in mind: to get the heck out of Dodge. Well, Niceville, Florida, actually. But it might as well be called Nowheresville. Vicks is the wild-child fry cook whose boyfriend left for college and isn't returning any of her calls; Mel, the good girl in expensive jeans who just wants everyone to like her; and Jesse, the trailer-dwelling human morality meter who's discovered a life-altering secret -
Each has her own reason for climbing into Jesse's mom's beat-up station wagon and hitting the highway for a weekend trip, whether she knows it or not. Armed only with Vicks's ancient, battered copy of a guidebook called Fantastical Florida, a map Jesse picked up with her dwindling funds, and Mel's mom's credit card, they're Miami bound. Hearts will be broken, friendships will be tested, and a ridiculously hot stranger could change the course of everything. And if they don't kill each other first, Vicks, Mel and Jesse will not only have a road trip to remember, they'll have friends for life.
Courtesy of Teens Read Too HOW TO BE BAD is the perfect book for a girl-bonding summer road trip adventure!
Three girls, each with their own internal struggles, head out on a weekend road trip to Miami to visit the one girl's boyfriend. Vicks and Jesse are best friends. Mel is the newcomer but envies the friendship Vicks and Jesse share and invites herself along for the trip, offering to pay for lodging, snacks, and fuel.
Jesse is dealing with her mother's recent cancer diagnosis. She wants more than anything to tell Vicks, for they share everything, but hasn't been able to bring herself to do it.
Vicks is trying to not be a needy girlfriend. Her boyfriend has left for freshman year of university and has barely contacted her in the two weeks he's been gone. She misses him terribly and is convinced he's fooling around with a hot college girl.
Mel's family has just moved to Florida from Montreal, Canada. Florida is an entirely different world to her. She is reserved and lives in the shadow of her popular older sister. She desperately wants to break out of her shell, but doesn't know how. She hopes some of Vicks' outgoing personality will rub off on her.
They begin their trip Friday once Vicks gets off work. Jesse takes her mom's car without proper permission, and the three are off. Their adventures bring them to a giant preserved alligator, a cute hitchhiker, a house party with too much alcohol, Disney World, and a few other places along the way.
As will happen when confined with each other for far too long in a way too hot car, tempers flair, emotions erupt, and friendships are solidified.
HOW TO BE BAD is creatively written in alternating chapters by three popular authors. The story flows seamlessly between each chapter, making the reader curious as to which character belongs to which author. The story is emotional, triumphant, and you come away feeling like you've just received a great big hug. Each author is amazing on her own merits, but as a team, they've taken it up a notch and have written a fantastic book. One that every girl and her best friends will come to love.
Reviewed by: Jaglvr
Fun Summer Read! I was really looking forward to reading How to Be Bad because I am a fan of E. Lockhart's and have heard great things about Lauren and Sarah. I think I'll now have to be sure to read Sarah and Lauren's books because How to Be Bad was so fun.
Even with its serious topics and moments, it was still a fun book. The characters themselves were a lot of fun. Crazy, neurotic, and just regular girls. They were so different from each other but I was able to relate to each of them in some way. Their friendships and the dynamics within the friendships were also very real.
The triple narrative/collaboration of these three authors was seamless. I am usually wary of books with multiple narrators but this one makes me want to read more multiple narrator books. I liked getting a personal feeling from each character and knowing what she was thinking and feeling instead of only seeing her through the eyes of one narrator.
Teen book with depth I have been on a run of good luck in the last few weeks - reading books that have been interesting and fun at the same time.
I am an adult who enjoys reading a good Young Adult (teen) book. Unfortunately, when I was that age, the selections were very limited - now, teens have a much broader choice.
How to Be Bad was a pleasant surprise for me. I don't normally enjoy reading a book where there are 3 separate voices taking turns telling their story - which is the case here.
How to Be Bad introduces us to 3 very different girls and through their voices (each was written by a different author and we do not get to find out who is who until the very end of the book), you will get a slightly different perspective on a road trip that they have decided to embark on together.
Indeed, Vicks, Jesse and Mel work together and are all the same age, but only Vicks and Jesse are really close friends. On the spur of the moment, for various personal reasons, all three of the girls end up on a three day road trip in a beat up station wagon. Jesse needs to get away from her mother and her illness, Vicks needs to find out what is going on with her suddenly "hard to reach" boyfriend and Mel just seems to have a desperate need to make friends.
As we follow our girls on the road, experiencing their ups and downs, crying for them and with them and cheering them on, we get a coming of age story that is both heartwarming and funny.
The open road becomes a bit of a metaphor for what the girls are living and while this ride is only a three day weekend, in the end, it is enough to give them all important insights into what is important and what can be left by the side of the road.
Well written, intriguing (which author is actually writing which part?)with genuine emotion, this book was a treat
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Blended talent As an older reader with time on my hands to try to keep up with what is being offered my granddaughters, and having enjoyed many of Lauren Myracle's previous works, but knowing nothing about Ms Lockhart or Ms Mlymowski, I approached HTBB with some reserve. Why would someone as talented as Ms Myracle do a threesome? How were the authors going to blend their three voices into one story? She must have had a lot of confidence in her co-authors to put her reputation on the line, split the take and collaborate with them. To my delight their three voices sang like a choir, and the story came through seamlessly, mixing humor, feelings and insight as if written by only one of them. Congratulations to them all!
Road Triple Three girls. One beat-up station wagon. Three days. One long stretch of road. Three different reasons for hitting that road. One crazy, impulsive road trip.
When Jesse gets the big idea for her and Vicks to drive down to see Brady at college in Jesse's mom's car, she didn't plan on taking an extra passenger. She ends up with two: Mel, who is definitely not her friend, and, shortly thereafter, a fine feathered friend that's a real quack.
Jesse wants to get away from her mother and her mother's boyfriends for a while. Vicks wants to see her boyfriend Brady, who is away at college. Mel just wants to get away. Jesse and Vicks are close friends; Mel and Vicks are co-workers; Jesse's not exactly a fan of Mel.
In three days, these three girls will learn How to Be Bad - and sad, and impulsive, and persuasive. They will also learn how to compromise, how to celebrate their differences, and how to live and love and let go.
Vicks, Jesse, and Mel tell their stories in turn, with the first person narration rotating through the trio with every chapter. E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List), Lauren Myracle (TTYL), and Sarah Mlynowski (Bras & Broomsticks) teamed together for this story, and each author wrote for a different girl. Their faithful followers and new readers alike will want to take this trip to the end of the line.
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