Roadside Assistance.

          Roadside Assistance.

Amy Clipston.

Publisher:Zondervan.

Publication Date:April 12,2011.

Genre:YA Contemporary|Religion.

Format|Pages: Paperback|278.

Source:Library|Goodreads.

4.7 STARS

I discovered Roadside Assistance while at library. I was looking for some books to read, and cover and the title is actually what caught my attention. I only had enough time to skim the summary but decided to get it anyways. I wasn’t disappointed, I found myself loving the novel more than I thought I would. I wasn’t aware that there would be religious aspect till I started reading it. I had read 2 religion based books before but that was years ago. However this one was different and I actually found myself enjoying it a lot. I found it hard to put the book down, mostly because there was always something going on and I wanted to see what path Emily would take next. I wanted see how it would get resolved. Roadside Assistance is a novel worth checking out.

  Emily Curtis’s life falls apart the moment that her mother falls ill, and dies. Emily and her father are driven away from their home, by the hospital bills that they can’t afford to pay. Two of them pack their things and move in with Darlene, her father’s sister and their daughter, Whitney. However Darlene attempts to make Emily more girly, like her cousin Whitney, who to Darlene’s eyes is perfect. It causes for Emily feel out of place.

Then Emily heard the engine of 1970 Dodge Challenger, from their next door neighbor, Zander. The two of them establish a bond, working on fixing his car, together and Emily finds herself grow attracted to him, the attraction she tries to ignore. Even working alongside Zander, can’t seem to fix her broken heart or the fact that she started lose her faith since her mother. Her doubt in God is something nobody seems to understand, not even Zander.


  Out of all characters in the novel, I found myself being able to connect to Emily the most. Even though I’m not religious like Emily was, I still believe in god. There were times when I lost my grandmother that I found myself about having doubts about God too, like Emily did, I found myself wondering how he could let that happen. I also could imagine the pain she must felt for having lost her mother, since like her, I lost my grandmother to cancer too. Somehow I felt like that reason I could connect with Emily, because I could imagine what she was going through. I was glad that at least she had someone who was there, such as Chelsea, Zander and even Whitney. I could tell how much they tried to help her and I know they were one of the reasons, that she was able to make it through.

 The Letters: those were my favorite through the book. I adored the letter that she wrote to her mother, the way that she expressed her emotions through letters. By reading those letters, I felt like I got to know Emily more and it made me imagine her pain. Those letters made me tear up each single time because I could tell how much pain Emily was in. I was kind of hoping that she would tell to someone, talk to someone else besides her, like Chelsea, Zander or even Whitney. They were beautifully written, with a lot of emotions.


 Whitney & Zander: Besides Emily, they were my other two favorite characters. I got say, in beginning I wasn’t too sure how I felt about Whitney but then when I saw how she constantly tried to help Emily, way she even defend her against her grandmother, and telling her mother the way she was treating Emily wasn’t right. I loved that about her, how much she cared about her and her feelings. I love the fact even though Whitney was popular, she was different, and she actually was caring unlike most of popular kids in books I read before, who always turn out bullies. Now Zander what is there not like about him? He was sweet. I loved how he tried helping Emily even after only knowing her for short period of time. One thing I didn’t like was way he kept getting her faith back to god; I think he should let it do it at her own pace, not push it at her. I loved friendship between two of them, I found myself waiting for them to make up after that fight they had.


Even though I loved most of the book, there was one aspect I didn’t enjoy as much, reason I didn’t quite gave it 5 stars. It seemed that almost every person, besides Emily that is, seemed pretty religious. Whitney, Zander. I have nothing against religion but to me, that seemed a bit unrealistic. Also the way Emily went from not talking, to kissing, seemed bit too cheesy. Otherwise, I loved this book and glad I picked it up.