The book Thou Shalt Not Road Trip is a journey of self-discovery by sixteen-year-old Luke, who has become an overnight sensation as the sort-of-accidental author of a Christian self-help book for teens. Luke begins as a somewhat holier-than-thou character, though he is forced to examine what he really believes in, as compared to the ideas he espouses in the book he wrote only a year earlier. While a change in philosophy over the course of a year may seem abrupt, a year in the life of a teenager who is searching for his true self can be an eternity. The parables (excerpts from Luke's book) that begin each chapter are fun, and while they are modeled after bible verses, they generally have a hip and funny message. Christianity is a major theme in this book, but that should not deter readers who may be of a different faith. Fran, who used to be a clean-cut and fresh-faced girl, has taken on a punk look, complete with tattoos, piercings and dyed hair. She engages in self-destructive behavior, including over-indulging in alcohol during the course of the road trip, in an effort to force her loved ones (her parents and Luke) to see who she really is inside. Luke is a flawed but likable character, and readers will root for him to figure out what he really stands for before he loses his opportunity with Fran. The two teens and two college kids (Fran and Luke's older sibs, who are in a relationship) share hotel rooms (though Luke is very uncomfortable with the idea), and Fran does her share of mini-bar raiding, including overindulging one night to the point of being sick. All told, Luke's and Fran's hearts are in the right place, and young readers, Christian or otherwise, will enjoy their journey, as the life lessons they learn are universal and not relevant to only one religion. Language is infrequent and mild (cr-p, scr-w it, h-ll, godd-mn).
