Road trip! I love road trip books and this middle grade novel by Paul Acampora is one of the better ones I've read in a while. Leo lives a very conventional (some would say boring) life in Pennsylvania. His grandfather has recently passed leaving a gap that his grandmother and mother are still trying to fill. His grandmother has recently begun to wander off and poor Leo has been tasked with making sure no harm befalls her. Granny has other plans however and when she decides to take off in her vintage Buick from their home in Pennsylvania, Leo, his cousin Abbey and a big, gassy dog called Kermit hop along for the ride! (much to Leo's mother's chagrin)
What a ride it turns out to be as they journey across the plains and westward in search of dinosaurs. As with any road trip there are hijinks along the way but these serve to make their bond becomes even stronger. Like any family, they have secrets and long-simmering resentments that threaten to boil over but I won't reveal any spoilers here.
Another thing that I love about this book is that Abbey and Leo are open-minded enough to embrace other cultures and cuisines and experiences. The description of champorado makes the dish sound absoutely divine and I intend to find a place that serves it here in my city. Acampora's message overall is that because of its large size we need to try to learn about other people and how they see life. Some read alikes to this novel are Jack Cheng's See you in the Cosmos, and Fish in a Tree by Lynda Hunt.
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