100 Sideways Miles by Andrew Smith (Review)

 Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary
Book Length: 277 pages
Publication Date: September 16th, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover

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Synopsis:

Finn Easton sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It’s how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he’s a real boy and not just a character in his father’s bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he’s ever loved.

Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned—and learn how to write their own destiny.
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This book. Because this is a little more mature than the YA I typically read, you might think that I didn't really like this book. And also the fact that, as most of you probably know, Andrew Smith's style of writing and storytelling is quirkier than the average YA author (just look at the plot for Grasshopper Jungle...); and his style would either click or not click with my personal tastes.

Well, it clicked. I will also admit I was really surprised by this one. I went into it blind and I ended up absolutely loving this book.

First off, I want to comment on the POV. Finn had a distinct voice and I kind of felt like I knew him as if I did in real life. I also found his character to be unique, especially since he see the world through miles instead of minutes and that he is also epileptic. I also enjoyed the other characters in the book, and again, I felt like I knew them in real life. Like Cade, who gets away with everything and is kind of like a god. Another character I really liked was Julia, our love interest, who I wished we got a little more back story on, but I loved to see how her and Finn's relationship develop throughout the book. Although, I kind of wished there was a little more build-up since it felt somewhat insta-lovey; but that is probably my only compliant in this book.

I also loved how unique the writing style was. Like I mentioned earlier, he has a storytelling style quirkier than the typical YA author; and with the how this book progresses, he did a fantastic job conveying this story into something that, at least to me, was memorable.

So, I would give 100 Sideways Miles a full 5/5 stars from me. It was a little bit of a different read than I normally pick up; but I absolutely loved it in the end. The characters had such a distinct voice, I felt as though they were real, and I did have a couple of minor issues with the relationship between Finn and Julia, but it was just minor. I am excited to pick up more of Andrew Smith, I actually will be reading Grasshopper Jungle soon, and I will be writing my reviews for the other books as I read them.