Destination Unknown

Was I developing a crush on Taylor Martinez? How could I possibly even consider dating him? Since he was convinced cheerleaders and athletes were elitists he’d never consider me. Suddenly an idea popped into my head like a humungous light bulb: dating Taylor Martinez would drive my mother to the brink of distraction. She’d never stand for the idea of her perfect daughter dating a boy from the other side of town. Pursuing Taylor Martinez was the perfect way to rebel against my mother and show her that she couldn’t run my life.

Book: Destination Unknown by Amy Clipston, Zondervan Publishers, 2013

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 13-19

Subjects: Family relationships, dating relationships, prayer, God’s Will, Prejudice

Summary: Whitney is so tired of her mom’s attempts to rule her life she wants to scream! Her clothes, her friends, her use of time, her future college decision, her future career decision – anything is up for criticism is she doesn’t do it exactly her mom’s way! So when Whitney begins to make friends with a family her mom does not approve of, she gets an idea. Maybe she can use Taylor to stand up to her mom and show her that she can not control everything in her life. The problem is that sneaking around behind her mother’s back only causes more problems than it solves.

Notes: A powerful story of a teen girl struggling to find her identity, Destination Unknown is a sequel to Roadside Assistance. This one tells the story of the cousin of the main character from Roadside Assistance. In this book the struggle is Whitney’s attempts to find out who she is supposed to be versus who her mom wants her to be. She is a Christian but she’s letting her struggles with her mom affect her relationship with Christ and her relationship with the boy she cares about. She has to come to a breaking point and realize that her stubbornness is hurting her more than anyone else. Overall the story does a good job illustrating the spiritual lessons taught and weaves a powerful story through the midst of it.

Spiritual Content Recommendation Scale: 4/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

1 Corinthians 1:30 – It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Ephesians 4:13 – Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.