Road of the Road by Joan Bauer is about a sixteen year old girl named Jenna who spends the summer quickly becoming an adult. Jenna not only works during the year selling shoes, but is hired full-time to drive her employer Mrs. Gladstone cross-country and confronts many issues such as self-confidence, responsibility, alcoholism, Alzheimer's, death...the list could go on.
I found Jenna to be overly mature for a sixteen year old, more of a picture of what a parent would like their child to be rather what they are. Jenna is not at all self-centered or irrational. She enjoys working, she takes care of her family, she keeps her cool when Mrs. Gladstone nixes her lunch plans and doesn't blow up at Elden.
Aside from questioning Jenna's character, I thought the story was well-written. I especially liked the parallels between the disrespect and dismissiveness shown to teens with the disrespect and dismissiveness shown to senior citizens.
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