Review: How My Summer Went Up in Flames by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

Publication Date:  May 7th 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 320

Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★1/2

First she lost her heart. Then she lost her mind. And now she’s on a road trip to win back her ex. This debut novel’s packed with drama and romance!

Rosie’s always been impulsive. She didn’t intend to set her cheating ex-boyfriend’s car on fire. And she never thought her attempts to make amends could be considered stalking. So when she’s served with a temporary restraining order on the first day of summer vacation, she’s heartbroken—and furious.

To put distance between Rosie and her ex, Rosie’s parents send her on a cross-country road trip with responsible, reliable neighbor Matty and his two friends. Forget freedom of the road, Rosie wants to hitchhike home and win back her ex. But her determination starts to dwindle with each passing mile. Because Rosie’s spark of anger? It may have just ignited a romance with someone new…

 I just wanted to say this first: you know that this is a road trip book and not to mention the fact that Rosie had a chance to go with THREE guys for this getaway...it literally made me scream with excitement. But please lower your expectation.

I always have a thing for road trip. There is something special about it and it is like my siren's song that I cannot resist. Besides all the wonderful sightseeing, there's always a self discovery or a lesson to be learn. I don't really know but somehow being on the road will temporary help you forget about your problem. It will give you more time to relax and to think about your life and what you want. How My Summer Went Up in Flames is sort of like that. The trip helped Rosie to realize what is important and how her obsession with her ex became too much out of the line and how it affected people around her and herself.

I admitted that Rosie had annoyed me few times. First I just don't get how she can be so obsessive with her ex to the point of being a stalker. It's first love and she got her heart broken but still I think she's overacted.  Secondly when Rosie tried to escape, AGH she really is good at making me mad. Thirdly, Rosie is just so selfish and mindless to the point of unbelievable and not to mention her anger problem. However I am glad that she'd changed and became more mature at the end of the book. The three nerdy guys are cute and so understandable. I just love them all. One more thing though I just don't buy it you know, how in the world Rossie's parents think to let their teenager daughter going on a road trip with three guys. It's just somehow not real you know.

In general, it's really an easy read with realistic characters.  I love the fact that this book didn't focus much on romance. But yes it is still there so don't worry if you're a romance lover. The romance didn't feel rush or anything.  And I love how it had kept me in the blind because I had no idea who Rossie ended up with until the end. So if you are looking for a quick summer read then  do pick this up =)