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Thou Shalt Not Road Trip

by Antony John (Goodreads Author)

3.44 of 5 stars 3.44 · rating details · 305 ratings · 62 reviews

When sixteen-year-old Luke's book, Hallelujah, becomes a national bestseller, his publishing house sends him on a cross-country book tour with his older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when irresponsible Matt offers to drive Luke's ex–soul mate, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. On the trip, Luke must loosen up, discover what it truly means to have...more

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published April 12th 2012 by Dial

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Mar 15, 2012 Melannie :) is currently reading it

Shelves: coming-up, most-anticipated, need-now

I looooooooooove Road Trips
and I loooooooooove Antony John!

<333333333333333

Am I excited?

...

JUST KIDDING I AM SUPER FRIGGIN EXCITED!

16 likes · like · see review

Sep 22, 2012 Cara rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: realistic-fiction, male-protagonist, 2012, sibilings

I'm surprised that I ended up giving this book 2 stars. This is the author that wrote Five Flavors of Dumb which I absolutely loved. So what went wrong you say? *sigh* Too much unfortunately for this reader.

Luke has written a little book. A little book that suddenly becomes a nationwide sensation. So what do you do? Go on a book tour of course! Luke is going to do the book tour along with his older brother Matt. Some unexpected traveling buddies come up as well. Matt's long distance girlfriend...more I'm surprised that I ended up giving this book 2 stars. This is the author that wrote Five Flavors of Dumb which I absolutely loved. So what went wrong you say? *sigh* Too much unfortunately for this reader.

Luke has written a little book. A little book that suddenly becomes a nationwide sensation. So what do you do? Go on a book tour of course! Luke is going to do the book tour along with his older brother Matt. Some unexpected traveling buddies come up as well. Matt's long distance girlfriend Alex and her sister Fran are hitching a ride on this road trip too. Fran use to be Luke's best friend but something happened during the summer that created a drift between them. Fran’s not her old self and has run into trouble. At the moment Luke and Fran basically hate each other, but maybe the road trip will help them? If only Luke could get this book touring thing right.

I do want to say a few good things about the book. I think it was brave of John to write something like this. It's not really typical young adult fare and I do applaud him for that. I don't see many books where Christian teens are the main characters and the book is not labeled Christian lit. I also think he made the right choice for the ending. I think if it went another way it would have been grossly unfair to one of the characters. What else he did right I think was the book tour itself. It must be incredibly hard to do them. Especially if you're sixteen and with no professional at your side, so that was a realistic aspect of the book. (Not having a publishing person with you doesn’t seem like something that would happen though, especially if the book is doing real well anyways…) That being said there was a lot I didn't love about the book.

Firstly all the characters are flawed. Good right? Well yeah that makes it believable but you have to find redeemable qualities so you can root for them. And though of course they weren't all bad it just didn't make up for their behavior. Luke, who has written this inspirational book, is a hypocrite and unbelievably naive. Fran seems to over dramatize everything, and that’s too bad because I think her character could have been the most interesting. I get that she comes from a vulnerable place when she does things, but I still couldn’t connect with her. Matt is selfish even if he acts as though that is not the case at all. At least Luke can see through his crap eventually. Alex was basically annoying. I'm not sure why the author thought it was important to even include Matt and Alex because they took away too much story time from Luke and Fran. I want it to be noted that at one point I was pulling for all of them. I thought maybe I was going to see something towards the end that would wrap this up and be happy for them. There is this somewhat riveting speech but that’s about it. I didn’t buy that the characters made huge changes in their lives. What makes this so frustrating for me was that none of the characters are overtly horrible, so I didn’t hate them but I just couldn’t find it in myself to even like them.

Then there is the disappointment of the road trip. It's not really a road trip book. There is one part where they do something road trip worthy but it's mostly filled with death glares and bickering, and the once in a while good thing that would emerge. So if you are reading it for the road trip fun I would skip this one. But if you are willing to read about some different kind of characters I would give it a go. I won't discourage others from reading it because other readers may have more compassion and be able to understand these characters better than I do. I hope there are readers like that.

So will I read something by Antony John again? Absolutely. Even though I didn't enjoy this one I'm glad he has the guts to write something different and can't wait to see what else is under his top hat.(less)

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Sep 23, 2012 Trent rated it 1 of 5 stars

Must I give this book a rating? I couldn’t put it down. I can’t explain why, but trust me, that doesn’t mean this is a good book. Quite the opposite, I hate this book passionately.

Every single character was a terrible person.

Luke, the narrator was hypercritical, selfish, and annoying the entire time. His manner of speaking reflected much more closely what I’d expect from a middleschooler than the highschooler he was supposed to be. There’s a general lack of maturity and common sense on his part....more

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Dec 15, 2012 Julie Cross rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-contemporary

I really loved the book. I don't feel like I skimmed at all. And I often skim at least a little in most books. I really loved Fran and Matt. Those two were the reasons I kept reading in the beginning despite the fact that I kind of wanted to scream at Luke but I realized quickly that I'm supposed to want to do that. I think the author handled the idea of religion perfectly. It's a story that needs to be told and he added this fun, fantasy type element of a nobody teenager being granted every nob...more

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Sep 18, 2012 Shanna Hurd rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

Sixteen your old Luke Dorsey has written a Christian self-help best-seller, and now he is going on a book tour to support it. His older brother has volunteered to drive him along the way, but failed to tell Luke that they were going to have two extra people along for the trip. One of them in Matt's girlfriend, Alex, and the other is Alex's little sister (and Luke's ex-crush) Fran. Matt takes them on detour after detour, causing a lot of stress as Luke is late to book signings and forced to spend...more

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Aug 13, 2012 BAYA Librarian rated it 3 of 5 stars

16 year old Luke is having a hard time coping with the idea that he is a bestselling author of a book. The book titled Hallelujah was something that he wrote at Bible camp, it was never meant to be a national hit. Now he has to go on a mini book tour to promote Hallelujah. He soon finds himself on an unplanned road trip with his brother, his brothers girlfriend and her sister Fran. Fran, the girl that Luke used to love, the girl that seems to have lost her way. Adding to this uncomfortable dynam...more

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Jul 08, 2012 Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-reads

What do you get when you take a trip on The Mother Road with a teen Christian author, a rebellious teenage girl, and a couple facing a crossroads in their relationship? You get another wonderful read by Antony John entitled "Thou Shalt Not Road Trip."

John takes us on a book tour with Luke Dorsey who has just read one of the most recent top selling Christian books - "Hallelujah." Due to a conflict in schedules with Luke's publisher, Luke's brother Matt is put in charge of making sure Luke complet...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Becky rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, on-the-road, religion-or-lack-thereof, brothers-and-sisters

Eh... I really like Five Flavors of Dumb. It was one of my favorites from last year. And I love road trip books, so I was pretty excited for this one. It was okay.
It reminded me of the Disenchantments, which also just came out and also was about a boy-girl long term friendship where the boy really liked the girl and then the girl really disappointed the guy by changing before they go on a road trip, but the girl won't explain why she changed for some reason until their road trip is over and it e...more

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May 08, 2012 kari rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, ya

While I enjoyed this book, (I'm giving it four stars, after all)I can't say that I loved it. There was too much left out for it to completely work.
Luke, the narrator, is a wonderfully fleshed out and flawed character. He is a teenage boy and isn't quite sure that he even believes what he wrote a year earlier, but he's off on a book tour anyway. He makes mistakes, some knowing they are mistakes and some inadvertent ones as well. Yet, he is trying to do what he thinks is right or perhaps it is mor...more While I enjoyed this book, (I'm giving it four stars, after all)I can't say that I loved it. There was too much left out for it to completely work.
Luke, the narrator, is a wonderfully fleshed out and flawed character. He is a teenage boy and isn't quite sure that he even believes what he wrote a year earlier, but he's off on a book tour anyway. He makes mistakes, some knowing they are mistakes and some inadvertent ones as well. Yet, he is trying to do what he thinks is right or perhaps it is more that he is trying to do what is expected of him.
His brother, Matt, doesn't seem to have much going on except for being self-centered and something of a user. He takes over the book tour, hauling Luke, Alex, Matt's girlfriend and Fran, the girl Luke wanted as a girlfriend a year ago, to all kinds of places that aren't planned, causing chaos and generally being less than helpful. Unfortunately I didn't get much of his personality except his userness. There is maybe one or two scenes where Matt is finally honest and someone Luke can depend on, but by that time, everything else has fallen apart.
Alex, Matt's girlfriend, seems nice. I didn't get much beyond that about her. She seems nice.
Fran, oh Fran, what a drama queen and I didn't really like her much. I think for this story to actually work well, I'd have to really think Fran is wonderful. And I don't. I'm left thinking that she has made her own mess for no real reason.(view spoiler)She caused her own problems and I know I'm supposed to think she's very deep, but she seems to me just a teenage drama queen, making her own misery while blaming it on everyone else, particularly Luke.
Hallelujah is the book Luke has written. People believe the book is all true because Luke has stated it is all true. I think knowing exactly what was in the book would have been a big help to me. There are small texts at the beginning of each chapter, but it didn't really explain what the book actually is about. Was it a retelling of the Gospels using a teenage boy in place of Jesus? It is alluded to that people think Luke has done all these things that happen in his book, so I'd have liked to know exactly what those things were. Just some kind of synopsis would have helped or at least someone describing what's in it. All I know is that it's funny and sad and there are bits about spending time in a desert and swimming a river. For me, the book and people's connection to it, were the foundation of the story, it's why Luke is on the book tour, so I needed to understand the book a bit more.
There is mention of the kind of parents Luke and Matt have as compared to Alex and Fran's parents, but neither set is described in enough detail for me to understand that. Luke's parents are nicer, I guess. It's said that Fran's parents house is spotless and they are strict. I needed to know more for me to connect Fran's antics.
All told, I enjoyed this one a lot and the only reason I can't give it a five is the ending. I wanted to know what Matt wrote to Alex. Why mention that he has written to her if we don't get to know what it said? That could've been left out if it was going to go nowhere. I thought the minister, Andy, was cowardly, by not supporting Luke in any way. To shove an adolescent out into a frenzied crowd seemed questionable at best.
And finally, I can't give it a five because of the very last page.
(less)

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May 05, 2012 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: families, ncbla2013, romance, faith

When Hallelujah, the book he wrote chronicling his spiritual journey when he was fifteen, starts selling and gaining attention, sixteen-year-old Luke's publisher sends him on a publicity tour. The only catch is that Matt, Luke's older brother, will be responsible for getting him to the book signing venues on time, and Matt has his own agenda involving his girlfriend Alex. Matt rents a Hummer which he navigates along Route 66. The fact that Fran, a girl on whom Luke once had a crush, comes along...more When Hallelujah, the book he wrote chronicling his spiritual journey when he was fifteen, starts selling and gaining attention, sixteen-year-old Luke's publisher sends him on a publicity tour. The only catch is that Matt, Luke's older brother, will be responsible for getting him to the book signing venues on time, and Matt has his own agenda involving his girlfriend Alex. Matt rents a Hummer which he navigates along Route 66. The fact that Fran, a girl on whom Luke once had a crush, comes along adds to the complications. While I loved the descriptions of the book signings during which Luke must field difficult questions and sign until his arm aches as well as the detours on which Matt takes his fellow passengers, I found Fran's explanation for her change in appearance during the previous year to be rather lacking even while her message that the outside of a person often has little to do with his/her inside is one worth noting. It's hard to like Luke as he flounders from one mistake to another, betraying others and disappointing himself as well, but that very fact attests to his realistic portrayal. Luke is, after all, something of a seeker, and if he isn't sure exactly what he believes or how firm that belief may be, at least his intentions are admirable and his seeking is typical of someone his age. Threaded through the storyline is the very real consideration of what exactly an author owes to his/her readers, an issue worth pondering in this time in which authors have written partially fictionalized memoirs. Also, worth noting is the media frenzy that ensues once Luke is found to be less that forthright about his book and some of the events occurring on the trip. Once again, as I read, I considered how quickly the media--or social network, for that matter--can create or destroy someone's image. Although the problems Luke is facing seem resolved rather quickly in the end, this title is thoughtful and encourages readers to reflect on their actions and beliefs. If I've made the book seem serious, it certainly is that, but it's also filled with humor and moments of bonding between siblings and friends. (less)

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Apr 06, 2012 Karen Yingling rated it 2 of 5 stars

Luke Dorsey was writing parables with his young group, and his were so good that the pastor managed to help him get a book published. Now, he is on the road doing book signings at a variety of Christian book stores. His agnostic brother Matt is driving, and is a little too excited about the unlimited expense account (they are in a Hummer but still staying at some dive hotels). Along the way, they pick up Matt's sometimes girlfriend Alex, and her sister Fran, in whom Luke was, although now Fran h...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Brian rated it 5 of 5 stars

Luke Dorsey was just a regular kid, until his book--really just some reflections he wrote at church camp--was published. Suddenly, he's the new Messiah, a modern day savior, the boy who will lead us all to salvation. His publishers love this of course, and send him on an LA to St. Louis book tour to promote his new gospel.

To complicate matters, Luke's older brother, Matt, is driving and seems pretty excited about the publisher's unlimited charge account. Even worse, Luke's ex-best friend, Fran,...more

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Sep 24, 2012 Susan Bearman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: know-author, own

I love John's willingness to explore characters we've never met before. The world of a suddenly-famous devout teenager opens a whole world of interesting possibilities and scenarios. I thought the whole issue of the role of tabloids in celebrity culture and the naiveté of the young protagonist dealing with the world of celebrity made an interesting twist on the coming of age story.

My biggest issue with this story, and one that stands in stark contrast to my experience with John's debut novel (F...more

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Jan 28, 2013 StorySnoops rated it 3 of 5 stars

The book Thou Shalt Not Road Trip is a journey of self-discovery by sixteen-year-old Luke, who has become an overnight sensation as the sort-of-accidental author of a Christian self-help book for teens. Luke begins as a somewhat holier-than-thou character, though he is forced to examine what he really believes in, as compared to the ideas he espouses in the book he wrote only a year earlier. While a change in philosophy over the course of a year may seem abrupt, a year in the life of a teenager...more

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Apr 19, 2012 Becky rated it 3 of 5 stars

I moved through this book pretty quickly. I was compelled to read it by the characters, but I'm not sure in the end I actually liked any of them. I found the situations a bit unrealistic. Who sends a 16 year old with a book in its 5th printing on tour by himself? And seriously, how did this kid turn out as well as he did? It doesn't seem like any of the adults or even his older siblings are looking out for him in any helpful manner. If I had to be friends with someone from this book, it would ha...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Christiana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fic, middle-school, high-school, christian-fic, androgenous, boy-meets-book

So, the good news: Christian fiction for boys that doesn't suck!

The bad news: as a book, this was not my favorite by a long shot.

It looked so promising! Road trip! I love road trips! But the road trip was not enough.

These characters made me want to throttle someone. The big brother Matt is super self-involved and never really has to pay for it in a way that satisfied me. This could be because I wanted him put on a farm in the middle of nowhere to cry about how much he messed up this entire book...more

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Apr 07, 2012 Christina (Ensconced in YA) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Because I loved his first book, Five Flavors of Dumb, I asked the author for an ARC of his new book, Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, and he graciously complied.

This book is about a boy named Luke who writes a best-seller Hallelujah at Bible camp, and because of his growing fame, goes on book tour. He's piloted by his older brother Matt, who just happens to bring his girlfriend, Alex, and her sister, Fran. Luke has a complicated history with Fran, and this trip just magnifies how far they've grown apar...more Because I loved his first book, Five Flavors of Dumb, I asked the author for an ARC of his new book, Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, and he graciously complied.

This book is about a boy named Luke who writes a best-seller Hallelujah at Bible camp, and because of his growing fame, goes on book tour. He's piloted by his older brother Matt, who just happens to bring his girlfriend, Alex, and her sister, Fran. Luke has a complicated history with Fran, and this trip just magnifies how far they've grown apart.

I'll admit I had a love and hate relationship with this book. Antony John's strength lies in developing characters who are real and very flawed. Because of this, they are allowed to grow and change throughout the book. To me, Luke is not a very likeable guy. He's holier-than-thou, whiny, and almost embarrassingly naive. But when I dug into my own soul, I have known teenagers like him. And part of the reason I felt such a strong dislike for him is because I used to be him, once. So I should allow him grow as I have grown. While Luke was not likeable at the beginning, at the end, I could see glimpses of the adult that he might be.

There were other wonderful aspects of this book. Fran was a beautiful character who we learn to love more and more as the story progresses. Another character that I was completely surprised by was Colin, his agent. To me, his conversation near the end with Luke was probably one of the most true and poignant passages in the whole book.

I did have one significant issue with this book. To me, the passages of Luke's book were not that compelling. I couldn't fathom how it became a bestseller. Part of the problem is that the rest of the book is so well written. I feel that dichotomy worked against the story.

Antony John takes a huge risk with this book, which I appreciate. I'm sure he will turn some people off with his host of characters-- a Bible toting teenager who is hailed as the next Messiah may not be everyone's cup of tea. But while I was not as captivated with Road Trip as I was his wonderful Dumb, Road Trip is well worth reading and I encourage everyone to look past its exterior-- after all, isn't that the ultimate message of this story? (less)

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May 24, 2012 Emily M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was way better than i thought it was going to be.To tell you the truth i didn't really know what to expect of this book because the whole road trip thing seemed kind of i don't know....maybe cheesy. But i loved the characters right away. Luke wrote a book and now is pretty much famous for it. So he goes on a tour with his older brother and his girlfriend. But without Luke knowing Fran, Luke's ex-crush is coming along. Luke used to like Fran, but then last summer Fran changed her appear...more

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Jul 01, 2012 Lora rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult-lit

I picked this up expecting a romping good road trip book. That's not what this book is about. Yes, there is a road trip, but it is not fun. It's complicated and torturous for our main character, Luke. This book is more a discussion on faith and growing up, and forgiveness. It would make a really good book discussion group, especially in a Sunday school group.

I think I didn't like this book completely because I just didn't know what I was getting into. I was expecting one thing and got another. N...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Katie Cooper rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-authors-2012, completely-contemp

Even though I own Five Flavors of Dumb, this is the first Antony John book I've read - stupid, I know. I really need to read FFoD. Anyway, this wasn't my favorite. I felt like there were some events that were never fully explained that I thought would be explained over the course of the book, and even though it was about a boy who wrote a Christian book and supposedly had deep faith, there was very little talk of (or to, which I would expect from that kind of boy in the situations he was in) God...more

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Jul 27, 2012 Ellen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing, fairly-odd, i-dont-care-how-good-it-sounds

I did not hate the actual premise of the book, but I did find it to be really cliche. Even with the book tour part. And although it is not poorly written, I thought most of the characters were very unlikeable. For instance, Luke is hugely hypocritical and obnoxious, Matthew is a jerk, Colin cares only about money, Teresa is an airhead, that old guy from page 44 is just very rude, and Luke and Matt's parents live in the Stone Age. Overall, I was really disappointed by this book because I liked th...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Rachael Woohoo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, books-i-own, review-copy, book, reviewed

For more of my reviews, check out my blog @ Moosubi Reviews!

When you look at the cover of Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, what kind of book do you think you'll get? A road trip, just full of fun and wit? At first glance, that was what I thought I would get, along with the "authenticity" I was hoping for. Unfortunately, mostly because of the characters, I found that this novel was lacking of the fun I had with his previous novel that I LOVED, Five Flavors of Dumb.

To an extent, you do get what the blurb...more For more of my reviews, check out my blog @ Moosubi Reviews!

When you look at the cover of Thou Shalt Not Road Trip, what kind of book do you think you'll get? A road trip, just full of fun and wit? At first glance, that was what I thought I would get, along with the "authenticity" I was hoping for. Unfortunately, mostly because of the characters, I found that this novel was lacking of the fun I had with his previous novel that I LOVED, Five Flavors of Dumb.

To an extent, you do get what the blurb promises you. The characters are real enough, and I suppose, there was a "spiritual awakening" in the end. The main problem though was that I could not connect with any character in the book. Honestly, Luke was a whiny and innocently naive narrator, that honestly always annoyed me. I was hoping Fran would be the voice of reason, but she was such a drama queen. Matt and Alex (Matt's girlfriend) were honestly nothing special, but they annoyed me at times, too :/

However, the book was realistic. Putting aside any annoyance I had for the characters, what happened to Luke would happen to any innocent sixteen year old that published a national bestseller. Luke's reaction to fame was especially interesting to see, even though I felt bad for his innocent (yet annoying) self. How it all eventually ended was also a bit painful to read through - but again, realistic enough.

The road trip that I was expecting, based on the cover of the novel and about "loosing up" ended up being a huge disappointment. I've never actually been on a road trip, but if they really are like the constant fighting, screaming, and tears spent over the one fun thing Matt, Alex, and Fran dragged Luke through, I'm not sure if I'd ever want to go through with the experience. Most of the novel was actually spent describing Luke's various author events, arguments with Fran, or awkward hotel scenes. So, I suppose if you're looking for a fun read like FFoD, you'll be disappointed with this one...

On a last note, I suppose this book should probably be classified as "Christian Lit". Personally, I don't have a problem with that, but it does make this book drastically different from Antony John's other works, and may turn a lot of readers away. The author definitely took a risk, but the book would probably be a favorite of Christian literature readers.

Overall, Thou Shalt Not Road Trip wasn't quite the book for me, considering what I was expecting and how I saw the characters. If you're interested in reading this book because of how fun Five Flavors of Dumb was, or that the cover portrays a fun road trip story, this book probably wouldn't be for you either. However, Christian lit fans may enjoy this book!

*Thank you to Book Divas for sending me a copy of this book*(less)

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Jun 10, 2012 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen, teen-books-for-boys

I had the pleasure of meeting the author, Antony John, at a Youth Symposium in Cleveland not too long ago. In anticipation of his talk, I picked up this book from my library. It was a really fast read, good content, well-written, humorous and at times not quite what you want it to be (happy happy!). This was my first real teen read. Much of what I read is childrens novels or chick lit. I could put a synopsis of the novel here in my review, but so many have done that. Its puzzling for a while in...more

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Aug 08, 2012 Kate rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, arcs

I was hoping for so much more from this book. Guess I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into! When I think of a roadtrip book I think Morgan Matson's Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, Nina LaCour's (amazing) The Disenchantments, or Jessi Kirby's In Honor. I love love love all of those books. Roadtrip novels should be about the sights along the way, the main character discovering himself/herself, and a little romance and fun thrown in. Thou Shalt Not Road Trip was disappointing.

One of the main...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Judy (Geeky Reading) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, favorites

~4/5 (Maybe 4.5/5)
I was hoping, even expecting, to really like this, especially because of how much I enjoyed John's second book, but then I was nervous when I found out that it was religious (which I didn't find out until I read another review, since I completely ignored the title. I was just like, Antony John['s new book]? WANT, and pre-ordered). (Which might not be surprising, if you've read this one review of mine...) I'm not too big on religion, so I was wary, and then I was surprised by ho...more ~4/5 (Maybe 4.5/5)
I was hoping, even expecting, to really like this, especially because of how much I enjoyed John's second book, but then I was nervous when I found out that it was religious (which I didn't find out until I read another review, since I completely ignored the title. I was just like, Antony John['s new book]? WANT, and pre-ordered). (Which might not be surprising, if you've read this one review of mine...) I'm not too big on religion, so I was wary, and then I was surprised by how easily I got sucked into the book. Now, after reading it, I'm glad with how much I liked it, and am debating on its rating...
Thou Shalt Not Road Trip is about Luke, a boy who has written and published a book while still in high school, a book that he now, about a year later, feels very disconnected to. The book takes place when Luke goes on the tour for his book, a little over a week, with his brother Matt, his brother's girlfriend Alex, and Luke's old best friend and crush Fran. And during it all, he's kind of trying to find himself and deal with what happened around the time he wrote the book and after it got published.
So, I liked Luke. Mostly. Kind of. Well, he's sweet and I want to give him a hug, but at the same time, he's kind of self-centered and closed-minded and oblivious and I just want to shake him. But he's trying to get over those things, and he's getting better by the end of the book, so I feel that things are looking up for him, and I'm glad. 'cause even when he bothered me, (and probably because of how well-written he was,) I enjoyed being in his head.
We get to know Matt pretty well, and I wasn't a big fan of his. He's kind of a... um, jerk (douche, I feel, is a better word, but I don't like that word, and so am refraining from using it). But maybe he's getting better by the end? He did realize what he did wrong, and was doing some things to make it better, so... maybe, yea?. I don't feel I got to know Alex too well, but maybe she was okay? I did like Fran. I rather liked her a lot, and felt bad for what she was going through and went through and just wanted to be her friend through it all, when everyone else couldn't, and was wondering what she was thinking through all of it.
The road trip was fun. I haven't been to the places he went (at least, that I remember), and so it was fun to experience them with him. And it felt like more time should have gone by, instead of only a little over a week, but each day went by very smoothly; I was a little surprised with how well-done the pace was (which might be because it wasn't a love-at-first-sight story, since they all knew each other previously).
And now the religion part. Luke wrote a religious book, because he's a religious person, and goes to church and all that, but he's still very much a lost teenage boy (not that, ah, he wouldn't be a teenage boy just because he goes to church or anything; I swear, that is not what I am saying. [Maybe that his religion has not taken over his life?] More that, he still has teenage boy thoughts relating to girls; and also, that he gets embarrassed very easily by them, which is very cute and not bad in any way [this was a religious book with some really good romance, which I am very happy about]). And everything he thought about his religion, was very much of his own thoughts, and felt like they had nothing to do with the authors feelings about it all. It wasn't overbearing, and I didn't mind reading the religious parts, at all. Which was nice.
Also I liked the little excerpts of Luke's book, they were nice. And I found it interesting how disconnected he feels from the book, after all the editing and re-thinking, especially since it started as a journal style thing from youth group (or was it that summer camp thing? One of those things, I think?) only written in Bible format. I liked how he felt so different from when he wrote it, and his first interview was a complete blur in his mind, so he was surprised when everyone loved it so much and took it to be completely true and had such big reactions. I liked seeing how surprised he was when people came up to him, and with how many people came to his signings, and how upset they became later. It was really interesting and really well done.
The ending, I'm not so happy with. Mostly because of how things ended with Fran and Luke, but I don't want to spoil it, and so I won't say too much, but I'm not all that happy with it. I was hoping for something more, and while what happened isn't particularly bad, I was hoping for something different. Am a little disappointed, even though I feel that it is good for the characters, and isn't an overall bad thing. But, I guess, I can just imagine that things change later, progress more in the direction I want, or was hoping for? ([Possible Spoiler!] for Fran, to where she is more secure in him, perhaps?)
Aside from that, the book was really interesting and well done, and it kept me (a little surprisingly) interested throughout the whole thing, to where I didn't want to put it down, even as I had other things I wanted (or needed) to focus on, and even while I was trying to savor the experience. It was really good, and I'm really glad, and I'm super excited for his next book to be released (which, you guys, should only be later this year!).
[Taken from my blog: http://geekyreading.blogspot.com/2012... ](less)

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Jun 21, 2012 CiderandRedRot rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: bonus-road-trip, challenge-to-finish, your-love-interest-sucks

Low on the road trip, high on the Christian angst wank, plus a clutch of characters that I either actively disliked or just didn't buy. Having had high hopes after Five Flavors of Dumb, yes, I was disappointed.

Sixteen-year-old Luke has written a humorous parable-lite, which has been picked up by the Christian masses and become an inspirational hit. (Think The Shack, but...actually, let's never mention that piece of shite again.) On a cross-country book tour with his big bro, he discovers that Ma...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Jessi (Reading in the Corner) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-sophomores

After reading Antony John's Five Flavors of Dumb, I was beyond excited to get my hands on a copy of his next YA novel--Thou Shalt Not Road Trip. As a fan of novels about road trips (and let's be honest, a closet fan of standalone contemporaries), I had high expectations for this novel. While I wasn't disappointed per se, I wasn't quite as blown away with awesomeness as I expected to be (you have to understand how much I ADORED Five Flavors of Dumb).

When we first meet Luke, he's on his way to sta...more After reading Antony John's Five Flavors of Dumb, I was beyond excited to get my hands on a copy of his next YA novel--Thou Shalt Not Road Trip. As a fan of novels about road trips (and let's be honest, a closet fan of standalone contemporaries), I had high expectations for this novel. While I wasn't disappointed per se, I wasn't quite as blown away with awesomeness as I expected to be (you have to understand how much I ADORED Five Flavors of Dumb).

When we first meet Luke, he's on his way to start his book tour with his brother behind the wheel and things don't exactly go right from the start. His brother rents an outrageous vehicle, spends money on just about everything you could imagine, and makes Luke late to his very first signing. That's not the end of their adventure--no, no, it's just the beginning. The whirlwind trip of driving and Q & A's and signings and awkward moments with his former best friend are anything but ordinary.

Luke is one of those characters that I, unfortunately, didn't connect with right away. I'm not sure what it was about his personality that failed to really capture my attention. I think I felt like he was trying too hard to be this person that he's really...not (which, also, maybe that's the point, since this truly is a journey of self-discovery in the end). Fran, however, caught my attention from the moment that I met her and I really wanted to get into her head and know what was going on in her life. Luke had obviously turned his back on her, and I wanted to know what had really gone down. Why had she changed? What was Luke, in his teenage boy oblivion, missing out on?!

The road trip aspect of the story worked perfectly. Along the way, each character has a journey to take, even Matt and his girlfriend, Alex (also, Fran's older sister). Luke has moments where you feel like he's almost there, but he's clearly not ready to get with the program. When things really started to head downhill, I was a bit upset for him because as he tried to make things right and figure out what he was really doing, I felt like I finally started to connect with him.

Overally, Antony John's writing is really superb. The snippets of Luke's book that he shares are humorous and convey a sense of this thing that Luke has supposedly written and who the person Luke is trying to continue to be. (view spoiler)(less)

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Apr 04, 2012 Inspired Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Antony John just offered to send a signed ARC to a reader of my blog! Enter here: http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot....

It's been five months since I read an ARC of Thou Shalt Not. I didn't write a review at the time which is not the smartest thing to have done. However after six months I still remember the story line and characters from this book which is saying something.

Antony John's last book, Five Flavors of Dumb, was a big hit with me so I was excited to have a chance to read an early AR...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Jessica rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012

I'm a sucker for a road trip book so when I saw the cover for this one, I knew I had to read it. I think that due to the fact that I was strongly focused on the cover, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with this book. The summary doesn't tell us a lot so I didn't know how focused it would be on spirituality.

Luke Dorsey is sort of an overnight success. He is very young but is already super famous among book lovers. He has difficulty dealing with this success and is mostly amazed at the way peo...more I'm a sucker for a road trip book so when I saw the cover for this one, I knew I had to read it. I think that due to the fact that I was strongly focused on the cover, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect with this book. The summary doesn't tell us a lot so I didn't know how focused it would be on spirituality.

Luke Dorsey is sort of an overnight success. He is very young but is already super famous among book lovers. He has difficulty dealing with this success and is mostly amazed at the way people treat him. Due to his popularity, he is sent on a book tour to promote his story.

Matt, Luke's brother, is supposed to act as his transportation from one signing to another. It's easy to see from the beginning that these brothers are not similar. Matt is a bit irresponsible and not at all prepared for a trip. He is more than willing to use funds from the publisher to take care of whatever is needed for the trip and even with that, they have several missteps along the way.

Soon, they are not only dealing wtih the stresses of travel, but bringing Matt's girlfriend and her sister (who just happens to be Luke's ex-girlfriend) Fran. This creates a bit of drama, but at the same time they learn a lot about themselves and each other.

Luke was a funny character. His writings were hilarious as well. There was just something about him that I liked immediately. He seemed like a typical, awkward young boy. He was funny without meaning to be sometimes just because of how he reacted to his brothers antics. It was a nice touch for this book.

I don't typically read a lot of books with religious topics. Not because I don't like them, but mainly because they can get preachy or, boring..to be honest. This book wasn't at all boring. Antony John's writing really kept the story flowing nicely. But, this book does have a lot of religious talk and internal dialogue. This may be something that most people enjoy, but it brought the book down a bit for me.

Recommended: Road trip fans looking for something funny with a religious meaning. (less)

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Feb 26, 2012 Andie Z rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-release, 2012-ya-contemporary-challenge, arc-tour, road-trips-and-travel, arc, read-2012, reviewed, male-narrator

Originally posted on my blog, From A to Z.

I’m not really sure exactly how to review this one. I actually went back and forth about whether I should even write a review or not, but I decided to at least put some thoughts down.

It’s not that this was a bad book, by any means. It’s just that it wasn’t really for me, mainly because the story has much more of a Christian slant than I had realized. There were hints in the title and the blurb, but since I hadn’t seen it marketed as Christian fiction any...more

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About Antony John

Antony John was born in England and raised on a balanced diet of fish and chips, obscure British comedies, and ABBA's Greatest Hits. In a fit of teenage rebellion, he decided to pursue a career in classical music, culminating in a BA from Oxford University and a PhD from Duke University. Along the way, he worked as an ice cream seller on a freezing English beach, a tour guide in the Netherlands, a...more

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“It's so much easier to let people down than to stay strong.” — 9 people liked it

“Luke, some truly idiotic people have said some truly inspired things. Are we supposed to ignore their words because they couldn't live up to them?” — 2 people liked it

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