Wish You Were Here

by Catherine Clark

The next morning we meet at the world headquarters of Leisure-Lee Tours. Which is a sentence I never thought I'd write. Ariel Flack never thought she'd write a postcard saying "Wish you were here," especially to Dylan, the boy she's had a crush on forever and is finally (sort of) dating. She also didn't know she'd be sending that postcard from the family vacation from hell—a two-week geriatric bus tour with her crazy mom, annoying sister, embarrassing uncle, and frighteningly energetic grandparents. As South Dakota rolls by at five miles an hour, Ariel begins to learn that sometimes life is just too complicated to fit on a postcard. Sometimes your parents let you down (and sometimes they don't). Sometimes you meet an unexpected fellow traveler. And sometimes you just have to go where the road takes you—even if the tour bus won't.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Road Trip, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Young Adult Contemporary, Realistic Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 2008

About the author

I love reading books for children, young adults, new adults and all the old people after that.

I love writing for pretty much the same audiences.

Reviews

[Nicole]

Ariel said, “ There was a sudden moment when I thought we would be together” (Ariel). Dylan had moved to a small hometown but the reason why is horrible. When he moved, he went to school where his true love was. Ariel was in love with him the first time she saw him! But, he was popular at the time. Then being popular started to fade away. So he went to college and had a girlfriend. Ariel! But Ariel was still in high school and went on a camping trip. The plot was a little difficult to understand but when you read more, it gets bigger and better.

[Natalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate to be harsh, but this was just...not good. The main character was kind of a brat (she picked fights with everyone and had so much attitude), the love interest was just weird (who spends their vacation reading a vocab book?) and the plot didn’t really go anywhere (there was no resolution to any of the conflicts, except I guess the uncle got over his weird squirrel phobia, whatever that was about). It felt like the book was trying too hard to be funny. And what was with all the made-up words? Everyone in the family used weird words like “fantasterrific” or “twelvulnerable” and I didn’t know what they were talking about half the time. The “almost boyfriend” (whatever that means) was such a tool. I didn’t get what the main character saw in him.

1.5 stars

[Morgan Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually met Catherine Clark in Minneapolis through a girl scout event. I had never heard of the book before but when I met her i received "Wish You Were Here" got it signed and was really excited to start reading it. The main character is Ariel, she has to go on a vacation with her family, including her mom, her annoying sister, grandparents and her crazy uncle. When Ariel imagined the summer it did not include a boring vacation with her family, she just wanted to hang out with her boyfriend Dylan and her cat. Not only is she going on a boring vacation touring the Nevadas with senior citizens, her mom is also very against technology being used on family vacations. Not only is she away from her boyfriend Dylan, she needs to be creative when trying to communicate,while she is on vacation and he is at camp, she is afraid their relationship will not last because of the long distance. I think this is a good book for any teenager because they will be able to relate to almost all of it, at least i know i did.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those stories that is alternately touching and funny. It never gets serious enough to bog down, and never quite wacky enough to be unbelievable.
The main character belongs to a family which has broken down. The father gambled away all their money and some that he probably embezzled. The mother, a therapist who has been writing books about solving family problems, has failed miserably at solving her own family's problems. Ariel, 16, and Zena, 12, have been tormented ever since their father's problems became public. Their mother's solution: road trip, aboard the strangest tour bus in the history of tourism.
The book will appeal mostly to teen girls, but anyone who works with teens or with troubled adults may enjoy it. Teen and adult characters all learn something during this odd trip, and the author handled them well.

[D. Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this book is cute and fun. The conflict was wrapped up a little too quickly for my taste. I just think there could have been more time spent on an explanation regarding Ariel's decisions at the end.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good, little slow at part, but a nice, quick, enjoyable read.

[Amélie · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very boring story... so negative too

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars.
This was cute and funny-a nice palate cleanser from my previous paranormal reads. Loved the family relationships and how the romance didn’t take center stage.

[Tarryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally read in 2008!

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

What do you get when you combine a bus load of senior citizens, a couple of teens, a mailman with a fear of squirrels, and a stowaway Chihuahua? Pick up a copy of WISH YOU WERE HERE, and you'll find out.

Ariel Flack, not named after the little mermaid, is about to embark on the adventure of her life. Her mother recently divorced her gambling-addict husband and has decided a road trip is just what they need. However, Ariel and her younger sister are shocked to learn that their dear mother has not been completely truthful. Instead of traveling by car, they are joining their grandparents and their eccentric uncle on a week-long bus tour.

The prospect of spending even a short time in the company of a bus load of senior citizens being escorted by a wacky husband and wife tour guide team has Ariel ready to lace up her favorite running shoes and head for the hills. She had to leave behind her new boyfriend and her beloved cat for this! Fortunately, the seating arrangements place her next to another frustrated teen named Andre who was also tricked into the tour by his controlling mother.

Together Ariel and Andre find ways to endure the agony of the Leisure-Lee bus tour company's idea of a good time - endless listening to the soundtrack of Oklahoma, visiting scenic wonders like the one of the world's largest ball of knitting yarn, and eating buffalo burgers in the Badlands. At times the two seriously consider ditching the tour and heading off on their own, but in the end, they both discover more than they bargained for on this crazy adventure.

I've always been a fan of Catherine Clark's work, and I'm happy to say, I think WISH YOU WERE HERE is her best yet. There are wonderful characters, great humor, and heart-warming family moments that make this a delightful read.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ariel Flack’s “no comment” response to Fox News when the reporters bombard her with questions about her father’s gambling addiction and losing everyone’s money all around, brings Ariel’s school year down the drain. Now that her parents are divorced, her father broke and claiming to be have stopped going to casinos, the Flack family are taking a two week long surprise bus tour—or so the tour guides say. Not too pleased about spending the summer away from her semi-boyfriend Dylan, she sends him postcards and vows to meet him in Wyoming where he works as a camp counselor, even if she has to pack her bags and run away with Andre—the only sane tour buddy—at the crack of dawn.

Catherine Clark has really improved since her Main Squeeze days with this book. It’s witty, charming, humorous, and by far, this is my favorite of her’s.

The postcard format is very inspiring. Really. The quotes—famous sayings, catch phrases, and slogans—are very catchy, and they almost make me want to run outside and spin the postcard rack to find a witty card that I can write lame stuff on. And it’s really fitting for the story, since Ariel is on a road trip, so she’s visiting all sorts of places. As a girl who’s never gone further than Pennsylvania and hasn’t brought a postcard since (possibly) eight years ago, the urge to follow the trend sounds almost silly. I’m “in the moment”, I guess, which will pass in a couple of hours when I move on to my next book.

Even though this novel is finished, I still can’t help but smile remembering it. Ariel’s wit and humor will probably stay with me for quite a while, especially while I try to remember some of her famous lines. Let me try to find a few of those laugh-out-loud moments. Ah, here’s one: “She’s always saying this about my mother, which probably isn’t that cool a quality in a mother-in-law. Or an ex-mother-in-law, which I guess would be a mother outlaw” (Clark 16). Hahahah. Okay. I’m too lazy to look for other stuff.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish You Were Here, is an amazing book for young teenage girls, full of adventure,romance and overall hilarious. The author Catherine Clark has done a phenomenal job one Wish You Were Here. This suspenseful yet at times can be a cliché book, was one book I could not stop reading.
Ariel, a young teenage girl goes on a bus tour to the West with her family, along with some senior citizens. She meets a boy on the tour who is the same age as herself. Ariel gets stuck on the bus with everybody, which leads to romance, humor and one crazy adventure.
In the book Wish You Were Here, the three strongest points in my opinion were; characters, plot and the writing style. In my opinion, the characters were very well developed. Ariel is a very down to earth character. Ariel's younger sister Zena is four years younger than Ariel. She is very humors and tries to be the center of attention. Zena flirts with a guy but is not very successful. Many of the characters reminded me of my family at times. I was also quite fond of the plot. The book at times was suspenseful yet cliché. When Ariel met this boy on her road trip it was very suspenseful when they would be together. In the start of the book though it was a little cliché to me, when she was with her boyfriend. Catherine Clark's writing style made me not want to put it down. She used very expressive words through out her book.
Romance, comedy and adventure are my favorite topics. The book “Wish You Were Here” had all three of my wishes. Catherine Clark is a wonderful author and I look forward to reading more of her books. I would give “Wish You Were Here” a 4.5, only because the book sometimes was cliché.

[Cassie Pettit · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the summer Ariel the main character gets stuck on a road trip with her mother and her annoying little sister. Ariel would rather be home with her boyfriend and her cat. but it turned out that it wasn't just them going on a road trip together it was them plus their uncle grandparents and more old people that were going to leisure lee on a bus. Ariel notices that there is one other teen on the bus and his name is Andre and they become really close during the trip and Dylan her boyfriend is not even returning her emails he also is hinting at she can date someone else so Ariel don’t know if he is cheating on her so she don't know what to do. Ariel's father recently came back after just leaving the family so he comes back in the picture and she don't know what to do there if she should talk to him, trust him and even believe what he has to say to her.
I would recommend it to someone who thinks their parents/ family is lame so they understand that some things can be fun and even if it sounds corny just go with it you don’t know if it will be fun or who you will meet on the way there or there at the place you're going to you can make memories on the way there and make new friends, they may also get it because maybe they don’t know who their dad is or maybe they just left and came back so it might help with what they can say to them or if they are still hurt by them leaving they can just ignore them. I would also recommend it to teenagers because it is a boyfriend girlfriend book teenagers because they are in relationships right now in their life and they get what is going on between Dylan and Ariel.

[Allison Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book "Wish You Were Here" by Catherine Clark. I found that the entire story kept my attention and I always looked forward to reading another part of the book. I wish that this was a series of books because I am sad that I finished reading it.

Ariel is a high school student whose parents are divorced and she keeps saying she really likes her boyfriend, Dylan. Though her boyfriend is at camp all summer and her mom is making her go on a road trip with her family on a bus. She is not going to see her boyfriend at all this summer. On the bus she meets a cute new boy, and at the same time she is sending many postcards to Dylan. During boy drama, she was facing family issues about her mom, dad and little sister. There are so many surprises in this story that make you not want to put this book down.

I would recommend this book to readers who love to read and hear about a girl facing her feelings on a bus.

[Marina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun (and zany) story of Ariel Flack (not named after the mermaid) and her family taking a bus tour of the Dakotas and west from Leisure-Lee Tours. This somewhat spontaneous, mostly lame (according to Ariel), vacation comes after finding out her father has a serious gambling problem--so serious he embezzeled from the company he worked for and caused her parents to divorce. Her mother's edict of no ipod, no cell phone, no e-mail, only us, only makes it worse for Ariel because the one bright spot in her disasterous life is Dylan--the boy who saved her from major embarrassment at the prom. Without any electronic communication Ariel resorts to scouring all the tourist stops for postcards to send to Dylan, her best friend Sarah and her cat Gloves. The antics of the tour guides, other tourists and Ariel's family members make for an interesting vacation and an amusing read.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

For summer vacation, Ariel need to spend it with her recently-divorced mom and her sister, Zena, in a bus tour with a bunch of senior citizens. Ariel didn't want to, because it meant that she won't be able to see her sort-of boyfriend, Dylan. However, even if she stayed, Dylan would still not be around, because he's going to camp. How can they keep a steady relationship if there's no way to contact each other?

This book took me a really long time to finish, because it's not very interesting. I didn't like any of the characters. They all had an uncaring personality towards each other, which shows that they fit to be a family, but also annoyed me.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Ariel’s parents divorce because of her dad’s gambling problems, her mother decides they need a trip. Little did Ariel know that the trip would involve being on a bus tour of North and South Dakota with lots of senior citizens. I know it sounds kind of hokey and I started reading it with a little trepidation but snappy dialogue and lots of laugh out loud situations made this book a fun read. I really enjoyed it.

[Caitie · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is such a good book! it's funny, cool, and you fall in love with the characters even if they are annoying! it is a realistic book on life and you can feel and understand the hardships Ariel and her friends face. it is a good book for teens and keeps you reading late into the night. in my top 10.

[Annabelle Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Book was very intresting i read it all the time but i was sad when i finished it. It had me on the edge of my chair it was amazing, i pitcured everything that was going on in the story on like a movie screen! I wish they had more. But i cant wait to get more books from Catherine Clark she is an amazing Author :)

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious fluffy chick-lit road-trip adventure. ariel's mom forces her to come on bus tour with grandparents and uncle in aftermath of scandal/divorce. silly escapades and a bit of romance ensue. fun.

[*~BrOaDwAy~* · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!! I love how she uses postcards. And the cute guy she sits with on the bus :) and how he describes everything in threes. This book is fantasterrific! (Uncle Jeff, the guy that has a phobia of squirrels ;)) Also, I feel sorry for her because of what her dad did.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really cute! I liked that the summer before I read this, my family and I went to some of the places in the book. I really like Andre and Ariel together! A really cute pre-summer/ summer read!

[Rachel]

Released March 25, 2008

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly plotted and poorly drawn characters. I couldn't understand the characters' motivations or believe their relationships.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read, but not as good as her other book, The Alison Rules. I enjoyed many of the characters especially Uncle Jeff and his squirrel-phobia.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a good, and funny story about a girl who goes on a trip with her mom, seperating her from here boyfriend.

[Eilee Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good lazing around the pool book

[phebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, its really funny.

[Eryn]

Had to return to the library. Oh well. There's always a next time right?

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story dragged a little the main redeeming quality that made the book likable was Ariel. She was hilarious but her and Andre together made for some amusing parts.