While this is a YA novel, the characters appeal to many demographic sectors. Any parent of a teenager will likely see familiar scenarios played out between Scotty and Charley in this book. Samson’s presentation of the plot and characters through a combination of Scotty’s blog, personal journaling and internal dialogue mixed with a narrative from the viewpoint of a non-participant is a fresh approach to storytelling that draws the reader into a teens world of technology, self discovery, uncertainty, and feeling like a misfit quite effectively.
The characters other than Scotty don’t say much and the majority of what we see, hear and learn is through Scotty’s observations and reflections. Her being a teenager will likely appeal to other teens as they can see Scotty as someone that understands them even though her life is quite out of the ordinary. Teenagers seem to have a mentality of constantly looking for where they belong in this world and needing something to ground themselves on which Scotty’s life on the road would only magnify.
This is a fun, almost goofy at times story but well written and actually presents some deeper themes if you stop to dig beyond the entertaining stories and anecdotes.