Review: Don't Stop Now - Julie Halpern

Name: Don't Stop Now

Author: Julie Halpern

General Release Date: 7th June 2011

Date I finished it: 31st August 2011

Type: Harback

From: On loan from a friend

My Rating: 3/5 stars

I had not even heard about Don't Stop Now until it was offered up for loan on the UK Swap Shop Group on Goodreads. I read the blurb and it sounded pretty good, so I signed up to borrow the book.

Don't Stop Now follows the story of Lillian who has just graduated from high school and is looking forward to a fun summer of freedom before she goes off to college.

After receiving a 3am voice mail from her sort of friend Penny Lillian has realised what's happened. Penny has faked her own kidnapping!

Lil and her best friend Josh decide to go on a road trip to try and find Penny and bring her home.

Along the way the two stop at some quirky tourist sites and make the most out of their last summer together before they both head their separate ways.

I only rated this book three stars. I did enjoy it, but to me it was more of a quick, light hearted, summer read.

I liked Lil as a character and think she had some great potential if the story looked a bit more in depth at her life. Of course I am classing this as a summer read, so maybe more information would have made the book a bit too much and a bit too heavy for a beach read.

I liked the story of the road trip, and learning about all the places the two characters stopped at along the way and the people they met. Since I'm not American, and have never been to America it was nice for me to see places I probably won't ever visit though the character's eyes.

Even though the whole story came about because they were looking for Penny. I really did not like Penny. 

In almost every chapter there was a page about Penny from her point of view, even though it was just a small glimpse at her life I came to really dislike her. I can understand why she did what she did in the book, but really there was better ways to go around getting the same outcome without faking her own kidnapping.

Overall it was a nice, funny and light read which made a refreshing change from some of my more recent books.