road trip young adult books

20 YA Travel Books For The Adventurer In You

I’ve recently been on a bit of a young adult reading kick, which is why, over the past week, I’ve accumulated a giant stack of YA travel books. I love young adult travelogues. They’re an escape through unique, (often) breathtaking and dramatic storytelling. And I feel a different experience when I step into each journey.

Right now, my TBR is piled with young adult travel romance novels and coming-of-age adventures and heartwarming tales from the road. And this year, I’m dedicated to reading as many YA travel books as I can.

2020 Update: I finished most of the ya travel books on this list! And my favorite turned out to be a reader recommended addition: Wanderlove . Thanks Amanda!

So without further ado, here are 20 YA travel books for the adventurer in you. 

P.S. Please support your local independent bookstore or library if you can!

Quick Note: The affiliate links below are powered by Bookshop (not sponsored but I do get a small commission), an online bookstore that financially supports independent bookshops around the US and gives back to the indie book community. They’ve raised over four million dollars for independent bookstores thus far. And if you decide to buy a physical copy of any of the YA travel books below, you’ll be giving back to an indie bookstore as well (they’re very transparent and disclose exactly how much you’ll be giving back before purchase). I found this service whilst looking for alternatives to Amazon (since my local indie bookshop is closed right now) and I absolutely love it.

Table of Contents

Love & Luck

I first read Jenna Evan Welch’s novel, Love & Gelato , while on a road trip to San Antonio (not exactly Venice, but definitely the closest you’ll get in Texas). Welch uses simple, evocative writing to build up a feel-good romance. Love & Luck , her second novel, follows a brother and sister’s mayhem-filled tour through Ireland . I love how Welch mixed in snippets of a laugh-out-loud guidebook , Ireland For The Heartbroken (seriously, can I get a copy of this?), into Addie’s story. I’m only about three chapters into Love & Luck, right now, but the warm, bubbly feelings have already emerged. And let’s just say, I’m drowning in (shamrock-shaped) charm.  Update: I finished reading Love & Luck and I’m happy to report, this is now one of my all-time favorite YA travel novels. I enjoyed it even more than Love & Gelato.

I’ve been avoiding Wanderlost for so long, but I’ve finally decided enough is enough. I’m reading this book this month. I originally picked the novel up after seeing it pop up all over YouTube as one of the top YA travel books. Then, I let it sit on my e-shelf and collect the equivalent of electronic dust. Jen Malone weaves the tale of Aubree Sadler, a young Ohio girl pretending to be her sister on a bus tour to Europe . A seemingly cliche love story, Wanderlost gives me serious Monte Carlo ( do you remember the 2011 chick flick starring Katie Cassidy, Leighton Meester, and Selena Gomez? ) vibes.

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour

Don’t judge a book by its title. Too late. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour sounds like a classic swoon-worthy road trip romance. I fell in love with the small details thrown into this novel. More than words, Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour is told in part through receipts, postcards, and playlists ( which I’ll be compiling on Spotify at some poin t). Morgan Matson narrates a cross-country road trip with two ( almost ) strangers. But despite the lighthearted storyline, there is an underlying note of grief that Amy is realistically grappling with throughout the trip. I’ve heard the novel is a bit of a tear-jerker ( luckily, I’m all stocked up on tissues and vats of ice cream ). 

Let’s Get Lost

I actually read Let’s Get Lost when it was first released in 2014 ( which I completely forgot about until I poked through the first chapter last week ). Part-novel and part-anthology. Adi Alsaid sows together five separate threads with the needle of Laila . While Alsaid’s writing is beautifully crafted, I wish the characters were a little more rounded and the connection between the different stories was a little less loose. But if you’re looking for a breezy YA travel book , Let’s Get Lost is the perfect coming-of-age story to kick off your adventures.

I See London, I See France

I See London, I See France paints a cartoonish sketch of a young girl’s adventures through Europe . I vaguely remember reading Sarah Mlynowski’s previous novel, Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn’t Have), and absolutely loving it. Mlynowski masters the balance between presenting overtly comical situations and moral acceptance . While her writing falls more on the abrupt side, her expert storytelling swayed me into picking up one of her travel YA books. Update: This is now my lowest rated book on Goodreads. It reads like a middle-grade novel but is plagued with adult concepts. The writing is forced. The characters are fueled by lust (which oddly enough is their defining character trait). The lead (and her best friend) are extremely disrespectful travelers and their bad decisions are glorified. I wish I didn’t chug through this and I’m not sure why I read until the end. The plot just got worse and worse.

13 Little Blue Envelopes

I’m currently halfway through this book and oh my goodness, I think I’m in love. I just want to take a plane and make a break for Europe right now. 13 Little Blue Envelopes follows Ginny Blackstone, a young girl backpacking through Europe based on letters sent by her eccentric aunt. Here’s the catch: her aunt is dead. I love how Maureen Johnson gives us hints of Aunt Peg’s personality, makes us fall in love with her wild, I-don’t-care nature, without Aunt Peg ever making a physical appearance. One of the must-read YA travel books, 13 Little Blue Envelopes will immediately send you to all the places you dream about.   Update: Yes. Yes. Yes. I think I love everything by Maureen Johnson.

Girl At Sea

I was so in love with 13 Little Blue Envelopes that I went ahead and picked up another Maureen Johnson novel, Girl At Sea . I know, I know, I should read one book at a time. This one takes place in a boat in Italy – which, according to the back cover, the main character gripes about. How could you be irritated by being on a boat in Italy? I don’t understand. I’d love to be in Italy….eating gelato ( gelato sounds so good right now ). Anyway, Maureen Johnson is fantastic at capturing teen angst and drama and I’m sure this book will be ship-shape and sea-worthy.

9 Days & 9 Nights

9 Days and 9 Nights caught me by the cover first. I fall so hard for books that have polaroid-esque collages on the front. Then, I read the description and it said: “ for fans of Jenny Han .” I stopped there. If you don’t know, I absolutely love Jenny Han’s writing style (I was so stoked for the Netflix adaptation of To All The Boys I Ever Loved and for once, a book to movie adaptation delivered ). And while I usually hate “ exes meeting in chance in an exotic location and feelings come rushing back ” novels, I’m hoping to give 9 Days and 9 Nights a chance ( hopefully, it lives up to the hype ).

Love & Other Train Wrecks

Love and Other Train Wrecks starts off with an Amtrak ride from Virginia to New York. Since I’ve actually been on that journey ( once upon a time ), I wanted to reminisce a little with this novel. In the story, Noah and Ammy, polar opposites, are coincidentally in the same Amtrak car . Cue events that throw them together – a crazy snowstorm and a broken-down Amtrak car. I love situations like this where the main characters are forced to interact with each other . Instead of a game of lust, I’m hoping for open and honest conversations that spill details about each lead’s past.

The Distance From A to Z

The Distance from A to Z ( this is an Amazon affiliate link as it’s only available on the Kindle. You can find out more about affiliate links here ) is a quick contemporary romance. Epic Reads brings a breezy story (b y debut author Natalie Blitt ) about a young girl hoping to get away from it all and learn French . If you’re in love with France, this is one of the best YA travel books to read. The protagonist (Abby) describes her Francophilia in a truly wholesome and meaningful and relatable way.

More than travel infused, The Distance from A to Z is wanderlust infused. Abby falls slowly and so hard for Zeke ( a boy who is everything she despises in life ). There’s teetering chemistry and a side character who I’m 100% obsessed with (love Alice).

There You’ll Find Me

The premise of There You’ll Find Me is unlike any other YA novel I’ve ever seen. Finley Sinclair isn’t a damsel in distress. She knows what she wants in life and where she is going. Career driven, creative, Finley only loses her spark when she hears about the death of her older brother . Then, Finley journeys to Ireland, following her brother’s travel log. This is where her brother felt closest to God and where Finley tries to seek what he found. Jenny Jones weaves a beautiful tale around one single question – how do you forgive God?

Meant To Be

I get so sappy over hate to love romance novels ( this is what happens after you read Pride and Prejudice two hundred times ). I picked up Meant To Be because I felt so many classic YA travel book elements pouring through the pages – comedy, history, an exotic setting . While I find Julia’s character to be pretentious, stuck-up, judgemental, and flat-out annoying ( right now ), I’m hoping that Lauren Morrill is playing the “travel opens your eyes” angle in this novel.

Anna And The French Kiss

I’m rereading all of Stephanie Perkins novels right now. I just reread Lola and the Boy Next Door ( my favorite book by her ) and now, I’m picking up all the France feels with Anna and The French Kiss. While the title sounds like a lusty, hormonal driven, steamy romance, Anna And The French Kiss is anything but that. Cute as a button, the characters, Anna and Etienne, are so incredibly lovable ( Update: I reread this book and just now realized how disconcerting Anna and Etienne’s relationship is. Their relationship depicts a very weird lesson: actual cheating on your partner isn’t okay, but thinking about it is. That idea is wrong on so many levels. I no longer stand by this book ). And Stephanie Perkins elegantly sweeps you through the famous French attractions. Seriously, every time I read this novel, I imagine that I’m on a whirlwind tour of Paris (this much is still true. I’ll admit to that ).

Airports, Exes, And Other Things I’m Over

The title of this book is so sassy and angry, I know I’m going to love the female lead in this novel. A comedy of errors, Airports, Exes, and Other Things I’m Over is one of the top YA travel books I’m looking forward to reading the most this month. I can totally imagine Sari sitting in the airport with a “stank face” ( the immortal words of Kelly Clarkson – I can’t imagine The Voice without her ), fed up with the crazy situation she’s somehow straddled in .  

Up To This Pointe

Up To This Pointe is all about romance, science, and dance, a unique combination in an even more unique setting – Antarctica . While most YA travel books discuss hopping around Europe and summer flings during an all-American road trip, Jennifer Longo uses the harsh extreme of Antarctica as the backdrop of her story about a young girl, who thought she found herself, trying to find herself. There’s something about the plot that resonated with me and I can’t wait to dig beneath the iceberg and discover the full depths of this novel.

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue

Set in the 1700s, A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue is about one young man’s hilarious romp through Europe. A cute LGBTQIAP+ travel romance , the novel is deftly written. Despite Monty wanting nothing more than a hedonistic European escapade, he somehow ends up in the mess of an 18th-century manhunt . A story about finding true love over the course of harrowing events, A Gentleman’s Guide To Vice And Virtue pushes the limits of the term morality.  P.S. This is one of our January 2020 travel book club picks!

Girl Off The Grid

Girl Off The Grid ( this is an Amazon affiliate link as it’s a self-published book. You can find out more about how and why we use affiliate links here ) is the story of a city girl meeting a wild world . The tale follows fashion blogger, Camille Caldwell, who is offered a press trip to Costa Rica. She’s imagining Pina Coladas and cute beach-side photoshoots. But when she’s paired with wildlife photographer, Adam Lloyd, she realizes the trip is a “little more off the grid.” As a blogger, I’m hoping Camille is fun and relatable ( AKA she doesn’t fall into the category of shallow and high maintenance – this is such a common blogger stereotype that I’m sick of seeing ). Side note: the author, Kenzie Hart, has pledged to donate 10% of the book proceeds to a sea turtle conservation and research group.

18 Hours To Us

So I’ll admit, I picked up this book thinking it was a yoga beach romance. Uh, no. And I’m really glad it isn’t. 18 Hours To Us is about two classmates who miss a field trip bus and are forced to drive together from Michigan to Virginia Beach . The book slowly reveals little details about each character – their back story, their talents, and their secrets. I love how there isn’t any information dumping in this title and all the pieces slowly fall into place. I haven’t gotten too deep into the book but I’m absolutely in love with what I’ve read so far.

See You In The Cosmos

I knew I wanted to read this book when I found out the main character has a dog named Carl Sagan . A complex and well-connected web, See You In The Cosmos is about a nerdy boy who sets out on a trip, recording on his iPod what Earth looks like ( so other life forms can hopefully see it one day ). While the novel shifts beautifully between landscapes from Colorado to California , at heart, See You In The Cosmos is a journey about rediscovering family.

Mosquitoland

The captivating art style of Mosquitoland drew me to the book ( yes, I judge books by their covers ). The story of a girl who climbs aboard a Greyhound bus and journeys to find her sick mom, Mosquitoland isn’t all roses. Through thorny relationships, Mimi Malone is forced to untangle her prickly life, confront her inner demons, and search for hope along a thousand-mile journey . The novel deals with heavy subjects ( I know, I was trying to aim for more light-hearted books this month ) but the writing ( on the first page alone ) is so evocative and beautiful, I can’t wait to finish the novel.

P.S. If you love reading, feel free to join the Eden Travel Book Club ( shameless plug) . We read one YA travel book together every month!

Did you enjoy this post on YA travel books? Have you read any YA travel books that I should add to my TBR? What books are you reading this month? Let me know in the comments below!

Editor-In-Chief

Anshula grew up with a love of stories and places. Thirty-five states and 100 bookstores later, she's made her hobbit home in Middle Tennessee. Her Tookish side still takes over and leaves her chasing window seats, literary destinations, adventure books, sunrise coffee, and indie bookshops. She's appeared as a travel source on HuffPost, Reader's Digest, and MSN.

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16 comments.

Wow that’s a lot of books, you’ve been busy and had time on your hands. I do envy that you have had the opportunity to read so many books. I used to read all the time but more horrors and thrillers myself. It’s nice to be able to relax and read every so often.

Yes, it is nice to sit down and read! xx – Anshula

You should read “Wanderlove” by Jen Malone and “wanderlost” by Kirsten Hubbard. These are my FAVORITE travel books, they make my heart happy.

Wow! I love reading books! can’t wait to check all of these! Thank you for sharing!

Have fun, dear! Hope you enjoy them! xx – Anshula

Wow nice. Thats a lot of books to choose to but maybe one day i will buy one of them. Maybe the Let’s Get Lost 🙂 🙂 🙂

Let’s Get Lost is really good (and the writing is just….beautiful) xx – Anshula

This is a great list! My daughter would love these books.

Thanks, Cyndi! xx – Anshula

I definitly need to get back into reading so these should help me out! Thanks for the post!

I was in a reading slump for the longest time so I just went all out to get out of it! xx – Anshula

These sound like so much fun! I always love to find new reads 🙂

Me too! xx – Anshula

I am a bookworm but I always go for the crime mystery and romance ones. I’ve never read a travel book but I like some of your suggestions.

Thanks, love! Most of these are travel romance so they should be right up your alley! xx – Anshula

As a reading specialist, I’m always on the lookout for good YA books for my charges. This has a few I’d love to share with them

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10 Awesome YA Books About Road Trips To Feed Your Wanderlust

June 9, 2021

Hi everyone! Hello June! Summer is finally here!! After a crapppy May (I’ve never seen this much rain and grey sky at this time of the year… it was DEPRESSING as hell), the sun has finally decided to come out and I couldn’t be more pumped!

I’m back on the blog today to talk about traveling, open roads, suitcases and adventures! After the year and a half we had, I think we deserve to escape for a little bit! While waiting for travel to be a little safer, why don’t we escape in books?! I promise that all those ya books with road trips will fill you up with all the wanderlust vibes and get you inspired for your next adventure. Sunglasses on, map in hand, let’s go explore!

This blog post contains affiliate links. If you buy something on my recommendation, I will receive a small commission. Purchasing via these links will not cost you any extra and will help me cover the costs of book blogging. You will find more info on my  privacy policy  and  disclaimer  pages. Thank you!

Top 10 YA Books With Road Trips

Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, Morgan Matson

The actual perfect summer road trip story filled with emotions ! Amy is moving across the country as her mother needs her to get their car from California to Connecticut. There’s just one small problem: since her father died, Amy hasn’t been able to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger, the nineteen-year-old son of an old family friend, who turns out to be unexpectedly cute…

Add to Goodreads ☂️ Buy on: Book Depository – Bookshop – Blackwell’s

I Wanna Be Where You Are, Kristina Forest

When Chloe’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe’s mom if she leaves him behind!   Enemies to lovers + road trip + soft summer vibes = such a wholesome and lighthearted read!

13 Little Blue Enveloppes, Maureen Johnson

If you’ve ever wanted to travel to Europe, this book is for you! When Ginny receives the first blue envelope from her Aunt Peg in the mail, it sends her on an exciting adventure around Europe. The instructions are specific; no cell phones, no maps, and Ginny can only open one envelope at a time, after she’s completed each task in the previous letter. A cute and light read!

Wanderlost, Jen Malone

Aubree is perfectly fine staying in boring Ohio for the summer. But when her sister gets in trouble she’s forced into taking over Elizabeth’s summer job, leading a group of senior citizens on a bus tour through Europe. Aubree doesn’t even make it to the first stop before their perfect plan unravels… Travelling, a cute boy and a sister relationship , this book has everything I love!

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, Ann Brashares

Four very different friends come upon a well-worn pair of soft jeans that fit them all perfectly and decide to circulate the pants amongst themselves throughout their summer vacation. A powerful story about friendship who will take you all around the globe : Greece, Mexico, South Carolina… A classic and favorite of mine!

An Abundance of Katherines, John Green

When it comes to relationships, Colin’s type happens to be girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. On a road trip miles from home with ten thousand dollars in his pocket and his best friend riding shotgun, Colin is on a mission to avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. A lovely journey with quirky characters and fun dialogues!

Time of Our Lives, Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Fitz and Juniper cross paths on their first college tour in Boston. They’re at odds from the moment they meet. While Juniper’s dying to start a new life away for her family, Fitz faces the sacrifices he must make for his. Their relationship sparks a deep connection and soon they glimpse alternate possibilities regarding the first big decision of their adult lives. A thought-provoking YA romance about home and away!

Let’s Get Lost, Adi Alsaid

A fast-paced read, dealing with profound themes yet with lots of humor, about  how travelling really helps you discover who you are, what you want and what matters the most.  It’s about four teens across the country who have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

Just Visiting, Dahlia Adler

Reagan and Victoria, polar-opposite best friends, set off on a series of college visits. But they quickly see that the future doesn’t look quite like they expected. A great contemporary read, dealing with important themes of growing up, taking off for college and leaving the life you’ve always known behind. It is genuine, hard-hitting, emotional and yet fun to read, too!

Starry Eyes, Jenn Bennett

Ever since last year’s homecoming dance, best friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have made an art of avoiding each other. But when a group camping trip goes south, Zorie and Lennon find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Alone. Together. I adored the characters and the journey they went on. And the setting!! I was absolutely captivated by the scenery!

☂️ You might also enjoy: 26 Summer-Themed YA Books To Read This Summer

📌 Pin 10 awesome YA books about road trips to feed your wanderlust on Pinterest!

What did you think of my list? Read any of them?

Are you also really into road trip stories? Do you have any amazing books I should absolutely get my hands on?

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Keep on reading! You might also enjoy:

June 9, 2021 at 4:39 pm

I remember loving Amy & Roger! I’ll have to check out the rest!

Genesis @ Whispering Chapters

June 9, 2021 at 6:38 pm

Oh yes, one of my favorites for sure 😍 Yaay, I hope you’ll enjoy them 😁

June 9, 2021 at 4:47 pm

I might have read only one or two books on road trip. I might try some of these. Great list!

June 9, 2021 at 6:37 pm

Thank you! I hope you’ll enjoy them 😊 Thanks for stopping by 😘😘

June 9, 2021 at 7:27 pm

I Wanna Be Where You Are made my favorites list!! It was so good!

June 12, 2021 at 6:24 pm

Totally agree! I loved it 😍

June 9, 2021 at 7:29 pm

A great selection! Thank you.

Thank you, I’m so glad you liked it 😁😁

June 9, 2021 at 7:58 pm

I read all but one of these (and I am hoping to read that one at some point). Amy and Roger is a favorite of mine, as is An Abundance of Katherines. Heck, who am I kidding! I loved them all. Wanderlost was great, because we were abroad for that one, same with the Blue Envelope books. Great list!

June 12, 2021 at 6:31 pm

Haha, totally agree with you…they ARE all awesome haha 😁😁 Thank you so much for stopping by, happy reading 😘

June 9, 2021 at 11:55 pm

I love this! I’m heading on a 7-hour road trip next week so this is perfect timing. I definitely want to add I Wanna Be Where You Are to my list, anything enemies-to-lover is the book for me!

June 12, 2021 at 6:30 pm

Thank you! ☺️ Aww awesome!! Well…you’re going to love it 😁😁

June 10, 2021 at 3:57 am

The two that I have read (Wanderlost and Starry Eyes) are two favorites, so yeah, I am going to need to check out the rest of these! I know I own a few of them, but I am such a complete sucker for a road trip book, so thanks for all the recommendations!

June 12, 2021 at 6:29 pm

Yaaaay, I hope you’ll love them all 😁😁 Thanks for stopping by 😘

June 10, 2021 at 11:51 am

I haven’t read any of those, but when thinking about wandering i can’t help but remembering all the bright places. Sure they only travelled inside their state but still! Such a wonderful book! Anyway, i’ll be checking the ones you recommended they seem very interesting ❤

June 12, 2021 at 6:28 pm

Oh yeees! I haven’t thought of that one but yeah definitely! 😊 Thank you, I hope you’ll enjoy them 😁

June 10, 2021 at 3:15 pm

I love An Abundance of Katherines! An underrated John Green imo.

June 12, 2021 at 6:23 pm

Yees, totally!! Thanks for stopping by 😘😘

June 10, 2021 at 6:40 pm

I am having MAJOR wanderlust since COVID, sigh. I definitely need to check out some of these road trip books, because I love road trips. Top of the list is definitely Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour, because I’ve owned it for so long now and have yet to read it! Great list! <3

June 12, 2021 at 6:27 pm

Ugh same here 😔😔 You definitely should read it, it’s really really good 😍 Thank you so much for stopping by, happy reading! 😘

June 11, 2021 at 11:15 am

I’m usually not a summer person, but I’m in need of some sunshine & good weather! ☀ I plan on reading Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour this summer, as it seems like the perfect summer contemporary 😊

June 12, 2021 at 6:25 pm

I’m TOTALLY a summer person, haha! 😊 Yaaaay, you’re going to love it 😁😁 Thank you so much for stopping by 😘

June 12, 2021 at 9:08 am

Ooh I love road trip reads! I really want to read some more this summer.

June 12, 2021 at 6:22 pm

Yaaay, me too 🤗🤗 Awesome, hope my little list helped 😊 Thanks for stopping by 😘

June 25, 2021 at 5:33 pm

There’s something super summery about a road trip read, right? We’re finally going on a road-trip vacation later this summer, and I’m so excited to get back into the world!

June 26, 2021 at 9:07 am

Yes, totally! That’s awesome!! I hope you’ll have a lot of fun 😘😘

[…] Nyx @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books shares YA road trip books to feed your wanderlust […]

[…] Most Anticipated YA Books For The Second Half of 2021 & 10 Awesome YA Books About Road Trips To Feed Your Wanderlust & Review: Last Chance Books, Kelsey Rodkey (Marie & Nyx @ […]

[…] also talked about traveling a little bit, with my sister’s excellent recommendations on ya books with road trips. On my side, I shared some books I’m anticipating for the end of 2021, with soooooo many […]

[…] 10 Awesome YA Books About Road Trips To Feed Your Wanderlust […]

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We’re Marie (she/her) and Nyx (she/her), two sisters screaming about books at each other and now with you, too. We love books, traveling and we’re both marshmallows, basically. Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a look around and let’s chat!

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Let's all acknowledge that road trips are synonymous with summer. The idea of hopping in the car and seeing where the road takes you, discovering the sights and sound of towns you've never been to along the way, is paired in our collective consciousness with bright blue skies and summer heat. And when it comes to road trips in books , they have been used to start the characters off on a journey that calls for even more than jus fun in the sun; dealing with loss, friendship repair, burgeoning love, or even just the end of high school... all of these have been dealt with through the prism of a cross-country drive.

If you're lucky, you might just be taking an epic road trip yourself this season. And if you are, you're definitely going to need to add a nice stack of books to your other car essentials...so why not make them road trip books, too? All of the 11 YA books below center on a road trip, but all explore other themes, too. From Amy and Roger's trip tinged with loss and regret (and a whole lot of fun, too, don't worry) to Vivian Apple's post-apocalyptic ride, there's a road trip book for every kind of reader. After all, there's no better time for feeling all the road trip feels than when you're actually on one.

'Mosquitoland' by David Arnold

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland. So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

Click here to buy.

'Amy And Roger's Epic Detour' by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip ... and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar, especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory, but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

'Let's Get Lost' by Adi Alsaid

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth — sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

'Vivian Apple At The End Of The World' by Katie Coyle

Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple never believed in the evangelical Church of America, unlike her recently devout parents. But when Vivian returns home the night after the supposed "Rapture," all that’s left of her parents are two holes in the roof. Suddenly, she doesn't know who or what to believe. With her best friend Harp and a mysterious ally, Peter, Vivian embarks on a desperate cross-country road trip through a paranoid and panic-stricken America to find answers. Because at the end of the world, Vivan Apple isn't looking for a savior. She's looking for the truth.

'Just Visiting' by Dahlia Adler

One thing the polar-opposite best friends Reagan Forrester and Victoria Reyes agree on is that wherever they go, they’re staying together. But when they set off on a series of college visits, they quickly see that the future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude after her ex-boyfriend broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, pre-med prospective… only to learn she’s set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria runs full-speed toward all the things she thinks she wants… only to realize everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they’ve sworn to leave.

'Someone Else's Summer' by Rachel Bateman

Anna's always idolized her older sister, Storm. So when Storm dies in a tragic car accident on the night of her high school graduation, Anna is completely lost and her family is torn apart. That is, until she finds Storm's summer bucket list and decides to honor her sister by having the best summer ever — which includes taking an epic road trip to the coast from her sleepy Iowa town. Setting out to do everything on Storm's list along with her sister's best friend Cameron — the boy next door — Storm's dream summer may eventually lead to Anna's own self-discovery.

'You Are Here' by Jennifer E. Smith

Emma Healy has grown used to being the only ordinary one in her rather extraordinary family. But when she finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she realizes why she never felt quite whole. She sets off on a trip to visit her brother's grave. Peter Finnegan, her neighbor, comes along for the ride. Emma thinks they can't possibly have anything in common, but with each passing mile, they find themselves learning more and more about themselves and each other.

'Other Breakable Things' by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood

Luc Argent has always been intimately acquainted with death. After a car crash got him a second chance at life — via someone else’s transplanted heart — he tried to embrace it. He truly did. But he always knew death could be right around the corner again. And now it is. Sick of hospitals and tired of transplants, Luc is ready to let his failing heart give out, ready to give up. A road trip to Oregon—where death with dignity is legal — is his answer. But along for the ride is his best friend, Evelyn. And she’s not giving up so easily.

'Open Road Summer' by Emery Lord

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind... and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own. Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence.

'Reunited' by Hilary Weisman Graham

Alice, Summer, and Tiernan used to be best friends...and the self-proclaimed biggest fans of the band Level3. But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Now, four years later, they’ve just graduated from high school. When Level3 announces a one-time reunion show in Texas, Alice impulsively buys tickets and invites her two former friends along for the trip. Reluctant at first, both girls agree to go, each with her own ulterior motive. But old resentments and other roadblocks — from unintended detours to lost concert tickets — keep getting in the girls’ way.

'The Disenchantments' by Nina LaCour

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe . But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans, and Colby, to start college in the fall. But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

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Book List: Road Trips in Young Adult Fiction

Road trips in young adult fiction.

I do love a good road trip. Wind in your hair, volume turned up loud and either a journey in mind or mindless wandering. From the sunshine-filled and delightful to the soul-searching (or maybe even one long crime spree, as in Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry), this little list of YA road trip novels will have something for all readers.

Hello Girls is an epic road trip novel slash crime novel slash ode to friendship slash feminist piece de resistance. With razor-sharp wit and punchy action, this book swings from hilarious to what the hell to hell yeah and back again.  Read full review.

The Geography of Lost Things is a fun road trip novel about learning to forgive and starting over. Jessica Brody weaves together a compelling story of second-chance romance and father-daughter relationships, family financial difficulties and learning to see again the value in little things.  Read full review.

Achingly poignant and beautifully written, A Heart in a Body in the World is a book that everyone, man, woman and teen, must read. It’s a road trip – but one where the character runs the entire journey. Read full review.

Autonomous is an examination of the true nature of humanity, where buried secrets are laid bare and the harsh truths of reality are posed against the speculation of how technology might evolve and how it might reflect those truths. When William wins a state-of-the-art car in a competition, he plans to take his three best friends on an epic road trip. Read full review.

When Lexi’s brother Charlie suggests a road trip to locate missing pop star, Adrian Wildes, Lexi is shocked. Charlie hasn’t moved from the couch since he broke up with his girlfriend and dropped out of college. So despite Lexi’s scepticism, despite the hurt she has been feeling, she agrees. Along for the ride (and actually providing the means of transport for this road trip) is their neighbour, Zack. As Lexi, Charlie, and Zack hunt for the elusive pop star, they begin to work through the emotions, hurt, and actions of the past year.  Read full review.

Changes is Latitudes is a road trip novel set at sea. A story about big changes, facing the difficulties life throws up, family – whether it is broken or healing – and maybe even a chance at love.  Read full review.

I enjoyed this book of road trips and love finally realised, summer lists, larger-than-life big sisters, shared memories, shared grief, and unanswered questions. Someone Else’s Summer was refreshing and fun. Read full review.

Heart and humour so aptly describes this book. But it also packs a powerful punch. Have tissues on hand, but also be prepared to smile, giggle and full on belly laugh as Cloudy and Kyle work their way through grief, confusing feelings, and from the mountains, by the sea and on to the desert. All the best books are about road trips, and what an epic one this is, starting with awkward, tense silences, a touch of unrequited love, heartache and a kitten and winding up somewhere near moving forward, laughs, love and life, with a whole lot of hope and even a wedding thrown in for good measure. Read full review.

After breaking up with her bad-news boyfriend, Reagan O’Neill is ready to leave her rebellious ways behind. . . and her best friend, country superstar Lilah Montgomery, is nursing a broken heart of her own.

Fortunately, Lilah’s 24-city tour is about to kick off, offering a perfect opportunity for a girls-only summer of break-up ballads and healing hearts. But when Matt Finch joins the tour as its opening act, his boy-next-door charm proves difficult for Reagan to resist, despite her vow to live a drama-free existence.

From the outside Annabel seems to have the perfect life, even if her best friend hates her. But it’s not until she meets Owen that she begins to learn that not only is she lying to those around her, but to herself as well. Owen teaches Annabel the beauty of true friendship, music, being honest with yourself and that it is ok to admit things aren’t going so well, so long as you know your options. 

KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??

MAX: It started with Kylie’s laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada….

Another sea-trip. Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now.

After receiving her brother’s last letter from Iraq, she and his best friend head off across the country to fulfil his last request of telling singer Kyra Kelly that he loved her.

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it’s Amy’s responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn’t ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip – and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar – especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory – but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

What YA road trip novels do you love? Leave the titles in the comments below.

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22 Best Road Trip Books To Spark Adventure

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Travel around the world with the best road trip books. These fiction and nonfiction books about road trips are sure to inspire your next adventure.

If you love jumping into the car, hopping on a road bike, and revving your motorcycle’s engine to see the world, this reading list is for you.

Drive or ride across the United States, Brazil, Iran, and Scotland on journeys of self-discovery. Meet unique and life-changing people.

Maybe you’ll find a new lease on life and answer some pressing questions. Or, maybe you’ll be left with even more reflections that are bigger than us.

Plus, uncover the best books about road trips with themes of finding love, reuniting families, and examining capitalism and corruption.

Many of these road trip novels will make you laugh aloud. Others will invoke nostalgia — Are we there yet?! — or make you hungry for the most mouthwatering croissant in town.

So, what are the best books about road trips to inspire and spark your own traveling adventure?

While ‘best’ is subjective, these are the top classic, LGBTQ+, fiction, memoirs, travelogues, and nonfiction road trip books that we and our contributing writers recommend.

We promise: these road trip books are sure to motivate and leave you craving the wide-open road, jaw-dropping mountain ranges, and laughs with best friends.

We’d love to know your favorite road trip book in the comments. Let’s get started!

Hitting the road soon? Don’t miss the best books to listen to while driving .

Grab the best road trip novels and memoirs here:

• Audible Plus : From Amazon, listen to Amazon Originals, podcasts, and audiobooks. They add new titles every week.
• Book of the Month : Get the month’s hottest new and upcoming titles from Book of the Month. You might snag an early release or debut author. Along with selecting a book a month, find terrific add-ons, both trendy and lesser-known titles.
• Amazon Prime Video – Stream thousands of ad-free movies and TV series on demand with Prime Video.
• Express VPN – Using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allows you to view movies worldwide – and they help keep your information safe. Our writers couldn’t have such diverse film reviews without using a VPN.

Table of Contents

22 Best Road Trip Books

By Tori Curran with additions from Christine

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

What has since become an American classic and pillar of beatnik culture, On the Road was one of the first adventure books about road trips and searching for meaning on the open road.

In fact, it’s one of the most iconic books to come from the 1950s .

Inspired by Kerouac’s own cross-country road trips with Neal Cassidy, this classic chronicles the adventures of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, along with their free-spiritedness and naïveté.

Follow their quest for revelation from Manhattan, to Denver, Texas, Mexico, and beyond.

Set against the backdrop of drugs, jazz, and poetry, On the Road represents the American dream, home, and the quest for true freedom and experience.

On the Road is a great road trip novel for those wishing to read across America . Read On the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary

Dylan and Addie fell in love four years ago in Provence, where Dylan was staying with his friend Cherry and Addie was working as a caretaker. Though their relationship ended two years ago, they haven’t spoken.

On the day before Cherry’s wedding, Dylan and Addie’s paths literally crash. Dylan wrecks his car by slamming right into the back of Addie’s.

Along with Dylan’s best friend, Addie’s sister, and a random guy they met on Facebook who needed a ride to the wedding, they set off to Scotland in a mini cooper for the wedding.

O’Leary seamlessly marries the awkwardness of the ex-lovers forced to spend time together trope with deeper themes of depression, heartbreak, and forgiveness.

Alternating between Dylan and Addie’s perspectives, and the past and present, each will be forced to come to terms with the choices that ended their relationship, and if it is truly what they wanted.

A summer 2021 book release, if you are looking for newer road trip novels, O’Leary’s The Road Trip will deliver. Read The Road Trip : Amazon | Goodreads

Mariam Sharma Hits the Road by Sheba Karim

Follow three Pakistani-American teenagers, each with their own burdens, across the country on a healing and transformative road trip.

Mariam, who recently ghosted her boyfriend, and Umar, struggling with being queer and religious, concoct a plan to rescue Ghaz. She is being punished by her parents for appearing in a billboard underwear ad.

What better escape plan than a road trip down to New Orleans?

With other friendship-centered road trip books being full of humor and antics, Karim doesn’t shy away from handling issues like anti-Muslim rhetoric, confederate propaganda, racist and anti-gay commentary, and parental shame that many experience across the US.

In fact, the author reminds us all that, quite often, the family you create is just as important as the one you were given. Read Mariam Sharma Hits the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

The Wangs vs. the World by Jade Chang

The Wangs vs. the World is a humorous and heartwarming riches to rags trope and one of the road trip novels perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians .

Successful immigrant businessman Charles Wang loses his entire cosmetics empire amidst a financial crisis.

Forced to pull two of his children from boarding school and college he can’t afford, they set off from Bel-Air in their only car not repossessed.

Along with their materialistic stepmother, the family heads for upstate New York where the eldest daughter lives on a farm retreat.

Chang ponders on what it means to belong in capitalist America, especially as an immigrant, and begs the question: is money really what makes us successful?

Travel from California to New York with these reading lists . Read The Wangs vs. the World : Amazon | Goodreads

Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

Get ready for an upcoming contemporary YA road trip novel from popular teen author, Kasie West, set to publish at the end of May 2022 .

It’s been years since Norah has seen her childhood best friend Skyler. Their childhood friendship has since been reduced to liking one another’s social media posts.

Eager to reconnect with Skyler, Norah is excited about the RV trip the families have planned together. But when she sees Skyler, it seems like he’d rather be anywhere else.

What’s left of the friendship heads south.

A summer on the open road, however, marks the potential for new beginnings. Can their friendship blossom into something more, or should they close the chapter on one another forever? Read Places We’ve Never Been : Amazon | Goodreads

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Departing from the other humorous and quirky road trip novels, Lost Children Archive is a visceral story of a family road trip that collides with the immigration crisis at the southwest border.

A mother, father, and their two children set out from New York, where they were working on a documentary project, to Apacheria, Arizona, where the Apaches once called home.

A palpable rift between the parents grows clear, while the family road trips to music, plays games, and hears news of migrant children being detained at the border over the radio.

Both crises eventually intersect in a story of justice, equality, and humanity. Read Lost Children Archive : Amazon | Goodreads

Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer

Popular YA author Joan Bauer takes readers on an open road adventure, as we discover the rules of the road, and of life.

Jenna Boller is an awkward 16-year-old employee at Gladstone Shoe Store.

To Jenna’s surprise, she is enlisted by company president, Madeline Gladstone, to drive her across the country to stop Elden Gladstone from seizing his mother’s company.

While we expect Madeline to impart her life lessons on Jenna and on the reader, Jenna’s character, who openly begins to share about life with her alcoholic father, delivers her share of wisdom, as well.

Rules of the Road is one of the older award-winning and award-nominated road trip books on this reading list. Read Rules of the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon

For more best road trip books set abroad, head to Brazil in a heartfelt, coming-of-age queer love story.

Cora and Julia reunite after a falling out for a road trip through Brazil, but as the trip progresses, the rifts in their friendship become palpable again.

In what is hailed as one of the finest explorations of love, Bensimon beautifully illustrates identity, love, and how they are sometimes one and the same.

At the end of the road trip, the women must decide what their future together holds, or if it involves one another at all. Read We All Loved Cowboys : Amazon | Goodreads

Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck

A 1960s travelogue and one of the classic modern books about road trips, Travels with Charley shares Steinbeck’s own road trip across America with his dog, Charley.

Compelled to see the country he writes about one more time, Steinbeck sets out from Long Island and embarks on a 10,000-mile road trip across the Northeast, Northwest, and finally down to California and across Texas.

Steinbeck shares not only the beauty of our country and the peace along our highways but also about the American way – both good and bad.

From racial hostility to loneliness and the kindness of strangers, he discovers that while so much has changed in America over the years, much still has not. Read Travels with Charley : Amazon | Goodreads

Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad

A New York Times Bestseller and one of the most poignant road trip books, Between Two Kingdoms highlights what it means to not just survive but to live.

After graduating college, Suleika Jaouad is living in Paris, on the brink of becoming a war correspondent.

A few weeks before her twenty-second birthday, though, she learns she has leukemia and only a one in three chance of surviving the diagnosis.

For four years, she undergoes chemo, transplants, and clinical trials, chronicling her fight from her hospital bed in a popular New York Times column, Life, Interrupted.

Walking out of the hospital, a survivor, Jaouad discovers she has no idea how to live and be part of the world again. How can she make up for lost time?

Along with her terrier mutt, Jaouad heads out on a 100-day transformative cross-country road trip to meet the strangers and fellow cancer patients who had written her in the hospital.

While she can never reclaim her old life, she learns quite a bit about what lies between the kingdoms of sick and well. Read Between Two Kingdoms : Amazon | Goodreads

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway by Heidi Eliason

At the age of 45, Heidi Eliason makes a complete 180, determined to do what so many of us only dream of – get off the hamster wheel, quit her 9-5 job, and live life on her own terms.

Feeling depressed, lost, and suffocated by a life without joy, she sells her home, buys an RV, and sets out on a quest for self-discovery.

Not without a few bumps in the road, Eliason learns how to maintain her new motorhome, meets a new community of people, and encounters magnificent wildlife and nature.

In freeing herself from the chains, she discovers true freedom. Honest and self-aware, Eliason’s memoir is one of the best, but lesser-known, road trip books for anyone considering an alternative lifestyle. Read Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway : Amazon | Goodreads

Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon

The true American experience lies in each of us, even those who get lost on the map.

With so many travel memoirs focusing on National Parks, cross country highways, and epic adventures to see a nation before it’s too late, Blue Highways takes a different approach.

William Least Heat-Moon, with a need to put his past behind him and a desire to discover the lost towns that fill the gaps on a map, heads down the nation’s backroads.

From Remote, Oregon, to New Freedom, Pennsylvania, and more, he discovers incredible people and their experiences along the way, giving new meaning to forgotten, blue-collar America. Read Blue Highways : Amazon | Goodreads

Into the Wild by John Krakauer

In September 1992, Christopher McCandless’s lifeless body was found in an abandoned bus along the Stampede Trail in Alaska.

A few months prior, he had sold his belongings, shed his legal name, and hitchhiked his way into the Alaskan wilderness as “Alexander Supertramp.”

A few years later, Krakauer recounts McCandless’s steps, recalling his own experiences in the wilderness and those of others lost in the wild.

Sharing parts of McCandless’s own journal, Krakauer presents the heartbreaking true story of someone who simply wanted to discover enlightenment and self-solitude in nature.

While some controversy surrounds not only the book, and whether it’s entirely true, but the cause of death, Into the Wild still serves as one of the best road trip books of all time.

We can all appreciate McCandless’s desire to lead a life of appreciation, rather than materialism.

If you enjoy hiking books , Into The Wild is also for you – and you may wish to watch the movie .

Explore even more essential books from the 90s . Read Into the Wild : Amazon | Goodreads

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

Popular and humorous author of A Walk in the Woods , Bryson first took his adventures to the road.

Wishing to reclaim his youth, Bill Bryson leaves his hometown and sets out on an adventure across 38 states. While some places he adores, some he simply tolerates.

He discovers a nation cloaked in greed, riddled with pollution, and lost in its television sets.

With the humor and wit we’ve grown to love and expect from Bryson, discover a cynical portrayal of small-town America. Bryson is nothing if not honest. Read The Lost Continent : Amazon | Goodreads

American Nomads by Richard Grant

One of the most fascinating books about road trips in America, American Nomads infuses the fifteen years author Richard Grant spent traveling across the US with a history of the nomadic life in America.

Grant, intrigued by what lies beyond the horizon, spent more than a decade traversing the United States, never spending more than three weeks in one place.

He meets truckers, nomads, retirees living in their RVs, cowboys, and others, infusing his travelogue with their comedic and very real stories of life on the open road.

In contrast to the typical American dream, he chronicles the history of the “wanderer” from frontiersmen to the tradesmen of newly discovered America.

Beautifully narrated, Grant reminds us all that there is freedom in exploration. Read American Nomads : Amazon | Goodreads

If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question by Ty Sassaman

If you could ask everyone you met just one question, what question would you ask?

Ty Sassaman sets out across America asking that very question to strangers he meets along the way, hoping for a revelation about his own life.

From east coast to west coast, readers follow Sassaman’s cross country road trip and the wisdom he picks up from Americans along the way.

While his memoir is very much personal, it is clear that Sassaman is invested in the experiences, fears, and joys of everyone he meets.

The answers, from celebrities to strangers, will leave us all a bit more enlightened.

If You Could Ask Everyone … is one of these rare books about road trips that raises more questions than answers. Read If You Could Ask Everyone You Met Just One Question : Amazon | Goodreads

One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake

If you’re looking for more unique and alternative road trip books, One More Croissant for the Road will take you across France, via bicycle, in search of the country’s best culinary delicacies.

Cloake cycles 3,500 kilometers across France, trying various classic dishes – from bourguignon to quiche Lorraine – and, of course, looking for the best croissant.

As a self-proclaimed foodie and professional food writer, her quirky and alternative cross-country trip will make you feel nothing if not hungry!

Anyone looking for a good laugh and that feel-good je ne sais quoi of a trip of a lifetime will adore Cloake’s journey across France. Explore even more books set in France . Read One More Croissant for the Road : Amazon | Goodreads

Don’t Make Me Pull Over by Richard Ratay

Have you even taken a family road trip if you didn’t hear yourself utter the dreaded words, “Don’t make me pull over? “This family travel writer has certainly heard the words fly out a couple of times.

Don’t Make Me Pull Over walks readers through the history of the dreaded but lovable family road trip.

From seatbelt-less cars to roadside attractions and paper maps, Ratay and readers relive the nostalgia of the family road trip.

Amidst cheap air travel and distracting technological gadgets, Ratay reminds us that convenience isn’t always what makes the best family memories – and a family road trip might just be what you need to reconnect.

For parents, this might be one of the most relatable books about road trips on this reading list. Read Don’t Make Me Pull Over : Amazon | Goodreads

The Art of Free Travel by Patrick Jones and Meg Ulman

If you’re looking for more road trip books set outside of North America, travel across Australia on a 6,000-kilometer cycling journey with the authors, two kids, and their Jack Russel Terrier.

Craving adventure, the happy Victoria-based family decides to embark on an epic road trip across their country’s east coast.

In keeping with their already established lifestyle, their main goal is simple: road trip sustainably.

Cycling, foraging, and bartering their way through Australia, Jones and Ulman poetically document how their desire to live a life consuming less, influences their travels.

Anyone intrigued by road trips and nomadic life for sustainability purposes will enjoy their unique angle. Explore more books set in and about Australia . Read The Art of Free Travel : Amazon | Goodreads

Going the Wrong Way by Chris Donaldson

Going the Wrong Way is the autobiographical story of a young man who flees Belfast in the 1970s on his motorcycle.

Hoping to make it to Australia, he documents the places, unique cultures, and landscapes he experiences along the way. 

Donaldson, however, doesn’t escape trouble entirely. He finds himself in very dangerous parts of the Middle East and Africa, gets extremely sick, and often finds himself mentally exhausted.

Still, he presses on, often due to the kindness of strangers, many of whom are living in poverty themselves.

Donaldson’s epic, and almost impossible, road trip will leave anyone accustomed to traveling with some sort of convenience, direction, and safety in awe.

For road trip books for young and new adults, Going the Wrong Way is engaging and humorous. Read Going the Wrong Way : Amazon | Goodreads

Revolutionary Ride by Lois Pryce

While many of the best books about road trips boast of self-discovery, Revolutionary Ride beautifully shares a different discovery: one of country and culture.

In 2011, at the height of the British-Iranian conflict, travel writer Lois Pryce discovers a note left outside the Iranian embassy in London.  … I wish that you will visit Iran so you will see for yourself about my country.

Against the judgment of others, Pryce embarks on a 3,000-mile journey from Tabriz to Shiraz, meeting the people of Iran, from housewives to drug addicts.

Revolutionary Ride is an eye-opening journey into the heart of a country and misunderstood group of people who, despite extreme Islamic rule, live a life full of appreciation. Read Revolutionary Ride : Amazon | Goodreads

More road trip novels from Christine

Off the Map by Trish Doller

TWs for aging and parental death (not a spoiler)

One of the newer 2023 road trip books that made us cry , if you are looking for romance, Off the Map will not disappoint.

Plus, who can resist a jaunt around the Irish countryside with a hunky date? Just know that this can be read as a standalone in a series.

Carla Black is heading to her best friend’s wedding, meeting up with the best man to take her there. However, Eamon is not what she is expecting, and they immediately hit it off.

We watch as Carla falls for Eamon along their road trip detours – including a tipsy bull, off-roading, and even surfing – but has to unlearn a few of the arbitrary rules engrained in her mind from childhood.

Not to mention that her dad is suffering from dementia, and Eamon’s family has always put immense pressure on his success – and their definition of it.

Find a story of overcoming loss, standing up for yourself, and lots of steamy lovemaking along the way.

Trish Doller is becoming an “always read” author for us with her themes of travel, living an authentic and honest life, and relationships – romantic and family.

You’ll champion Carla’s direct and fiery spirit along with her lessons learned along the way.

Discover even more books featuring Ireland .

Read Off the Map : Amazon | Goodreads

Save These Road Trip Novels & Memoirs For Later

Grab your favorite road trip books here:

Thank you to TUL contributor, Tori Curran from Explore With Tori

Tori (pronouns: she/her) is a children’s librarian and mom to two boys living in New York. She’s an avid traveler, nature enthusiast, and writer, encouraging families to get outside and start exploring the world. When she’s not hiking or traveling, you can find her lost in a historical fiction book, watching Bravo reruns, or obsessively decluttering her home.

What are the best books about road trips in America and around the globe that you love?

What is your favorite road trip novel and memoir? Let us know in the comments.

You May Also Love:

Books Across America Hiking Books Famous Travel Writers Books Featuring Train Travel Books Around Wine Country Hotel-Themed Books Best Movies Featuring Road Trips

These books about road trips are a part of our 2022 Uncorked Reading Challenge .

Tori Curran

Tori, I just happened upon your post during a Google search. Thank you so much for recommending my book, Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway! I’m thrilled to be among such esteemed company. What a great website–I’m following!

We are so glad! Thanks, Heidi! ~ Christine

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16 Books About Road Trips

There is a more recent version of this post with only middle grade titles . Read it here .

Who loves road trips? Road trips always feel like an adventure to me. Now, what books about road trips? I didn’t even realize how much I enjoy this genre until I read these books about road trips. While these books evoke the feeling of a good ol’ road trip, some of them are tearjerkers, others romance, and still others comedy, and even non-fiction.

I’ve also included adult and children’s fiction, so look out for my middle-grade and YA picks! As always, my recommendations include books I’ve read and some still on my TBR, but you can be sure that these books about road trips will leave you yearning for adventure.

Books About Road Trips

The remarkable journey of coyote sunrise.

This book is incredible. With one of the most remarkable (no pun intended) protagonists I’ve read in a while, TRJOCS handles dying, grief, and family excellently. It’s one of those books that brings your heart joy even while it’s breaking it. Plus, the road trip is in a mobile home (a big, yellow school bus) that picks up a few unique passengers along the way!

Related : The 15 Books I Read in January

The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle

Introverted Bicycle has lived most of her life at the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C. When her guardian, Sister Wanda, announces that Bicycle is going to attend a camp where she will learn to make friends, Bicycle says no way and sets off on her bike for San Francisco to meet her idol, a famous cyclist, certain he will be her first true friend. Who knew that a ghost would haunt her handlebars and that she would have to contend with bike-hating dogs, a bike-loving horse, bike-crushing pigs, and a mysterious lady dressed in black. Over the uphills and downhills of her journey, Bicycle discovers that friends are not such a bad thing to have after all, and that a dozen cookies really can solve most problems.

You Are Here

Emma Healy has grown used to being the only ordinary one in her rather extraordinary family. But when she finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she realizes why she never felt quite whole. She sets off on a trip to visit her brother’s grave. Peter Finnegan, her neighbor, comes along for the ride. Emma thinks they can’t possibly have anything in common, but with each passing mile, they find themselves learning more and more about themselves and each other.

The Wangs vs. the World

Charles Wang, a brash, lovable businessman who built a cosmetics empire and made a fortune, has just lost everything in the financial crisis. So he rounds up two of his children from schools that he can no longer afford and packs them into the only car that wasn’t repossessed. Together with their wealth-addicted stepmother, Barbra, they head on a cross-country journey from their foreclosed Bel-Air home to the Upstate New York retreat of the eldest Wang daughter, Saina.

Related : Family Trust by Kathy Wang

Field Notes on Love

The YA novel follows two teens, Mae and Hugo who end up traveling by train from NYC to San Francisco. When Hugo’s girlfriend, Margaret Campbell breaks up with him after booking the trip (hotels and all) in her name alone, he posts an ad to find another Margaret Campbell so he can still take the trip.

A few things I loved about this book: – Hugo is half-Black and British – Hugo is also one of sextuplets (all of whom are fairly well-developed characters 👍🏾) – Mae is a filmmaker – The book is well-written and so incredibly vivid! – Alfie ❤️ (you’ll understand when you read).

Overall, a nuanced romance (totally appropriate for high schoolers) centered around family, finding oneself, and of course the wonder of a good travel adventure! 10/10 would recommend adding this to your list of great books about road trips!

Related : The 16 Books I Read in March

I Wanna Be Where You Are

When Chloe Pierce’s mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe’s mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe’s chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast―two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.

Filled with roadside hijinks, heart-stirring romance, and a few broken rules, I Wanna Be Where You Are is a YA debut perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon

America for Beginners

Pival Sengupta has done something she never expected: she has booked a trip with the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company. But unlike other upper-class Indians on a foreign holiday, the recently widowed Pival is not interested in sightseeing. She is traveling thousands of miles from Kolkata to New York on a cross-country journey to California, where she hopes to uncover the truth about her beloved son, Rahi. A year ago Rahi devastated his very traditional parents when he told them he was gay. Then, Pival’s husband, Ram, told her that their son had died suddenly—heartbreaking news she still refuses to accept. Now, with Ram gone, she is going to America to find Rahi, alive and whole or dead and gone, and come to terms with her own life.

Arriving in New York, the tour proves to be more complicated than anticipated. Planned by the company’s indefatigable owner, Ronnie Munshi—a hard-working immigrant and entrepreneur hungry for his own taste of the American dream—it is a work of haphazard improvisation. Pival’s guide is the company’s new hire, the guileless and wonderfully resourceful Satya, who has been in America for one year—and has never actually left the five boroughs. For modesty’s sake Pival and Satya will be accompanied by Rebecca Elliot, an aspiring young actress. Eager for a paying gig, she’s along for the ride, because how hard can a two-week “working” vacation traveling across America be?

Slowly making her way from coast to coast with her unlikely companions, Pival finds that her understanding of her son—and her hopes of a reunion with him—are challenged by her growing knowledge of his adoptive country. As the bonds between this odd trio deepens, Pival, Satya, and Rebecca learn to see America—and themselves—in different and profound new ways.

[bctt tweet=”These 16 books about road trips will leave you yearning for adventure.” username=”afomaumesi”]

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her. While this one isn’t exactly a “road trip” book, it’s worth adding to the list!

Paper Towns

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificent Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. When their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Margo has disappeared. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Embarking on an exhilarating adventure to find her, the closer Q gets, the less he sees the girl he thought he knew.

Are We There Yet?

Every parent has heard this classic kid question on a long car ride–and after reading this astonishingly inventive new book (that even turns upside down for several pages!), you’ll never look at being bored the same way again.

Let’s face it: everyone knows that car rides can be boring. And when things get boring, time slows down. In this book, a boy feels time slowing down so much that it starts going backward–into the time of pirates! Of princesses! Of dinosaurs! The boy was just trying to get to his grandmother’s birthday party, but instead he’s traveling through Ancient Egypt and rubbing shoulders with Ben Franklin. When time flies, who knows where–or when–he’ll end up.

Mosquitoland

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the “wastelands” of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

The Voice in My Head

For Indigo Phillips, life has always been about basking in the shadow of her identical twin, Violet—the perfectly dressed, gentle, popular sister. The only problem the girls had in their lives was the occasional chaos that came with being part of the Phillips family brood. But when Violet becomes terminally ill and plans to die on her own terms via medically assisted death, Indigo spirals into desperation in her efforts to cope. That’s when she begins to hear a mysterious voice—a voice claiming to be God. The Voice insists that if she takes Violet to a remote rock formation in the Arizona desert, her sister will live.

Incredibly, Violet agrees to go—if their dysfunctional family tags along for the ride. With all nine members stuffed into a wonky old paratransit bus, including their controlling older sister and distant mother, Indigo must find a way to face insecurities she’s spent a lifetime masking and step up to lead the trip. As she deals with outrageous mishaps, strange lodgings and even stranger folks along the way, Indigo will figure out how to come to terms with her sister, her family…and the voice in her head.

Love and Luck

Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding, and hoping she can stop thinking about the one horrible thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.

The Someday Birds

Charlie’s perfectly ordinary life has been unraveling ever since his war journalist father was injured in Afghanistan.

When his father heads from California to Virginia for medical treatment, Charlie reluctantly travels cross-country with his boy-crazy sister, unruly brothers, and a mysterious new family friend. He decides that if he can spot all the birds that he and his father were hoping to see someday along the way, then everything might just turn out okay.

Debut author Sally J. Pla has written a tale that is equal parts madcap road trip, coming-of-age story for an autistic boy who feels he doesn’t understand the world, and an uplifting portrait of a family overcoming a crisis.

[bctt tweet=”From Jade Chang’s The Wangs vs the World to Sally J. Pla’s The Someday Birds, here are 16–children’s & adult–books about road trips!” username=”afomaumesi”]

See You in the Cosmos

11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he’ll uncover—from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew.

Jack Cheng’s debut is full of joy, optimism, determination, and unbelievable heart. To read the first page is to fall in love with Alex and his view of our big, beautiful, complicated world. To read the last is to know he and his story will stay with you a long, long time.

American Road Trip

With a strong family, the best friend a guy could ask for, and a budding romance with the girl of his dreams, life shows promise for Teodoro “T” Avila. But he takes some hard hits the summer before senior year when his nearly perfect brother, Manny, returns from a tour in Iraq with a devastating case of PTSD. In a desperate effort to save Manny from himself and pull their family back together, T’s fiery sister, Xochitl, hoodwinks her brothers into a cathartic road trip.

Told through T’s honest voice, this is a candid exploration of mental illness, socioeconomic pressures, and the many inescapable highs and lows that come with growing up—including falling in love.

Disclaimer: I use affiliate links for Amazon and will make a cent or two if you buy using these links. It’s a great way to support a blog(ger) you love.

There you have ’em–16 exciting books about road trips!

Do you like road trips? Which books about road trips are your favorites? Which of these books have you read? I’d love to know! I’m always happy to travel on the page through these books about road trips!

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• About Afoma Umesi

Afoma Umesi is the founder and editor of Reading Middle Grade where she curates book lists and writes book reviews for kids of all ages. Her favorite genre to read is contemporary realistic fiction and she'll never say no to a graphic novel.

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What do you think leave a comment cancel reply.

April 5, 2019 at 10:39 am

I soo <3 <3 roadtrips! The wind on my hair, the sunburn (if you're traversing via motorcycle which is also a real pain in the butt-butt 😂), the travel tunes, the exhilirating feeling of marching through unfamiliar places — all recipes for a great and epic adventure!

I really liked 'Love & Luck', I have a folder full of travel prep for Ireland that I probably won't need until 20 years from now but a girl can dream, eh?

Thanks for this list, I'm currently reading 'Wild' and loving it so far! Imma work my way through these soon! 🙂

April 5, 2019 at 8:34 pm

OOh I’m glad to hear you liked “Love and Luck”! I’m moving it up my TBR list! Hope you enjoy WILD. It gets a bit heavy lol.

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13 Best Books About Road Trips to Satisfy Your Summer Wanderlust

Grab your sunglasses and/or reading glasses.

Our editors handpick the products that we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

For many who've had their vacation plans break down this summer, now might also be a perfect time to get on the open road to explore all the weird nooks and crannies this country has to offer. If you're planning to drive to a far-off destination, try listening to these road trip books on tape —between belting these classic car songs , of course.

Or, you know, you could just read one of these quintessential road trip novels from the comfort of your own home. Either way, the following 13 books—including a couple of comical romps, a pair of 1950s classics, a semi-surreal comic book, and more—will inspire you to put on your sunglasses, or your reading glasses, and leave your old world behind.

The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky

Tautly told and drolly smart, Dermansky's third novel centers on a woman in Queens locked in a loveless marriage . The key to her freedom, and to unlatching her sense of self, is the titular red car, bequeathed to her when her beloved mentor passes away. If you want an entire novel that captures the gleeful, devil-may-care liberation of Thelma and Louise driving off a cliff (and believe us, you really, really do) then this one's for you. 

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

Here's something you should know about Chloe Pierce: She's an excellent ballerina, and a terrible driver. Still, in an effort to get into the school of her dreams, Chloe breaks her mom's rule (whoops) and steals the car (double whoops) to drive to an audition in D.C. Her irritating neighbor, Eli, insists on hitching a ride. Kristina Forest's heart-warming YA debut captures a girl on the cusp of adulthood, pushing the limits of her independence—and dealing with the consequences. 

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

In her review for O , acclaimed author Carmen Maria Machado said of Luisell's inventive novel: "Not since  Lolita  has a road trip so brilliantly captured the dark underbelly of the American dream, the gulf between its promise and reality." This story of a family traveling southwest in search of answers to our nation's troubling past and present was one of our favorite books of 2019 . 

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

Beware—once you meet Charlie Manx, the immortal villain of  NOS4A2 , you'll forever fear seeing his haunted car drive by you on a quiet road. By then, it'll be too late.  NOS4A2 is a road trip novel, made sinister: Characters travel on roads that don't exist on any map.  Manx transports children in his car to "Christmasland," a place far more sinister than it sounds. On her magic bike, Vic McQueen is able to travel to Christmaslands and other realms, and is the one person who can stop him.  NOS4A2  comes with horror pedigree: Joe Hill, the author, is Stephen King's (very talented) son.

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Highsmith's 1952 novel—originally published under a pseudonym—is perhaps most famously the basis for the film Carol , a queer modern classic starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. But saying that it's just a book that was turned into a movie would take away from the quietly revolutionary sumptuousness of the text itself. Highsmith's wintry tale of two women in mid-century America who drive across the country together to escape society's expectations is a must-read. 

We All Loved Cowboys by Carol Bensimon (translated by Beth Fowler)

More forbidden love on the run! Translated from Portuguese, this exquisite and wistful novel by Bensimon—named one of Granta's Best Young Brazilian novelists—follows former friends Julia and Cora on a car trip through Brazil as they attempt to mend their once-solid relationship. Complications arise when the pair realize they might not just be gal pals. 

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Soon to be a miniseries on HBO co-produced by Jordan Peele, Ruff's chilling thriller is set during the Jim Crow era and stars an army veteran whose father has disappeared. He drives from Chicago to New England alongside his uncle, the publisher of a guide on how to travel while Black. Much more Get Out than Green Book , the tale takes a turn toward terror when they arrive at a mansion owned by a family of former slave-holders. Also: ghosts. 

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Maybe you read this in high school, maybe you dated a boy like Jess from Gilmore Girls who referenced this book nonstop (guilty and guilty), but there's no denying: reading Kerouac's Beat Generation classic of aimless American wanderlust is basically a rite of passage. 

Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart

Speaking of On the Road , the Super Sad True Love Story author delivers a hilariously scathing romp through America starring a boorish hedge funder who, after a fight with his wife, hops on a Greyhound for an inspired journey into the country's heart—and his own. 

Find Me by Laura van den Berg

Short fiction scribe Laura van den Berg taps into her singular eeriness for her first novel, about a directionless young woman who discovers she's immune to the sudden sickness spreading across the country. Her epic yet intimate journey takes her from Kansas, where she's admitted as a hospital patient and subjected to myriad tests, to Florida, where she believes her birth mother might be. 

Flaming Iguanas by Erika Lopez

Erika Lopez's "all-girl road novel thing" is a fierce amalgamation of words and images chronicling biker babe Tomato Rodriquez's wild cross-country motorcycle ride. It's as fun and freeing as having the wind blow through your hair. 

Are You Listening? by Tillie Walden

Want more illustrated cool-girl goodness? Combining dreamily gorgeous artwork and lyrical, sophisticated storytelling, Eisner award-winning graphic novelist Tillie Walden has emerged as a master of her craft. Here, she channels Murakami with a magical realist road trip starring two women and a mysterious cat. 

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

If you're seeking a family-friendly audiobook to listen to in the car, look no further than Sharon Creech's Newberry Award-winning classic. Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle journeys across the country with her grandparents. All the while, she entertains them with stories of a girl who's quite like herself—a girl who wants to be reunited with her mother.  Walk Two Moons  is a strange, funny book that will speak to children of all ages.

Michelle Hart is the Assistant Books Editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. Other writing of hers has appeared on the Millions, the Rumpus, and the New Yorker . Her fiction has appeared in Joyland and Electric Literature. She has been awarded a fiction fellowship by the New York State Writers Institute and was once profiled in her hometown newspaper for being in the process of writing a novel--a novel she is still in the process of writing.

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Jaime Herndon

Jaime Herndon finished her MFA in nonfiction writing at Columbia, after leaving a life of psychosocial oncology and maternal-child health work. She is a writer, editor, and book reviewer who drinks way too much coffee. She is a new-ish mom, so the coffee comes in extra handy. Twitter:  @IvyTarHeelJaime

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But alas, I have a job (granted, one that I can do remotely) and a young child, so that’s not quite in the cards for me right now. Whenever I do get the wanderlust urge, though, reading about a road trip is a decent panacea.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t point some things out: for a long time, road trip novels were very On the Road -ish. And don’t get me wrong: I loved that book, just like I loved Dharma Bums . But traveling around the country as a white man is much different than traveling around the country — especially solo — as someone who isn’t a cis male, or non-white person. There are some things you just don’t have to think about, and so the genre has traditionally looked very white and very male.

The books that I’ve chosen for this list may not look like traditional road trip books, but they’re all about hitting the road, searching for something larger than yourself, and connecting with others. They’re the perfect read for a sunny, warm day. Let’s take a look!

America the Beautiful?: One Woman in a Borrowed Prius on the Road Most Traveled by Blythe Roberson

In this funny but insightful book, Roberson quit her job and decided to go on a road trip to visit some national parks. She was tired of reading travel narratives by white men, and thought about how different road trips can be for women, and all the things she needed to consider while planning. What follows is a thoughtful look at what travel can do for a person, and her reflections about politics, America, and the environment are highly self-aware but also entertaining. She writes about the issues the parks face and why, and the intersections between tourism, conservation, and politics, while also documenting the highs and lows of road tripping.

The American Dream?: A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Men, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito by Shing Yin Khor

A road trip graphic memoir? Yes please! Growing up in Malaysia, Khor had certain images of what America was like: one was the sunny, beautiful movie-like ideal, and the other was Depression-era bad. In this book, she takes a road trip along the iconic Route 66 to see the ever-changing setting of America, starting in Santa Monica and ending in Chicago. She explores the people living in these landscapes, meeting queer people and immigrants who’ve made their homes in places many people tend to dismiss as “flyover states” not worth exploring or fighting for. The book is full of curiosity and insights about the places she sees and visits, feelings about her own experience of America, and gives the reader a taste of what she saw, encouraging us to explore more on our own.

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen

Allen, a trans reporter, traveled the country (in “red states”) in search of “something gay every day.” She went all over: Provo, Utah, the Deep South, the Bible Belt, and much more, all in search of LGBTQ+ communities, events, and people in these red states. Her love for this geographic area was a motivator, and she wanted to illustrate that there are queer people in these areas that many people so easily dismiss or ignore. The result is a book full of heartening stories and cultural change, and a road trip that might make you rethink your assumptions.

The National Road: Dispatches From a Changing America by Tom Zoellner

This book, first published in fall of 2020, is a collection of essays that explores the relationships between land in America and its people. What makes us Americans? How are we influenced by place, or impacted by it? How does place or location shape our views of others here? Zoellner combines history, geography, and travelogue to create a compelling look at a country that is evolving and changing, but perhaps there is also something that connects us.

Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine by Edward Lee

Warning: don’t read this unless you have a full stomach, because you’re going to get very hungry! American food is not just one thing: it’s a mix of things, and Lee wanted to find out the stories behind the food. He spent two years driving around America, talking with people all around the country, trying their food, and listening to the stories they told — stories that were slightly familiar, completely unfamiliar, and mash-ups of everything in-between. It’s a deeply human, vividly written book that will take you alongside Lee on his travels. And don’t worry, there are 40 recipes that Lee has included, created by him, that reflect the dishes he heard about and tried on his travels.

Moby Dyke: An Obsessive Quest to Track Down the Last Remaining Lesbian Bars in America by Krista Burton (June 6th)

Burton, a former Rookie writer and the creator of the blog Effing Dykes, has written an engaging, entertaining, and insightful book about lesbian bars in America, and why so many have disappeared. It’s a cultural critique braided with a road trip to some of the last remaining lesbian bars — in 1987, there were 207 of them in America, and now there are a few dozen left. Why is this? What does it mean, culturally? Burton explores these questions, as well as reflects on her own life, including her trans husband — whose presence in the bars brings up other questions and conversations about who is welcome where. It’s a fun but thought-provoking book that’s a perfect read for the start of summer.

Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick

Shortly after becoming President, Washington went to the ex-colonies to talk to people about the new government, and what it meant to be an American. In 2018, Philbrick decided to follow Washington’s path (along with his wife and their dog), and see what America had become. He talks with a variety of people from various political affiliations, visits historical landmarks, and observes reenactments. He weaves together 18th century America and 2018 America, showing the fractures in each, and yet also illustrating how Washington believed in unity and how that helped shape the nation. It’s a book that faces history head on, while also preserving hope for the present.

South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry

While not your typical road trip book, I included it here because of the way it is structured, and also because it does cover geographical distance, while also exploring communities, people, and history — all common themes in the road trip books on this list. In order to understand America, Perry believes we need to understand the South and all its contradictions. She takes us on a journey down South, meeting people from all types of different communities and backgrounds, and combines this with her familial and personal history and the larger Southern history. It’s an eye-opening, vibrantly-written book that is more urgent than ever.

If you’re looking for more road trip books, check out this post on road trips and literature and this post on feel-good road trip reads . Planning your own bookish road trip? We have tips: A Bookish Coastal U.S. Road Trip: Pacific Coast Highway .

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Best Travel Books for Young Adults

Embarking on a literary journey can be just as exhilarating as a physical adventure. For young adults with a wanderlust spirit, travel books offer an opportunity to explore the world through vivid descriptions, captivating stories, and inspiring narratives. In this article, we have curated a list of the best travel books that will transport young readers to exciting destinations, ignite their curiosity, and fuel their passion for exploration.

1. "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho:

2. "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac:

3. "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert:

4. "Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed:

5. "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer:

6. "The Geography of Bliss" by Eric Weiner:

7. "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer:

8. "The Beach" by Alex Garland:

9. "The Lost City of Z" by David Grann:

10. "Vagabonding" by Rolf Potts:

11. "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson:

12. "The Motorcycle Diaries" by Ernesto "Che" Guevara:

13. "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson:

14. "Into the Beautiful North" by Luis Alberto Urrea:

15. "Shantaram" by Gregory David Roberts:

Travel books have the power to transport young adults to distant lands, ignite their imaginations, and inspire a sense of wanderlust. Whether through memoirs, novels, or guidebooks, these literary works provide windows into different cultures, perspectives, and experiences. By delving into the pages of these travel books, young readers can satisfy their thirst for adventure, gain valuable insights, and cultivate a deeper appreciation for the world's diverse wonders. So, grab a book, embark on a literary journey, and let your imagination take flight as you explore the world from the comfort of your armchair.

Remember, the best travel experiences often start with the turn of a page. Happy reading and may your literary adventures inspire your real-life explorations!

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