Three Reasons to Read Joyride By Anna Banks (Review + Giveaway!)

Title: Joyride
Author: Anna Banks
Length: 288 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Source: Hardback 
Read: February 2016

A popular guy and a shy girl with a secret become unlikely accomplices for midnight pranking, and are soon in over their heads—with the law and with each other—in this sparkling standalone from NYT-bestselling author Anna Banks.
It’s been years since Carly Vega’s parents were deported. She lives with her brother, studies hard, and works at a convenience store to contribute to getting her parents back from Mexico.
Arden Moss used to be the star quarterback at school. He dated popular blondes and had fun with his older sister, Amber. But now Amber’s dead, and Arden blames his father, the town sheriff who wouldn’t acknowledge Amber's mental illness. Arden refuses to fulfill whatever his conservative father expects.
All Carly wants is to stay under the radar and do what her family expects. All Arden wants is to NOT do what his family expects. When their paths cross, they each realize they’ve been living according to others. Carly and Arden’s journey toward their true hearts—and one another—is funny, romantic, and sometimes harsh.

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***I received an copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not change how I feel about the story.***

Thank you so much, Anna, for the signed book! Also for the signed bookplates and bookmarks for a giveaway!

I really enjoyed reading Joyride! It is a really quick read and doesn't take long to become invested in the characters and wanting to find out what is going to happen. I think Joyride has the perfect combination of family relationships, romance, and finding yourself (and what you want from your life). This story is realistic, funny, entertaining, and sometimes heartbreaking.

I have decided to share my top Three Reasons to Read Joyride by Anna Banks!

Carly is a totally awesome! She is a strong female character. I love how she is smart and ambitious. She cares about her family and does what she can to try and help out. She works at a convenience store at night all while also working hard at school so she can have the future she wants.  At times she struggles with doing what she can to help her family while not compromising the things she wants for herself. I found her character to be completely realistic. I was able to easily care about her and the situations she found herself in. Plus, diversity for the win! She is Hispanic/Latino! I found it eye-opening and interesting reading about a character, whose life is a lot different from my own. 

There are a lot of different family issues in this story. Both of the main characters, Carly and Arden are both experiencing different situations with their families. 

Carly's parents were deported for being undocumented. And a lot of her life is trying to keep under the radar while making enough money to help bring her parents back to the states. She tries to balance the high expectations of her brother and parents while also doing what she wants for herself. 

Arden is still dealing with the loss of his sister and the fact that he thinks his father is to blame. If only his father would have gotten Amber the help she needed, she might still be alive. But Arden's is the town sheriff and concerns himself with maintaining the proper image. 

There are sibling relationships and dealing with the expectations that come from your parents. 

Honestly, I amt not really be a big prank person, but this book made me laugh a lot. I think that Anna Banks does a great job writing humor into her stories!

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading Joyride. It moved quickly for me and kept me entertained. I struggled a little bit at first with the switching points of view. Carly's chapters are in first person and Arden's chapters are in third. But it didn't really take away from the story. I liked the characters a lot, I  especially LOVE Carly. There were a couple of things Arden does that I didn't particularly like, but it didn't keep me from liking the story. I had a lot of feels while reading Joyride, and was surprised by some things! I recommend giving it a read!

• 1 winner will receive a hardback copy of Joyride, 1 signed Joyride bookplate and 1 signed Joyride bookmark.
• 4 other winners will win 1 signed Joyride bookplate and 1 signed Joyride bookmark. 
• US ONLY Ends March 28, 2016

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