One of those most interesting things about this book and part of why I loved it is the struggle Cassie goes through in this book. Cassie and Lana don’t agree on anything but despite that they always seem to find some way to connect. Cassie has recently fallen out with her best friend and fallen in with the popular girls. Just as quick when I first read the chapter by Cassie it becomes clear how different the girls are on just about everything. Lana’s mother is sick, but no one is sure how bad. Despite Lana’s worries about her mom she is sure this going to be the best trip of her life. It starts off in Lana’s viewpoint and immediately we get how excited she is to be on the trip with her grandparents, and for chance to really become friends with Cassie. This story is told in alternating chapters from Lana and Cassie’s viewpoints. Opening Sentence: “Wonderful is the only word to I can use to describe it.” Quick & Dirty: A trip across country, filled with adventure, family, friendship and coming to terms with yourself and life. I came to like both girls and the friendship they built. I could understand her worry about her mother and could also understand why parents might want to protect a twelve-year-old by not telling her what was happening.

I thought her relationship with her Grandpa Howe was especially good. I liked her caring relationship with her parents and I liked her delight in spending time with her grandparents. I had a little more sympathy when she was thinking about the fight she had with her former best friend Fiona which sent her looking for new friends. I had a hard time empathizing with Carrie's obsession with some friends who didn't seem very nice or very kind. But the tensions grow between the girls and they spend a lot of the trip not talking. When the girls can forget about their other worries, they do have fun touring Hearst Castle, going to an amusement park, and doing other touristy things.

What if her mother has cancer and is going to die? She is trying very hard to hide her fears from her grandparents and pretend that she is having a great time on their trip. She has been having lots of headaches and Lana is certain that her parents are keeping something from her. Lana is trying to have fun but she is also very worried about her mother. Carrie is too busy trying to keep in touch with her new group of friends. Carrie isn't interested in being friends. Lana thought that they had a chance to become good friends and was looking forward to the trip. They met for the first time at their grandparents' wedding. The two are thrown together on a road trip with their honeymooning grandparents. This is a story told in alternate chapters by Lana and Carrie.

Drive Me Crazy by Terra Elan McVoy