Official Review: The Trip of a Lifetime by La Verne Hughes

[ananya92]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Trip of a Lifetime" by La Verne Hughes.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Trip of a Lifetime by La Verne Hughes is a book in the fiction genre. The book would be suitable for readers in age groups ranging from thirteen to eighteen years.

Cheryl Lee has always longed for freedom, independence and a few friends. The reason she does not have any of these, is her sheltered existence, enforced by her God-fearing parents. Her parents were over-protective of her and believed that the outside world would have a corrupting influence on their daughter. So they did not stay amidst the thick crowd of townsfolk, preferring to protect their faith isolated from townsfolk instead. The result of their beliefs was that Cheryl Lee hardly interacted with people of her own age and her only friends were the stars in a moonlit sky. She is about to graduate from high school, and unexpectedly, her parents allow her to attend the senior year school party, laden with some rules of course. Unfortunately for Cheryl Lee, she accepts a soda from one of her batch mates, which unknown to both, was laced with a psychedelic. Will the ensuing experience change her life forever?

The book is a short read, recounting the life altering incident in the central character’s life. The author’s writing style is simple and pretty straightforward. The author attempts to evoke interesting images in the reader’s mind, with some creative descriptions. For example, “she bends down into the iridescent glow and reaches her alien hand toward the sparkles. It feels wet, but it looks like dry fairy dust or maybe even glitter.” The descriptions aren't spectacular, but they succeed in relaying the confusion in Cheryl’s mind and her hazy vision of her surroundings.

Coming to the characters, to say that Cheryl’s parents are old-fashioned, is an understatement. In some scenes, they seem just a little short of puritanical. Cheryl is understandably a submissive and introverted child. The story, especially the end, was disappointing. What was promising to be a coming-of-age story just turns out to be a story focused on the week-long fantasy experienced by Cheryl. The plot is certainly interesting, but the outcome is far from positive, in my opinion. I expected it to be a tale of transformation, but it is more a story about being careful what we wish for.

The author had the choice of so many, varied outcomes but the author’s choice is lamentable. I rate the book 2 out of 4 stars.

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The Trip of a Lifetime
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Like ananya92's review? Post a comment saying so!

[debo9967]

Too bad the end is disappointing. Nice review, though.

[ananya92]

Thanks.

[Tanaya]

It can be discouraging when a book doesn't live up to its potential. It sounds almost like an afterschool special, but that's not necessarily bad. Nevertheless, this was a nice review. I enjoyed reading it.

[ananya92]

Thank you.

[RussetDivinity]

It's too bad the book couldn't be better, but this was a very nice review.

[ananya92]

Thanks