Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern

On the first day of Lillian’s summer-before-college, she gets a message on her cell from her sort-of friend, Penny. Not only has Penny faked her own kidnapping, but Lil is the only one who figures it out. She knows that Penny’s home life has been rough, and that her boyfriend may be abusive. Soon, Penny’s family, the local police, and even the FBI are grilling Lil, and she decides to head out to Oregon, where Penny has mentioned an acquaintance. And who better to road-trip across the country with than Lil’s BFF, Josh. But here’s the thing: Lil loves Josh. And Josh doesn’t want to “ruin” their amazing friendship.

Josh has a car and his dad’s credit card. Lil has her cellphone and a hunch about where Penny is hiding. There’s something else she needs to find: Are she and Josh meant to be together?

What a hilarious read this was. Don't Stop Now is definitely a fun-filled, laugh out loud, gut buster. The story follows two best friends, Lil and Josh, as they travel across country to find their friend Penny who faked her own kidnapping. Already, its a laugh invoking concept!

Everything about this book just made me smile. The dialogue is so snarky between Josh and Lil and you can't help but feel that you're in the car with them listening to them chatter aimlessly about the most random things. Their relationship is very real and the friendship is deep rooted so that their aren't any barriers up between them and I think that was my favorite part of the book. Following the both of them on this quest is an adventure on its own, with great detail to scenery, relationships, and dialogue!

The only tricky part of this book is Lil's apparently unrequited crush on Josh. The whole time you just feel for the poor girl because she sees all the signs for a great romance with Josh except he's completely oblivious. I got frustrated with Josh at times because he comes across as a (rhymes with pick) at times. Then there were times where his humor just completely wins you over and you can see the obvious attraction.

This is definitely a light read, despite there being a darker subplot to the story. Penny's relationship with her boyfriend was disturbing to say the least, but took a backseat to the roadtrip. I really didn't take much of this book too seriously, because there was just so much focus on Josh and Lil's adventures, so it didn't invoke a lot of emotion out of me. Mainly just laughter, which can be great. It's just not a very deep read.

Overall, I give this story 3 stars, and would recommend it as a causal read to lighten the mood. There are a lot of funny aspects to the book, most of which will leave you smiling, but it lacks any deeper emotions.