Zigzag

Robin can't believe it when her boyfriend, Chris, tells her that his parents have enrolled him in a summer program in Rome. It's their last summer together before he goes away to college, and now they won't even have that time together. It feels like the worst thing that's ever happened to her. andlt;BRandgt; Since Chris is leaving, Robin agrees to join her aunt and cousins on a cross-country road trip, in spite of her reservations -- she and her younger cousins have never really gotten along, and since their father's death they've become even more problematic than before. andlt;BRandgt; Soon the four of them are zigzagging through the West on an eye-opening journey. They explore parts of the country Robin never dreamed existed -- and she discovers inner resources she never imagined she had.

"This book is proof a road trip can change your life."

-- Seventeen magazine

"17 Things We're Loving Right Now"

-- Seventeen magazine

"A moving, realistic exploration of first love, class issues, girls' self-confidence, and the process of healing."

-- Booklist

On a road trip, a small-town girl discovers her country--and herself. Robin is devastated that her boyfriend is going to Italy for the summer--it's supposed to be their last summer together before he goes away to college. Since he will be away, Robin reluctantly agrees to join her widowed aunt and bratty cousins on a cross-country road trip. Over the course of what becomes an eye-opening journey, Robin discovers inner strengths and resources she never imagined she had.

Ellen Wittlinger is the critically acclaimed author of the teen novels The Long Night of Leo and Bree, Razzle, What's in a Name, and Hard Love (an American Library Association Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a Lambda Literary Award winner), and the middle-grade novel Gracie's Girl. She has a bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. A former children's librarian, she lives with her husband in Swampscott, Massachusetts. Visit her Web site at www.ellenwittlinger.com.

Ellen Wittlinger writes: "I began with the idea of having a teenager travel cross country. I knew Robin would be mourning the immediate loss of her longtime boyfriend, but I stumbled on the idea of having her deal with her difficult, truly mourning cousins. The idea of the 'journey' novel during which the actual traveling echoes an inward journey is not new, but it's effective, I think, because it's so often true. Traveling takes you out of your usual routine and allows you to see other options for your life."