Riding the Universe

To be completely honest, when I read the back of the ARC, after getting this in the mail, and saw that motorcycles would be part it, I was worried. I thought, "Oh no, that is so not going to be my cup of tea. Will it be boring?" Though, it was anything but that. Riding The Universe was a fantastic novel filled with suspense, humor, love, and loss. The plot was interesting and fast paced. Two things that make a young adult novel great. Though, the plot was basic, it involved Chloe figuring out what guy was right for her and who her birth parents were, it got you completely involved in the story and kept you flipping the pages wondering what was going to happen next. One of my favorite parts of this book were the characters. Chloe and Rock were hilarious and well developed which made them extremely fun to read about. Also, Gabby Triana's writing was top notch in this. It seemed most of the time, because of the situations and dialogue between the characters , that a true teenager was writing this. The only problem I had with this book was the prologue. It just didn't grab my attention or do anything at all that got me interested in the novel. Luckily, the first chapter was way better or I probably would have put the book down . Overall, Riding The Universe was a spunky read that I suggest you pick up from your local bookstore in May. I promise, you won't regret it. :) Grade: A-

Chloé Rodriguez has her butt firmly planted on the seat of her Harley Davidson 1200 Sportster named Lolita, but her head is in the stars. And even though she knows more than your average "biker chick" about the night sky, comprehending chemistry eludes her until her grades slip and her parents threaten to take away Lolita. Chloé will do anything to prevent that - including tutoring by Gordon Spudinka, who is goal oriented, super smart and way too up tight. When she ends up attracted to Gordon, it seems like worlds will collide and all Chloé wants is to figure out how she fits into this great big universe. In Riding the Universe, author Gaby Triana has created an incredibly likeable heroine. As Chloé nears completion of her ride, Triana revs the engine to deliver a very real and emotionally powerful ending. -- Reviewed by Michelle Delisle

Seventeen years ago, Chloé was adopted by a happily married young couple. Nine years ago, when she was in third grade, Chloé befriended a quiet, sad boy named Rock. She comforted him; he challenged her to a race across the playground. They've been racing (and challenging each other) ever since. Seven years ago, Chloé spent the summer helping her uncle Seth fix up a motorcycle. They poured their blood, sweat, and oil into it. They named her Lolita. Five months and nineteen days ago, Uncle Seth died. Now it's the day after winter break, and Chloé's counting down the five months left in the school year. Before summer break arrives, she will ride, scream, cry, fall in love, find freedom on the road, seek solace at the dock, and try to bring up her chemistry grade. Gaby Triana's latest novel, Riding the Universe, is her best yet. Chloé Rodriguez is a strong, stubborn girl who confronts her struggles - be they with science, boys, or machines - head-on. Though she rarely says them out loud, she often combines words in her mind to describe a feeling she's having, like awkwardity and stellacular. (Woo hoo for portmanteaus!) Chloé surprises herself when she falls for her tutor, Gordon Spudinka. At the same time, she feels like there's something going on with her best friend Rock, something that's making them drift apart. Meanwhile, she becomes closer to Gordon, and her priorities shift. The topics of grief, adoption, and identity are handled subtly, and they are handled well. The fact that she was adopted doesn't really matter to Chloé; she loves her twin brothers, whom her mother gave birth to the previous year, and she never thinks of Mama and Papi as anything less than her parents. Only recently has she begun thinking about her birth parents and blood relatives. She gets worried when considering medical scenarios: what she would do if she someday needed a blood transfusion like Seth did? Who could help her then? Each character in Chloé's world has a distinct voice and presence. Her kind, careful mom is obsessed with astrology while her daughter prefers astronomy. Affectionate Rock often teases his closest friend, but when he's serious, he means every word he says. Gentle Papi, a fisherman for the local seafood market, is described so well on the first page of the book that one can see him instantly. Chloé's parents got married when they were twenty-one years old, and they are still very much in love. Meanwhile, Rock's mom moved away to be with her boyfriend right before he met Chloé. In his teen years, Rock shed his shyness and became a serial dater. Chloé often disapproves of the girls he dates, and she's reluctant to admit that could be because she's jealous, or that she knows that Rock likes her as more than a friend. There are plenty of bumps in the road of life, along with twists and turns one may not see coming. Riding the Universe handles the curves very well, making for a memorable journey through Florida City.

Chloe Rodriguez is a girl with a solid family life, but when her beloved uncle dies she begins to question everything she thought was right with her life. In the tumultuous time after her Seth's death, Chloe's life is thrown for a loop and she searches wildly for an answer that can make her world right again. She has known since she was little that she is adopted, but now she begins to wonder why her birthparents didn't want her. Her best friend has always had a scandalous attraction to the fast life, but he is no longer available to her whenever she needs him, and, as he neglects her and her other best friend, her motorocyle, Lolita, she withdraws and flies off through her life alone, trying to find her own answers. This story about a high school girl fighting to get her grades up so she doesn't lose her beloved Harley is not just a story of teen angst and self discovery. OK, it is, but the way Gaby Triana has written her characters and the relationships they weave and entangle themselves in is definitely a reason to pick up this book. There's the best friend who wants to be a boyfriend but, while he waits, he'll just chase skirts like Bret Michaels. Then there's the tutor who wants to stay focused on his lifeplan, but he can't get Motor Girl out of his head. And then there's Chloe. Her angst is real, her sadness goes deep, and her passions run wild. I loved the love triangles and the family issues and the realistic motorcycle runs. I loved the precarious love encounters and how they made my palms sweat and my heart flutter with the romance. I loved the surprises that I had guessed and those that jumped out of nowhere. Riding the Universe is a fun book with just enough love scenes to tease eager teenaged readers, but not too much to shock their moms. In the end, Riding the Universe is a story of a girl searching for something, but she doesn't know what. When she finally opens her eyes to the truth, Chloe realizes, just like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, that "There's no place like home." I highly recommend this book as a worthwhile and fun stressbuster!

LOVED IT!!!!! I love Chloe and the way she thinks, how she talks, acts, Rock because he's a bad boy but you love him anyways. Gordon is super cute and super smart at the same time, and she's in love with them both, I read it in one day to see how it would end because i had to know!!!!