What do you think?
Rate this book
I Left My Tent in San Francisco
More hilarious tales of holiday disaster from the bestselling author of The Tent, The Bucket and Me .
It's 1989, and Emma and her best friend Dee head to the USA to make their fortune. But completely inept and virtually unemployable, they discover that they can't even get a job in McDonald's.
Forced to travel from California to New York with only pennies in their pockets, they bounce from scrape to scrape, surviving on their wits and the kindness of strangers. Bad luck and misfortune throw everything their way -- snakes, earthquakes, black magic and incontinent dogs. They even get kidnapped by a sex-crazed midget in a Ferrari. This never happened to Jack Kerouac.
Startlingly honest and ridiculously funny, I Left My Tent in San Francisco is the miraculous story of how the hapless pair made it back alive to tell the disastrous tale.
It's 1989, and Emma and her best friend Dee head to the USA to make their fortune. But completely inept and virtually unemployable, they discover that they can't even get a job in McDonald's.
Forced to travel from California to New York with only pennies in their pockets, they bounce from scrape to scrape, surviving on their wits and the kindness of strangers. Bad luck and misfortune throw everything their way -- snakes, earthquakes, black magic and incontinent dogs. They even get kidnapped by a sex-crazed midget in a Ferrari. This never happened to Jack Kerouac.
Startlingly honest and ridiculously funny, I Left My Tent in San Francisco is the miraculous story of how the hapless pair made it back alive to tell the disastrous tale.
311 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2011
27 people are currently reading
504 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
September 21, 2015
Initially I thought this was quite an entertaining travel book but after the first few chapters I began to lose interest.
I could not decide if it was based on a real journey , in which case it must have been highly exaggerated or if it was a novel, in which case it was highly unrealistic.
I am sorry but I cannot believe two intelligent girls would be as useless as those two and be as rude to those two helped them along their unlikely journey.
I found it annoying, unlikely and tedious .
I could not decide if it was based on a real journey , in which case it must have been highly exaggerated or if it was a novel, in which case it was highly unrealistic.
I am sorry but I cannot believe two intelligent girls would be as useless as those two and be as rude to those two helped them along their unlikely journey.
I found it annoying, unlikely and tedious .
August 11, 2011
I absolutely loved This book, it was laughs on almost every page right from the start. I thought I was a bit accident prone and clumsy and experienced bad luck until I read this account of Emma Kennedy's journey across America from San Francisco to New York along with her best friend from University, Dee. You would not believe the bad luck, the near misses, scrapes and laughs in this story. There are some particular stand out moments for me, particularly the disastrous stay in the Grand Canyon, complete with a nasty meeting with a Skunk and a hilarious wardrobe malfunction involving a tampon in Santa Fe! I'm almost the same age as Emma and Dee and remember what the world was like in 1989 before the Internet took off and us Brits saw America as an amazing golden land waiting for adventure. I can't recommend this book more highly, a very enjoyable page turner of a read, I can't remember laughing so much whilst reading a book for a very long time!
October 5, 2015
I got this book in the Goodreads lovely giveaway for free and at first after reading the blurb, I wasn't sold on the story but I was to be proved totally wrong! This was an amazing book, I couldn't put it down and when I did I had to pick it right back up at any available moment. It follows the story of 2 unlikely but inseparable friends and the trouble they get into and it actually had me laughing out loud at certain parts. It's definitely worth the time :)
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
August 10, 2014
I was slightly disappointed by this book. Emma Kennedy is usually very funny but this book lacked her usual spark. The story is that of two naive young English girls who go to America and then proceed to make a pigs ear of everything. They went in their early twenties. I went for the first time when I was 16 and didn't make anywhere near as many mistakes. I didn't feel empathy with the girls more a sense of dread in waiting for the next thing that would get cocked up.
July 20, 2018
2 1/2 stars...I really enjoyed Emma Kennedy’s tent and bucket book. But this was just nowhere near as good, funny or entertaining. I feel that it wasn’t enough good stuff to fill a book, there wasn’t always a great sense of place or atmosphere. It was a bit lazy and, frankly dull in places. I couldn’t picture the friend Dee which was such a shame as pictures of Emma are plastered all over the cover. So where was she, who was she? Not there in face or character. Could do better for sure.
October 23, 2018
Listened to in audio format.
I bought this after enjoying Emma Kennedy's first book The Tent, the bucket and me. I enjoyed listening to I Left My Tent in San Francisco but it did not leave me crying with laughter as the first book.
Emma and her best friend Dee decided to travel to San Francisco for 4 months after graduating from Oxford University. Once in San Francisco neither could get jobs and considered returning to the UK when Emma and Dee only had $3 between them.
Luckily they both found jobs and saved their money for 2 months. After that they planned to travel back slowly to New York over a month and fit in some sightseeing. However on their first night camping Emma realised she left their brand new tent in San Francisco. With no tent and very little money the girls were lucky and were befriended by kind strangers.
Despite her calamitous life. Emma described how she first got a place at Oxford studying Politics. However she lost her place when she couldn't complete her A Levels after being ill with Glandular Fever. After recovering Emma met her old English teacher who had retired and tutored her to pass her English A level. She tried again and Emma won another place at Oxford studying English.
I was glad that Emma`s parents teachers Brenda and Tony were also in the book. I had a lump in my throat when Emma and Dee said goodbye at Gatwick. Dee on to medical school and Emma back to her parents until she decided what she wanted to do next.
This was a delightful book just not as funny as The Tent, the bucket and me.
I bought this after enjoying Emma Kennedy's first book The Tent, the bucket and me. I enjoyed listening to I Left My Tent in San Francisco but it did not leave me crying with laughter as the first book.
Emma and her best friend Dee decided to travel to San Francisco for 4 months after graduating from Oxford University. Once in San Francisco neither could get jobs and considered returning to the UK when Emma and Dee only had $3 between them.
Luckily they both found jobs and saved their money for 2 months. After that they planned to travel back slowly to New York over a month and fit in some sightseeing. However on their first night camping Emma realised she left their brand new tent in San Francisco. With no tent and very little money the girls were lucky and were befriended by kind strangers.
Despite her calamitous life. Emma described how she first got a place at Oxford studying Politics. However she lost her place when she couldn't complete her A Levels after being ill with Glandular Fever. After recovering Emma met her old English teacher who had retired and tutored her to pass her English A level. She tried again and Emma won another place at Oxford studying English.
I was glad that Emma`s parents teachers Brenda and Tony were also in the book. I had a lump in my throat when Emma and Dee said goodbye at Gatwick. Dee on to medical school and Emma back to her parents until she decided what she wanted to do next.
This was a delightful book just not as funny as The Tent, the bucket and me.
June 29, 2011
After this and "The Tent, The Bucket and Me" I wonder if Ms Kennedy has trouble finding people to go on holiday with.
I was keen to read this as I found "the tent" hilarious and while this is funny it doesn't quite have the charm of its predecessor. While many of the protagonists misadventures are highly amusing their naievety is occasionally frustrating rather than funny. Though the story of an expertly planned and cautiously executed road trip would be fairly dull.
I'm approximately the same age as Ms Kennedy so we share many reference points, though I think the LP vs CD debate had been fairly well settled by 1989.
On the whole it's a fun read and I recommend it if you enjoyed "the tent" but with the caveat that it's not quite as hilarious.
I wonder if she has any more tent based adventures to share with us.
I was keen to read this as I found "the tent" hilarious and while this is funny it doesn't quite have the charm of its predecessor. While many of the protagonists misadventures are highly amusing their naievety is occasionally frustrating rather than funny. Though the story of an expertly planned and cautiously executed road trip would be fairly dull.
I'm approximately the same age as Ms Kennedy so we share many reference points, though I think the LP vs CD debate had been fairly well settled by 1989.
On the whole it's a fun read and I recommend it if you enjoyed "the tent" but with the caveat that it's not quite as hilarious.
I wonder if she has any more tent based adventures to share with us.
July 15, 2016
An amusing enough read in parts but certainly not the ridiculously funny read the cover blurb promised. Both girls irritated me slightly & I found it hard to believe that they could both be so naïve as they appeared at times, thoughtless to those who were kind enough to help them (Gayle especially) & daft enough to be used as cheap labour (though part of me says good on yer Marlene for making them pay their way!). It made me wonder just how much was fact & how much was fiction. One thing I though was missing was some photos from the trip - might have helped convince me it was true!
July 24, 2012
A good book to read for theexperienced traveller in the UK, the stories are often funny but I can help feeling it could have been so much more> Pick up as its a quick read and will help you think about your own travels. I picked it up as its similar to my second book which is currently in production in the fact that its about travels in the States, but the similarity stops there.
October 13, 2019
enjoyed this autobiography of the authors USA trip in 1989 its funny in parts and reminded me of my trip to the the US in the same year and similar places too but didn't have the mishaps though
May 5, 2020
Emma Kennedy's second biographical book looks at her and her best friend's trip across America on a shoe string budget that they undertook after graduation from Oxford university. A book full of comedy, made funnier in that the events actually occurred; a trip that starts in New York and then across to San Francisco where the girls have to earn the money to pay for the trek back across America... which is where the real adventure begins. 6 out of 12.
January 19, 2023
Once again this authors memoirs are so enjoyable
Really funny
I loved the first one
This one is almost as good
If she writes anything else I will listen to it.
Author self narrates and this makes this more authentic
Great listen
Really funny
I loved the first one
This one is almost as good
If she writes anything else I will listen to it.
Author self narrates and this makes this more authentic
Great listen
May 13, 2023
Do listen to this on Audible as Emma Kennedy is a fantastic storyteller and narrator. I lost count of how many times it made me laugh out loud. It’s a tale of how not to travel across America and, wow, just how much bad luck can one person endure with hilarious outcomes. Loved it.
July 9, 2018
Chronicling the misfortunes of Emma and Dee in their United States' mini adventure, this is a daft and charming read. Their misfortunes along the way - although I'm sure they weren't great fun at the time - are amusing. It's a nice and easy writing style, and you grow to love both the narrator (Emma) and her best friend (Dee).
October 4, 2024
I had high hopes for this but the more I read the more ridiculous it got!
I don’t even understand why then went on this trip - they achieved nothing and seemed to enjoy it even less - most of the trip was torture for them (and me!). What a wasted opportunity!
I don’t even understand why then went on this trip - they achieved nothing and seemed to enjoy it even less - most of the trip was torture for them (and me!). What a wasted opportunity!
May 4, 2012
When I first decided to undertake a travel month for my blog, this book moved from the back to the forefront of my mind. I have fond memories of various 90s comedy sketch shows starring one Emma Kennedy and have been following her amusing twiter feed for a while now (I highly recommend checking out her website for some very funny anecdotes). I discovered this book whilst reading a pant-wettingly hilarious column in the Guardian about her childhood camping experiences. And I love a good comedy biography. Travel, comedy, it was a bit of a no-brainer to include this one, really.
A was expecting laughs and I got them. I don't really want to go into too many specific incidents for fear of ruining the experience for the potential reader, but there were I couple of times when I did that thing of chuckling away to myself in silent hysterics for quite a long time after putting the book down. Apparently, my husband finds this REALLY annoying, but I just couldn't stop. I had to pay several trips to the bathroom to pull myself together.
One of the other great things was the pace - whenever I pick up an autobiography, I live in dread that, no matter how much I hero-worship the author, it will be sluggish and self indulgent and will be the literary equivalent of sorting paperclips. But thankfully, the pace here was great - we move very swiftly through the university years and from then on it's set piece after set piece and all the better for it. I particularly enjoyed the little sub plot of her parents parallel event-filled jaunt across Europe. (Three words - HAUNTED NAZI MANSION.)
I've never been to the US, but this book is a great nostaligic trip for anyone who'e ever taken a gap year and chooses to remember it through those ever-reliable rose-tinted specs. Whilst reading this, I remembered all those long forgotten days of anguish and boredom and frustration and the fact that the streets of foreign climbs aren't always paved with gold, more likely dog shit and flecks of vomit (I had my own little adventure with BUNAC in Australia). But this makes it all funnier when recalling these experiences. With the benefit of a few years, mind.
So, a brilliant read, highly recommended, and you can't say better than that really.
TRAVEL TIPS?
Um, yeah, if you're prepared for your trip and remember to bring your tent, you're probably less likely to run into trouble with midget porn barons, BUT, your travel biography would make very dull reading. So, swings and roundabouts, I guess.
I reviewed this book as part of my travelling tales month. Check out my blog for more details -
www.annascottjots.blogspot.co.uk
A was expecting laughs and I got them. I don't really want to go into too many specific incidents for fear of ruining the experience for the potential reader, but there were I couple of times when I did that thing of chuckling away to myself in silent hysterics for quite a long time after putting the book down. Apparently, my husband finds this REALLY annoying, but I just couldn't stop. I had to pay several trips to the bathroom to pull myself together.
One of the other great things was the pace - whenever I pick up an autobiography, I live in dread that, no matter how much I hero-worship the author, it will be sluggish and self indulgent and will be the literary equivalent of sorting paperclips. But thankfully, the pace here was great - we move very swiftly through the university years and from then on it's set piece after set piece and all the better for it. I particularly enjoyed the little sub plot of her parents parallel event-filled jaunt across Europe. (Three words - HAUNTED NAZI MANSION.)
I've never been to the US, but this book is a great nostaligic trip for anyone who'e ever taken a gap year and chooses to remember it through those ever-reliable rose-tinted specs. Whilst reading this, I remembered all those long forgotten days of anguish and boredom and frustration and the fact that the streets of foreign climbs aren't always paved with gold, more likely dog shit and flecks of vomit (I had my own little adventure with BUNAC in Australia). But this makes it all funnier when recalling these experiences. With the benefit of a few years, mind.
So, a brilliant read, highly recommended, and you can't say better than that really.
TRAVEL TIPS?
Um, yeah, if you're prepared for your trip and remember to bring your tent, you're probably less likely to run into trouble with midget porn barons, BUT, your travel biography would make very dull reading. So, swings and roundabouts, I guess.
I reviewed this book as part of my travelling tales month. Check out my blog for more details -
www.annascottjots.blogspot.co.uk
June 1, 2017
Check out full review mariesbookboutique.wordpress.com/2017...
When I was leant this book by a very dear friend and saw the front cover of the book I immediately thought what a friendly feel it had; by including a personal photo from Emma's trip seems really appropriate because after all it' s about her and her best friend's journey. The blue of the title ties in with Emma's sleeping bag.
At the beginning of the book Emma tell the reader how she met her best friend and to be traveling buddy Dee at University and how the trip; to the USA comes about after they finish Uni. Emma is an only child and quit rightly so her parents had reservations as the family was known for being very good travellers at all!!! The come round and support her and Dee on their decision. While Emma is away her parent's also decide to go traveling in Europe; so Emma didn't have a safety net of her parents being at home in case she needed them. Emma was shocked but they managed to keep in contact with each other along the way.
I truly adored Emma and Dee's relationship and how very different people they were but at the same time they just worked. Pooling their money together to get through their trip on a shoe string and finding work where they could to get by. They looked after and out for one another the way best friend's should and I will say this they certainly gave me lots of laughs.
Along Kennedy's trip her and Dee meet some real characters, some we're truly lovely and some really not so lovely and I suppose that's just part and parcel of traveling. This book will have you laughing, wincing and gripped. Did Emma and Dee have enough money to get back to New York?
I really appreciate Emma's honesty through out this book, and what a journey they had!! I really recommend this book and actually it make a nice change from my normal reads; its packed full of adventure and experiences that kept me turning the pages. I will defiantly be looking out for more of Emma's books in the future.
When I was leant this book by a very dear friend and saw the front cover of the book I immediately thought what a friendly feel it had; by including a personal photo from Emma's trip seems really appropriate because after all it' s about her and her best friend's journey. The blue of the title ties in with Emma's sleeping bag.
At the beginning of the book Emma tell the reader how she met her best friend and to be traveling buddy Dee at University and how the trip; to the USA comes about after they finish Uni. Emma is an only child and quit rightly so her parents had reservations as the family was known for being very good travellers at all!!! The come round and support her and Dee on their decision. While Emma is away her parent's also decide to go traveling in Europe; so Emma didn't have a safety net of her parents being at home in case she needed them. Emma was shocked but they managed to keep in contact with each other along the way.
I truly adored Emma and Dee's relationship and how very different people they were but at the same time they just worked. Pooling their money together to get through their trip on a shoe string and finding work where they could to get by. They looked after and out for one another the way best friend's should and I will say this they certainly gave me lots of laughs.
Along Kennedy's trip her and Dee meet some real characters, some we're truly lovely and some really not so lovely and I suppose that's just part and parcel of traveling. This book will have you laughing, wincing and gripped. Did Emma and Dee have enough money to get back to New York?
I really appreciate Emma's honesty through out this book, and what a journey they had!! I really recommend this book and actually it make a nice change from my normal reads; its packed full of adventure and experiences that kept me turning the pages. I will defiantly be looking out for more of Emma's books in the future.
May 9, 2025
We don't think of the English as being funny, but some of them ARE. For some reason which I am unable to explain, a funny Englishman (or woman) is always funnier to me than a funny American. Go figure.
This is the hilarious, almost unbelievable, oh-no-they-DIN'T! story of two young Englishwomen who graduated from Oxford and decided to spend the summer in the U.S. You might think that two graduates of the one of the oldest and most revered universities in the world would be mature, well-organized, and savvy in the ways of the world. You would be wrong.
They made every mistake in the book from trusting to a fly-by-night student work program to get them jobs to embarking on a lengthy cross-country camping trip with no equipment. They had a tent, but not for long.
The met every weirdo in North America and some really lovely, generous people, too. They got back home broke and much older and wiser. Good times are great, but it's the bad ones that stretch your resources and give you the confidence to hang in and keep fighting.
One interesting event is the time the girls got drunk and trashed their hosts' basement. They were suprised at what seemed to them as the over-reaction of the Americans. In England, binge drinking by teens is accepted as a rite of passage. In the U.S. we know it happens, but we're NOT happy about it. Different strokes.
In between tales of the girls' (mis)adventures, we also get to hear about Emma's parent's trials and tribulations as they fling themselves across Europe on the vacation of their dreams (and nightmares.) It's always heart-warming to read a family story where it becomes evident that the nut didn't fall far from the parental tree.
It's a delightfully wacky, well-written book. I hope she keeps writing.
This is the hilarious, almost unbelievable, oh-no-they-DIN'T! story of two young Englishwomen who graduated from Oxford and decided to spend the summer in the U.S. You might think that two graduates of the one of the oldest and most revered universities in the world would be mature, well-organized, and savvy in the ways of the world. You would be wrong.
They made every mistake in the book from trusting to a fly-by-night student work program to get them jobs to embarking on a lengthy cross-country camping trip with no equipment. They had a tent, but not for long.
The met every weirdo in North America and some really lovely, generous people, too. They got back home broke and much older and wiser. Good times are great, but it's the bad ones that stretch your resources and give you the confidence to hang in and keep fighting.
One interesting event is the time the girls got drunk and trashed their hosts' basement. They were suprised at what seemed to them as the over-reaction of the Americans. In England, binge drinking by teens is accepted as a rite of passage. In the U.S. we know it happens, but we're NOT happy about it. Different strokes.
In between tales of the girls' (mis)adventures, we also get to hear about Emma's parent's trials and tribulations as they fling themselves across Europe on the vacation of their dreams (and nightmares.) It's always heart-warming to read a family story where it becomes evident that the nut didn't fall far from the parental tree.
It's a delightfully wacky, well-written book. I hope she keeps writing.
May 21, 2011
The time is 1989. Very few people have mobile phones, the internet is in its infancy and British graduates flock to America for working holidays. I think Camp America and BUNAC's Work America style programs have gone a bit out of fashion now but I do remember them being very popular. Emma and her best friend Dee go for the Work America option, convinced they will make a fortune.
Of course, they struggle to find jobs and when they do they're not well paid. Having a contact in San Francisco, they'd decided to base themselves there however their return flight leaves from New York. Emma and Dee must somehow get across the country on a barely there budget. Not only that, but Emma seems to have inherited the holiday bad luck gene from her parents.
Not as funny as The Tent, the Bucket and Me but then I don't have any experience of back-packing to compare this to. Maybe you'll read it and identify with lots of their struggles. One thing that does ring true, the more you try and do things on the cheap, the more likely things are to go wrong... When they do go wrong, they appear ten times worse because you have no money to get yourself out of it!
Emma's books document a slice in time that we won't see again. Just like her family's camping experiences, working and travelling abroad has changed so much. I don't think anyone would be naive enough to set out without back-up funds and there is the constant communication we have in the internet to help us out.
Of course, they struggle to find jobs and when they do they're not well paid. Having a contact in San Francisco, they'd decided to base themselves there however their return flight leaves from New York. Emma and Dee must somehow get across the country on a barely there budget. Not only that, but Emma seems to have inherited the holiday bad luck gene from her parents.
Not as funny as The Tent, the Bucket and Me but then I don't have any experience of back-packing to compare this to. Maybe you'll read it and identify with lots of their struggles. One thing that does ring true, the more you try and do things on the cheap, the more likely things are to go wrong... When they do go wrong, they appear ten times worse because you have no money to get yourself out of it!
Emma's books document a slice in time that we won't see again. Just like her family's camping experiences, working and travelling abroad has changed so much. I don't think anyone would be naive enough to set out without back-up funds and there is the constant communication we have in the internet to help us out.
August 22, 2012
I saw this book in Waterstone’s and noticing ‘The Tales of the City’ tag line bought it. I am a huge ‘Tales of the City’ fan. To be fair this book has very little if anything at all to do with ‘Tales of the City’ except for the fact that Emma and her best chum Dee spent their first few penniless months in the fair city of San Francisco.
It is a hilarious remembrance of Emma’s time in the States. You meet Emma as she graduates from Oxford (well you meet her briefly as she starts but the story soon moves to the end) and she and her friend Dee think it a splendid idea to go to America for 4 months with just £350 each. They figure they will soon get a job there as the yanks love the English accent and teeth. As you can imagine things don’t go quite as planned but it’s great fun to join them on the journey. It’s a bit like Enid Blyton meets Jack Kerouac if that makes sense at all…
It’s very funny and I laughed out loud many times, which does not happen all that often.
Emma proves that contrary to what we see on the news each day folks can actually be nice to each other even if they don’t know you. It reminded me of my reckless youth of working in various hotels and travelling all over meeting new people. I really must get my memories of those times finished and only hope it is half as funny as Emma’s.
Coincidentally Emma can be seen on our TV screens at the moment on Masterchef - good luck Emma.
It is a hilarious remembrance of Emma’s time in the States. You meet Emma as she graduates from Oxford (well you meet her briefly as she starts but the story soon moves to the end) and she and her friend Dee think it a splendid idea to go to America for 4 months with just £350 each. They figure they will soon get a job there as the yanks love the English accent and teeth. As you can imagine things don’t go quite as planned but it’s great fun to join them on the journey. It’s a bit like Enid Blyton meets Jack Kerouac if that makes sense at all…
It’s very funny and I laughed out loud many times, which does not happen all that often.
Emma proves that contrary to what we see on the news each day folks can actually be nice to each other even if they don’t know you. It reminded me of my reckless youth of working in various hotels and travelling all over meeting new people. I really must get my memories of those times finished and only hope it is half as funny as Emma’s.
Coincidentally Emma can be seen on our TV screens at the moment on Masterchef - good luck Emma.
March 2, 2014
It's hard to believe that every tale recounted in this book is totally true, though the book presents itself as a factual retelling. That simply means that Emma Kennedy is a disaster-magnet as far as holidays are concerned. Who would believe that two new graduates, travelling to America for a working holiday, could possibly suffer such a string of troubles?
Reading this on a train, my hand kept leaping to my mouth - at first it was a reaction to the horror of some of the things that happened to the two travellers, and then it was to cover the laughter. Goodness knows what my fellow travellers thought!
But it is an easy read and a very entertaining one. I don't think I'd ever dare to go on holiday with Emma Kennedy ... but I'd happily read another book about her holidays!
Reading this on a train, my hand kept leaping to my mouth - at first it was a reaction to the horror of some of the things that happened to the two travellers, and then it was to cover the laughter. Goodness knows what my fellow travellers thought!
But it is an easy read and a very entertaining one. I don't think I'd ever dare to go on holiday with Emma Kennedy ... but I'd happily read another book about her holidays!
August 13, 2013
I've been meaning to read this for ages, and I'm so glad I did. I might actually have pulled a muscle laughing. I couldn't really put it down. Two girls, Emma and Dee, recently graduated from Oxford university, attempt to cross the United States from California to New York, using money they believed they'd earn in San Francisco. But as it turns out, they can't even get a job in MacDonalds. They're living off pennies, the generousity of strangers and value packets of beef jerky, bumping into catastrophe after hilarious catastrophe. They had planned to camp their way across the country, but then, as you can guess, accidentally leave the tent in San Francisco. And that's not even the worst thing that happens to them. Very, very funny.
January 19, 2012
Emma has just finished a degree in English at Oxford and doesn't know what to do next. So the answer is obviously to go to America for a few months where she will be employed immediately because of her cute English accent and come home rich with lots of cool experiences.
This doesn't happen. Instead she and her best friend Dee are attacked by Jellyfish, forced to camp out overnight, almost killed by storms and earthquakes, sexually harassed, sprayed by skunks, robbed, rescued and generally put through the mill.
This isn't life changing or ground breaking, but it's nice to read and it's funny. Emma Kennedy is a very good writer, making this book light and refreshing.
This doesn't happen. Instead she and her best friend Dee are attacked by Jellyfish, forced to camp out overnight, almost killed by storms and earthquakes, sexually harassed, sprayed by skunks, robbed, rescued and generally put through the mill.
This isn't life changing or ground breaking, but it's nice to read and it's funny. Emma Kennedy is a very good writer, making this book light and refreshing.
January 15, 2013
I don't know what it is about Emma Kennedy, but I love her voice. It's a hilarious story of two girls' trip to America on basically a wish and a prayer. They suppose they'll get jobs on Day One, but it turns out it isn't that easy and they've only got $700 between them to keep them alive. Hijinks, of course, ensue. A crazy amusing cross-country tale with a few really profound emotional moments that most of us have experienced in one way or another. It's a coming of age story that makes me want to take a road trip, though I think I'll start out with a little more cash. And the #1 rule in America: Don't forget the loose change.
July 29, 2014
Emma Kennedy is exactly the same in print as when she appears on TV. I think she won the UK celebrity masterchef. She appears as slightly nutty and her book is the same. It tells of how her and a friend, after university head off to San Francisco, stay with Emma's very tight-fisted cousin and then head off without the tent they have just bought...across the USA where they are in the main met by lovely kind and friendly people as Americans are...and one or two total nutters.
It's fast paced, witty and all told with Kennedy's self-deprecating and charming style.
Easy read and really good fun and it has travel in it.
It's fast paced, witty and all told with Kennedy's self-deprecating and charming style.
Easy read and really good fun and it has travel in it.
February 4, 2013
I loved the tent the bucket and me, so I was very much looking forward to this, but I have to say it left a nagging sense of disappointment. It was funny, but felt a bit like someone, who's first joke has worked well, trying to eke it out further despite the material not being so good. Whereas Emma and her family's exploits camping were charming, whimsical, and plain laugh out loud funny, her time in America couldn't help but feel like an unmitigated disaster punctuated by a few slightly amusing anecdotes. It's ok, but just not as readable on the whole.
May 13, 2015
I have read one of Emma’s previous books (I don’t know whether she has written more than that) and I enjoyed it so I knew I would like this one. Her writing style is easy and funny and she adds enough details to let you paint the scene without bogging you down in it all. The only thing I did not like is that I sometimes thought that their actions, and their lack of knowledge, was implausible but given that this is a true story I guess that’s more worrying than anything! I enjoyed it anyway and it gets a thumbs up.
May 12, 2011
I got this as a First Read and I really enjoyed it. It only loses a star for the reason I gave in my first update while reading it... The author mentions playing netball against a school, which is the school I attended, and she mispelt the name of the school - it's Dame Alice Harpur, not Dame Alice Harper. I have no objections to her opinion of the school or the girls who went there, but if you're writing a factual book, you should check your facts!!!
August 6, 2013
I like travel memoirs and this was a nice quick read. It was informative about the places she travels to and some of the mishaps are funny BUT nothing went right and either she was extremely naive or situations were made up. I find it hard to believe all these things went wrong and that she was so clueless about other people, travelling and life in general. It's like she's never left the house before. This book was enjoyable to read but annoying in places.
January 26, 2016
Very funny book. A succession of mishaps so unlucky its difficult to believe they actually happened... but told in such a charming way and with such comic conversations the reader doesn't really mind if they are true or not. If this unlucky voyage DID happen as written the two girls had the most incredible good humour and were very loyal and supportive of each other.. so it's quite touching as well as extremely funny.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews