Zigzag

by Ellen Wittlinger

A summer disappointment turns into a cross-country discovery.

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.
     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.
     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.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Road Trip, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Family, High School

284 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Ellen Wittlinger is the critically acclaimed author of 15 young adult novels including Parrotfish, Heart on My Sleeve, Love & Lies: Marisol's Story, Razzle, What's in a Name, and Hard Love (an American Library Association Michael L. Printz Honor Book, a Lambda Literary Award winner, and a Booklist Editors' Choice). She has a bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop. A former children's librarian, she lives with her husband in western Massachusetts.

Reviews

[ੈ✩‧₊˚ faithreads *ೃ༄ (inactive) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book had a great premise but it was just too 2018 core lollll. The language was just so dated and the whole book just made me cringe! The plot was sweet, if a little boring. I didn’t love her little Chris drama, it’s so annoyingggg bro! I feel like the whole book was a little whiny but overall not bad!

[Imama · Rating 5 out of 5]

"As soon as I pulled back out onto the main road I got a little thrill, like here we go again! There's something so exciting about starting out on a trip, wondering what you'll see and do - and this trip started new everyday. I think I could get addicted to life on the road."

This is the first travel fiction novel I read and I'm pretty in love with it. It's not one of those hyped books but it's great.

Premise:
Robin agrees to go a road trip with her dysfunctional aunt and cousins after her boyfriend goes to Italy for the summer.

Let's talk about the main character

Robin is annoying, whiny and clingy in the beginning of the book because she thinks the only thing special about her is Chris, her boyfriend. At first you will find a lot of Chris in this book amd just wanna shout at Robin, 'girl, get a grip!' but gradually as the road trip starts, the presence of Chris in the paragraphs diminishes and you can see Robin as her own independent person. Robin is a great example of self-dicovery of all the things you didn't know about yourself because of some person in your life. Basically, we get to see a different side of robin as the story progresses. How she deals with her bratty, spoiled cousins? How she has to act as a mediator between them? How she holds them together when they become too crazy? Robin really grows up on this trip and realizes her own plans after high school which were next to nil in the presence of Chris. Robin shows how travelling is really a journey of self-dicovery within one's self. And I really like that.

Time to talk about Robin's crazy aunt and cousins

Aunt Dory and Robin's cousins Iris and Marshall are actually dealing with grief after the death of their husband and father respectively and that kinda makes them dysfunctional. Iris and Marshall are rich, spoiled and bratty and there were times I actually wanted to slap Iris hard. They both fight constantly though this gets ignored by their mother. They both hate Robin. They are used getting everything their way and because of the death of their father, they are spiralling out of control.

Iris is whiny, mean, and angry at the world that her father has died. Trust me, you will hate her. Iris has developed an eating disorder because of the grief but it's not the main focus of the book but I still thought I should tell you about it.

Marshall is just as mean as his sister and spoiled too but he is also a lot better than Iris as you get to know him and warms up to Robin first. He's a great artist.

Dory is depressed and ignores her children's fighting and is oblivious of Iris's eating disorder and is more focused on Marshall's nightmares and violent drawings. The road trip is her idea to get out of the house and Iris and Marshall hate it.

BUT these three characters show how travelling can be therapeutic and I love this.

Time to talk about Franny

"A sense of humour is more useful than most of those other senses if you are going to get through life in one piece" ~ Franny


Robin's friend and my favourite character in the whole book. Her parents are divorced and that's why she had to be independent from an early age. She can't imagine why robin says Chris is the best thing in her life because she hates to to tied down by anyone. She's a tough cookie, she's funny and writes poems about her parents divorce. She's a hodgepodge perfectly happy with herself. I just love her.

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I love road trip novels and I love how this book is descriptive. I learned about so many different places in USA because normally, most books are set in cities. So this was a pleasant surprise. This book is unpredictable, their trip is unpredictable just like life and I love that. How plans don't always work out but there is a good side to bad luck. I love how travelling can make you learn so much about yourself and how it can heal people.


"Because the greatest part of a road trip isn't arriving at your destination.
It's all the wild stuff that happens along the way." ~ Emma Chase
•
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Keep this quote in your mind as you read this awesome book.

[Koori no hi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book was not what I expected it to be. It started out with a winy girl complaining about her boyfriend going away, and I considered stopping there, but I'm glad I kept going.
Robin really grows up in this book and her cousins are horrible to her, but you can see them growing up by the end as well. I liked how this book ended as well. Lots of stories end abruptly or just get cut off in a too be continued kind of way. But in Zig-Zag, it ended well.
The reason I only gave this book 3 stars, despite all the praise was that it was not that interesting to me. I don't usually read this genre, and while tis was a good book, it wasn't really my thing.

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book this is now me of my favourite books. I would like to read more books by this author. :)

[Katie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard book to review because the parts that made it most annoying were also the parts that made it most realistic. When we first meet Robin, she's devastated that her boyfriend Chris is about to go away to college, and she's even more upset when she finds out he's going to Rome for the summer, ruining their plans to spend their last summer together. She's constantly whining and crying and being mad at him. I wanted to hate her for being so selfish (and I sort of did), but I also understood her. This is her first boyfriend, her first love, and she's afraid being away from him will make him realize she's not good enough for him. It's annoying, but she's a believable.

As annoying as Robin was, she at least tries to be more grown up when she goes on the trip with her aunt and cousins, all of whom were horrible. At first I felt sorry for Dory for having such horrible children, but the more we got to know them the more clear it was that they were horrible because she let them get away with it. Both her children are monsters, especially Iris. I get that they're grieving, but that didn't make it easier to read about them. Robin kept trying to help them - I just wanted her to scream at them and beat the crap out of them. I guess this is why I shouldn't be a parent - I have no patience for shit like that. The logical part of me knew that they were lashing out because they were in pain, but the rest of me didn't care and was hoping they would die some horrible death, even though I knew that's not what would happen.

It was also sort of fun to see how old this book was. Her friend works at a video store. Robin and her mom don't have CD players - only tape players. They even talk about Mary Kate and Ashley movies - once, sure, but the reference is there. None of that was supposed to add humor to the book, of course, but since it's 12 years later and pretty much none of that exists anymore, it was fun for me.

Overall, this was a mostly realistic book. The end came together a bit too nicely, and I can't imagine people as wonderful as Savannah and her family really exist, but it was still a good read. I just wish the cousins had been a bit more likable and that the ending had felt a little less rushed.

[Emily G · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Robins boyfriends leaves on his summer program, she is left with nothing to do over the summer. That's when she finds out her aunt and annoying cousins are going on a cross-country road trip and she is invited. She spends days after days in the car and finally gets to like them. The go from state to state and all of a sudden something happened. You will have to read this book to find out what happened.
The main character of the book Zig Zag is Robin. The setting is always changing but mostly in the car or in different places in each state. Robin the character is very loving and caring and loves to know things. In this story there is a lot of conflicts but the main one is that she does not get along with her cousins.
I really liked this book and it made you want to read more. There was a couple times that it got boring but as you went on it got better. The reason I think I really liked this book was because it involved a girl that was about my age. The only bad part in my opinion was that at the end it is a cliff hanger.

[Ann Valdez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe being a native Iowan made this book special from the start. Robin's home area is Iowa City, they go to the Cedar Rapids airport, and she might attend the University of Iowa. Her wealthy aunt and two younger cousins take a summer journey to Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico (and all of these places were interesting vacation spots for me as well.) Greater still is the inner journey she goes through dealing with her fears as her wealthy boyfriend (who will be going away to college in the fall) is spending the summer studying in Italy. Her uncle was tragically killed so her aunt and cousins are on an inner journey of their own. Bickering between siblings, ugliness toward their mom, and rudeness to their cousin "not wealthy" Robin are part of the drama and tension. I gave it five stars because I enjoyed reading every bit of it and it had a good resolution. It is an older book from 2003 and maybe the lack of issues dominant in 2017 made it a good read for me.

[Nilay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin has just graduated from high school and hopes to spend the summer with her boyfriend before he leaves for college, that is, until Robin finds out he has to go on a summer program to Rome. Not wanting to spend the summer alone, Robin agrees to join her aunt and cousins on a road trip across the country. I enjoyed reading this book because of its vivid descriptions of many places in the West coast I have never traveled to. Robin's journey has made her more aware of the world, her family and her future. It is amazing how learning about other places and traveling can have this much impact on a person.

[Kaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really didn’t think I’d like this book because of how annoying the main character was, but I pushed through it. (mainly because i had to read it for school). Robin was a bratty character who was overly obsessed with her boyfriend in my opinion, but her in the beginning and her at the end are two totally different people. She realized that her whole life doesn’t revolve around her boyfriend. The character development was amazing

[Roxy · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first started ZigZag I thought I was going to dislike the protagonist and the story since Robin’s nagging and obsession with her boyfriend was very annoying, but after seeing her growth and the bonding with her cousins/aunt I loved it. I also really liked how every state they passed by was described and the locations they visited.

[Priscilla Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gotta say even though this book sometimes moved slow, I really liked it. I don’t read a lot of general YA fiction but it makes me curious what’s out there. I would say if you think the book sounds interesting give a try because you probably will like it. A lot of the character traits were kinda relatable and I just felt this book was an honest depiction of how people grieve and grow.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining. It was nice to learn about some neat places to visit on a trip, and it was refreshing to see this teenage girl stop obsessing over herself and reach out to help her cousins who were in bad shape, even love them despite their social problems.

[Colleen Mertens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know what to expect when I picked this up but found that I really enjoyed this. As the book progressed, I found myself liking all the characters and wanting to see them grow and change through their lives and adventures. It didn't turn out as planned but it was a great book.

[Pratibha Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful light read. It’s about a girl who takes a road trip with her widowed aunt and spoiled two kids.. but small ,beautiful ,sensitive incidents happening along the way change her by the end.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

teaching kids other people have feelings since 2003

[#BooksAreMyLife]

I had to read it for school. I thought this was not my kind of book...Until I read it. It was actually pretty good!

[Brianna Crucitti · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Zig Zag" Your Way Into This Adventurous Book!

The book Zig Zag by Ellen Wittlinger is a book that has a more relaxing plot. The book is laid back in the sense that not much action happens throughout the story, yet the events that take place and the characters within the novel are easy to relate to. It's a story about a girl, Robin, who is not the most privileged, and her boyfriend, Chris, who seems to live in a utopia. His parents have high paying jobs, he’s soon to be attending a “high standard” college, and he’s headed off to Rome for the summer for an education program. However, Chris isn't the only one spending their summer in a luxurious place; Robin is traveling throughout the United States with her aunt and two younger cousins on a road trip. At first, Robin isn't too thrilled with the idea that she has to spend her summer with her troubled yet snooty rich cousins, but eventually, she learns to make the most of it and enjoy herself, despite the fact she's so far away from her boyfriend. The trip gets more exciting for her as she gets to visit her dad whom she hasn't seen since she was a small child. There are ups and downs to the trip, especially because she has to listen to her cousins putting up fights with each other, but she looks forward to certain things and is surprised by many others. The story leads you perfectly into the couple's separate journeys and how different they are from each other.

In my opinion, the book was an easy read, but it was very interesting to learn about the journeys Robin took without it losing my attention. The book is not action filled, but it's very relaxing to read whenever you have down time. I like how imagery was evident throughout the novel. As Robin adventured through the States, you could almost experience what it was like to be there. The author took time to describe each setting in such detail that it almost felt you were vacationing there yourself. Also, I enjoyed that the story taught important life lessons and good morals. Robin is seen sort of like a therapist for her cousins and aunt as she most of the time gets stuck in the middle of their issues. She grows closer with her cousins at specific stages within their voyages, she tries her best to set proper examples for her cousins in hopes to make them make better choices for the better of their relationship as a family. The trip guides the family to live day by day and see what each day in another place brings them. More specifically, Robin tries to teach one of her younger cousins that money isn't the only thing you need to be happy. I liked how the book was very insightful. I took away lots of great tips from this book and it seemed to radiate good vibes for me as I realized that some things are important than others and you need to enjoy the smallest of things. This truly was an eye-opening read.

“This book is proof that a road trip can change your life.” - Seventeen Magazine

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful coming of age story. Maybe everyone needs a road trip.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a couple named Chris and Robin. Chris’s parents have put Chris into a program/college in Rome. This is Robin and Chris’s last time seeing each other before Chris has to leave at the end of the summer. Chris does not tell Robin until the last few days of summer. Robin is heartbroken. She agrees to go on a road trip with Chris’s aunt and cousins. Even though Robin is still very sad she try’s to act nice while they are on the trip together. As all of them are together exploring the West on their road trip Robin starts finding some inner feelings that she never knew she had. She doesn’t quite know if she likes these new feelings yet or not but she is giving them a chance to see what she can do with them herself. The most interesting thing that happened in this part of the story was how Robin reacted. She started crying at the beginning when Chris first told her that he was leaving, but then later that night when they were talking she was all happy for him and was very proud of him and his decision. She kept having mood swings ever since Chris told her about college. I’m also wondering how Robin will handle the change once Chris is really gone for good and he has left, because at the end of the book Chris still hasn't left for college and they never told when he had left. For this type of book I would only recommend this book for readers who are not into action. This book has very little if not no action throughout the entire story. People might also like this book because of the love story that is going on during the book. Some readers don’t like the love stuff so those people would not like this book. If readers like a book that has no action, no exciting parts, slow paced and kinda boring at parts than this would be a great book for that type of reader.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

One of my favorite things in this book was that they traveled through what I will call as "the empty states." I don't mean this in a bad way, but because as a non-US person, I barely hear about these states. These are: Iowa, Minnesota, Wyoming, northern Texas, and a few more. The book showed me the kind of people that live there as well as where they are in the US map. (I'll admit I know about half of the states' locations. A lot look similar, okay?) I like road trips, so at least half of the rating is due to this.

I'll have to admit Robin annoyed me at the beginning of the book. "But Chris is my whole life!" "What am I going to do without him?!" "Chris is in Rome and I'm in Iowa. I want to dieeeeee." Okay, not as exaggerated as the last one, but she was almost there. Maybe it's because I hate clingy people or simply because it is my belief that whiny characters aren't good characters, but it annoyed me so much. As the road trip continues, this wears off. I'm so glad it did, since it allowed me to look at other things of Robin's personality. This happened as well with the same of her road trip partners. I won't go in detail with each of them, but as the trip moves along their first impression shatters and you grow to care for them.

Zigzag is a very enjoyable book, specially of you like road trips and books about road trips. It's a fast and easy read, perfect to read in between big books. It's not a plot-driven book (pun intended), but more of a character one. Still, it's a good book and I'll be definitely be re-reading it soon.

[JohnP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robin’s world is in a bit of turmoil. Her to-die-for boyfriend, Chris, is going away to college on the East Coast at the end of the summer and she’s “nothing” without him. Suddenly, their last summer together gets cut to just about zero, as Chris says Yes to an opportunity to go to Rome for the most of the summer. Reeling from that blow, Robin watches her single-mother’s attention get diverted to a new boyfriend! Alone and feeling sorry for herself, Robin agrees to a cross-country trip with her Aunt Dory and her two ultra-bratty kids. Thus begins our saga, as they zig-zag (hence the title) from Iowa to California. There’s a lot of turmoil, a lot of angst and certainly a LOT of battle-royales between the travel occupants.

I enjoyed this book, but I found it was just a BIT too formulaic. As soon as their road trip started, I had a few assumptions about what was going to happen - and, sure enough, it did. I had already read Joan Bauer’s epic Rules of the Road, and I kept having flashbacks to that story. Also, I read this book right after I read Hard Love by this author. I kept waiting for the intense emotion and angst from that book to appear here, but it did not. They’re just two different books, so I set myself up for a fall. Give this one a try, but then read Rules of the Road and compare.

[Aika · Rating 4 out of 5]

An all expense paid road trip across the United States with your aunt and two cousins, how fun.Robin is taking this journey over the summer to stop thinking about her boyfriend. Chris is spending his last summer with her in Europe, Rome to be exact. He's going to college next year and she is left to fend for herself as a senior in high school without him. Zigzagging across the country with her two younger and annoying cousins should keep her mind off of him for the time being. Even though she has low expectations, she learns the back life that her relatives, and begins to bond with them. We see how stereotypes can damage ones mind. The female cousin tries to be as skinny as she can be, by attempting to throw up the food she eats. Also, since the kids are wealthy, they act snooty and think they are know it alls. They are spoiled and get whatever they want whenever they want. These children act behind the stereotypical bars of their social status and try to live up to them, even if it is harming themselves. This book is a good and interesting read. The beginning was some what slow, and it didn't seem as if it was going anywhere. Although, as the book progressed, it became more realistic and lively. This book is a short and easy read, so why not give it a try and take a chance and actually read it.

[Jillian Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

"When people say they love you, you just have to decide to believe them, because you'll never know for sure." - Ellen Wittlinger (Zig Zag)
When Robin's boyfriend moves to Rome for the summer, she is left with nothing to do and is bored. He consumes her thoughts constantly until an opportunity comes around. Her aunt, Dory, asks Robin if she wants to go on a car trip from Iowa to California with her and her two spoiled children who just recently lost a father. Since Robin had nothing better to do (and she hopes to see her father again in Arizona), she agrees.
At first, the car trip couldn't be any worse. Between Iris thought that the whole world revolved around what she wanted, and Marshall blamed everyone else for his mistakes, Robin was having a hard time adjusting.
Then things changed. Robin didn't know as much as she thought she did. Iris trusts her with a secret that may be detrimental to her. Can Robin keep it a secret?
Everyone finds things that they didn't know they needed. Robin grows close to the kids even though the hard times.
This book is filled with twists and fun! Ellen Wittlinger made these characters come to life. I appreciated how much each character stayed true to what they originally were introduced as. I recommend this to anyone who likes easy reads and loves adventures.

[Nicholas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zig Zag by Ellen Wittlinger is an inspiring book to read, it includes the very southern road trip type of feeling, as they are driving their old vehicle all as one family in a dusty decayed climate. The main character had found her friend named Chris in the City of Iowa, they both went to a southern restaurant by where they lived to just stop by and munch on a few foods they both were very hungry by then and needed something before they both hit the road. Mom was on the phone in the kitchen she looked directly up and stated "forgot something?", the main character would discuss what is happening but not immediately a long moment of silence passed as it felt like a tumbleweed flew by, the main character said "finish your phone call." As they both went on it was almost time to leave, and soon after they eventually left and surprisingly did not forget anything, On the road trip they sang songs and had lots of fun until they finally reached their destination throughout the whole book. The book includes many happy moments and some pricelessly sad moments but most of all it was in the road trip that made it the most special, I would prescribe this book to one of my friends as they must like emotional road trips to come in books like Zig Zag.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zig Zag has been sitting on my shelf for too long. I finally picked it up two days ago, expecting a nice little teenage story around a roadtrip. What I got was so much more. The story begins like your average love story where one part of the couple leaves for college. Seen before, read before, could easily turn into a stereotype-kind-of-thing. Only it didn't. I didn't actually like Robin much at the start but throughout the book, Wittlinger peels away layer upon layer of that whiny seventeen year old and reveals the truly amazing personality she possesses. It's a book about progress, about loss and grief and change. It's also part travel book but in such a subtle way that you just want to go there yourself already. As for the end, my first reaction was "Bah, no!" until I thought about it and it does fit the whole story. Read this, if you find yourself at a crossroad. Read this and you'll see that a change of perspective is sometimes the best way to get out of a seemingly hopeless situation.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Zig Zag is a story of a girl named Robin who has just finished her Junior year of high school. Her boyfriend, Chris, is going to Rome for the summer and then to college afterward. Robin is devastated that they won't be able to spend their last summer together. Then Robin's aunt invited her to go on a zig-zagging cross country road trip with her and her kids, which Robin reluctantly accepts. Along the road, Robin learns more about her crazy aunt and cousins who have lots of emotional issues due to the recent and tragic death of their husband and father. She also learns a lot about herself and about life. Throughout most of the story I wanted to pick up and shake some of the characters because they were acting so ridiculously. there is a lot of drama and arguing throughout most of the book, but it had some really good funny and touching moments. It touches on a lot of issues that teens go through such as death, divorce, single parents, eating disorders, relationships, etc. I loved reading it and would recommend it to anyone.

[Madelyn Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of Zig-Zag by Ellen Wittlinger

This book has many twists and turns while it can be both happy and sad. This author makes the text very exciting and interesting while you also will be suspicious. Robin, Dory, Iris, and Marshall go on a great adventure to all.

Robin has a boyfriend who is leaving for college, and going away for the summer. This puts Robin in position to take a roadtrip with her aunt Dory and cousins Iris and Marshall. They drive to places like Minnesota, Wyoming, and New Mexico. The plan was to go to California for the end of the trip before they headed back to Iowa, but something very servere got in the way that changed their lives, and prevented them from finishing their trip.

I believe that anyone who likes adventurous types of books would love this book. Even if you dont like those kind of books, I bet you would still like this one. The first couple of pages werent my type of interesting, but if you stick with it, you will grow into liking it. I know I did.

[Steff Fox]

| Reader Fox Blog |


Ugh, this feels like one of those boring road trip stories with a boring main character and a not all that intriguing plot. And yes, given that I haven't read it I could be wrong about this. But I just get that vibe, ultimately. I don't care about the fact that this girl takes a road trip with her aunt and cousins all because her boyfriend went on a summer trip to Rome without her.

I dunno. There's a weird privilege thing going on there. Plus, I'm sorry, but how much of this road trip is going to be all that interesting? I've yet to really experience any story with a plot centered around this that is actually engaging the majority of the way through. I'll pass for now.

| Reader Fox Links |

[Shaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Zigzag. I particularly liked how all of the main characters grow and change over the course of the book. I also liked Robin's changing relationship with her cousin as she grew up, too. Some parts were a little too angsty but I'll let it go. Robin needs to have some faults to be a realistic character.

Having been on a cross country trip I can definitely relate to the ups and downs of travelling and was pleased to recognize some of the places and experiences. I don't think it's possible to travel across the US without at least one corn joke. On my trip we had scores of corn jokes!

I'd give this a 3.5 so I'll just round up to 4. Ellen Wittlinger is usually either a hit or a miss for me and this was a hit.

[Kelly]

In this book, a girl goes on a trip with her aunt and two annoying cousins. At first she thinks her summer will be horrible because her boyfriend isn't with her, but during the trip she learns that it's good to meet new people and learn about new things. I find this book very interesting because a girl who used to stay at home finally goes out on an adventure that changes her life. I would've never guessed that one trip can change so many things about a person's point of view on the world. It even helps you realize that even the most annoying person in the world might be different from what you expect.