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Joy Ride
Brianna wants to make it through the last day of finals and driver’s ed. Her sister, the golden child, is graduating from MIT, and Brianna feels the pressure from her dad to measure up.
Calvin wishes people would stop spreading rumors about him, true or not. That, and wants his younger brother to stop getting into trouble; but that would be asking too much.
This unlikely pair, during their driving test, watch as their teacher gets arrested at a gas station. Left alone with the driver’s ed car, what could go wrong … or right?
Calvin wishes people would stop spreading rumors about him, true or not. That, and wants his younger brother to stop getting into trouble; but that would be asking too much.
This unlikely pair, during their driving test, watch as their teacher gets arrested at a gas station. Left alone with the driver’s ed car, what could go wrong … or right?
359 pages, Paperback
Published August 18, 2025
3 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 5, 2025
I received an advanced reader copy of Joy Ride and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
The main characters were very likable, and I especially loved Calvin’s mom (she reminds me of Scott's mom in Teen Wolf). I found the romance between Calvin and Brianna to be very sweet. The way their characters support each other through difficult circumstances was wholesome and a good example of healthy communication in teen relationships. The story does an overall good job of portraying darker themes in the book (trauma, anxiety, bullying, etc.).
However, I struggled with the prose/POV and had to reread sentences throughout the book to understand what was happening. The pacing of the story felt slow in the beginning, with most of the plot happening in the last quarter of the book. I also wish the marketing had been more transparent about the intensity of the trauma/bullying in the book, as I expected this to be a more light-hearted read than it is.
I look forward to seeing what Molly publishes in the future and plan on following her author journey!
The main characters were very likable, and I especially loved Calvin’s mom (she reminds me of Scott's mom in Teen Wolf). I found the romance between Calvin and Brianna to be very sweet. The way their characters support each other through difficult circumstances was wholesome and a good example of healthy communication in teen relationships. The story does an overall good job of portraying darker themes in the book (trauma, anxiety, bullying, etc.).
However, I struggled with the prose/POV and had to reread sentences throughout the book to understand what was happening. The pacing of the story felt slow in the beginning, with most of the plot happening in the last quarter of the book. I also wish the marketing had been more transparent about the intensity of the trauma/bullying in the book, as I expected this to be a more light-hearted read than it is.
I look forward to seeing what Molly publishes in the future and plan on following her author journey!
October 3, 2025
Joy Ride was a fun and emotional read. Brianna and Calvin are sophomores in high school and both in driver's ed to hopefully get their licenses soon. Brianna has a "good girl" reputation and is at the top of her class. Calvin, unfortunately, is considered to be a bad boy.
The story starts with the two main characters meeting for driver's ed, and eventually their driver's ed teacher has them pull up to a gas station. A scuffle ensues and their teacher is arrested which leaves Brianna and Calvin with the driver's ed car. They decide to take a joy ride and end up finding themselves in trouble.
The growth that happens for almost all characters involved was so well written and fun to see! I was worried in the beginning when it seemed like the main plot of the story happened so early, but everything that came after added so much to the character development. There were some surprisingly heavy topics in this book too that I didn't expect. I really enjoyed this book overall.
The story starts with the two main characters meeting for driver's ed, and eventually their driver's ed teacher has them pull up to a gas station. A scuffle ensues and their teacher is arrested which leaves Brianna and Calvin with the driver's ed car. They decide to take a joy ride and end up finding themselves in trouble.
The growth that happens for almost all characters involved was so well written and fun to see! I was worried in the beginning when it seemed like the main plot of the story happened so early, but everything that came after added so much to the character development. There were some surprisingly heavy topics in this book too that I didn't expect. I really enjoyed this book overall.
August 26, 2025
This book has everything you would want to see in a young adult/teen romance book with a high school setting. As an adult reading this, I was transported back to high school re-living many of the obstacles and milestones that I also went through. I was able to relate to Brianna in many ways, especially when it comes to experiencing bullying, pressure from parents, and shyly navigating your way through interacting with teen boys. I appreciated her relatable personality of struggling with self-confidence and identity. It was satisfying to watch her grow throughout the course of the book and gain support from both expected and unexpected people.
Although Calvin and Brianna are the main characters, all the other characters were interesting as well, especially their dynamics with two of them. All of the characters seem necessary to Calvin/Brianna’s story in their own way and I like how they were weaved throughout the story. There are many fun adventures that the characters go on which keeps you engaged and smiling throughout. Each character has their own personality and little quirks (me and Brianna share a love for M&M blizzards). Many book characters can feel stale and unnecessary but this is never the case for Joy Ride. There is some light language use, but it feels necessary to express emotion in a natural way. I did not find it distracting or unnecessary.
One of the biggest indicators for me whether a book is truly worth a read or not is if you wish there was a sequel. I’m not sure if the author has one planned or not, but I left wanting to know what the future holds for each of the characters and would definitely tune in for a sequel! I think both teens and adults will enjoy this so I definitely encourage you to give it a read!
Although Calvin and Brianna are the main characters, all the other characters were interesting as well, especially their dynamics with two of them. All of the characters seem necessary to Calvin/Brianna’s story in their own way and I like how they were weaved throughout the story. There are many fun adventures that the characters go on which keeps you engaged and smiling throughout. Each character has their own personality and little quirks (me and Brianna share a love for M&M blizzards). Many book characters can feel stale and unnecessary but this is never the case for Joy Ride. There is some light language use, but it feels necessary to express emotion in a natural way. I did not find it distracting or unnecessary.
One of the biggest indicators for me whether a book is truly worth a read or not is if you wish there was a sequel. I’m not sure if the author has one planned or not, but I left wanting to know what the future holds for each of the characters and would definitely tune in for a sequel! I think both teens and adults will enjoy this so I definitely encourage you to give it a read!
August 22, 2025
It was a great read for me. Fun characters and relatable themes that are not talked about enough. Both main characters struggle with complex family dynamics and deal with bullying at school. Yes, there is moderate swearing, but it did not throw me off at all. The author did a great job at addressing these real life issues while creating space to find love and friends in the least expected scenarios.
August 27, 2025
What an exceptional debut for this author!
Let’s start with the warnings for Christian readers and why I gave it fours stars rather than 5:
While this story is no spice, it would not be considered clean. (This does not mean it wasn’t worth reading)
There is a lot of heavy language.
It contains pretty detailed SA in a flashback that wasn’t treated as such. It drove me nuts that no adults did anything drastic to prosecute the perpetrators. So I absolutely wouldn’t let a teen read this book. And this is absolutely the only reason it got 4 stars, because I don’t agree that this book is YA.
Another reason I would put this in the adult category: while it works for the story, a lot of the choices made by the two main characters weren’t morally upright (I mean, they steal a car right at the beginning.) Since the story has so many morally gray places, I think for Christian readers, this story is solidly adult despite the characters being in high school. For mainstream and secular readers, this would not be a problem, and did not affect my rating.
Now for the positives.
I adored how well the main relationship was written. It was sweet, empowering, and hopeful. Other than some of the morally questionable choices made by the main characters, I loved them.
The plot flowed really well for a debut author. I honestly can’t wait to see what she writes next! She is gifted and is incredibly talented at ending the story with hope and light.
All the characters had relatable personalities and over all the story was very relatable and very sweet.
Let’s start with the warnings for Christian readers and why I gave it fours stars rather than 5:
While this story is no spice, it would not be considered clean. (This does not mean it wasn’t worth reading)
There is a lot of heavy language.
It contains pretty detailed SA in a flashback that wasn’t treated as such. It drove me nuts that no adults did anything drastic to prosecute the perpetrators. So I absolutely wouldn’t let a teen read this book. And this is absolutely the only reason it got 4 stars, because I don’t agree that this book is YA.
Another reason I would put this in the adult category: while it works for the story, a lot of the choices made by the two main characters weren’t morally upright (I mean, they steal a car right at the beginning.) Since the story has so many morally gray places, I think for Christian readers, this story is solidly adult despite the characters being in high school. For mainstream and secular readers, this would not be a problem, and did not affect my rating.
Now for the positives.
I adored how well the main relationship was written. It was sweet, empowering, and hopeful. Other than some of the morally questionable choices made by the main characters, I loved them.
The plot flowed really well for a debut author. I honestly can’t wait to see what she writes next! She is gifted and is incredibly talented at ending the story with hope and light.
All the characters had relatable personalities and over all the story was very relatable and very sweet.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews