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Guitar Highway Rose
Two fifteen-year-olds, Rosie and Asher, upset over the various unhappy circumstances of their lives in the Australian city of Perth, decide to run away, in a tale that explores the emotional roller coaster of adolescence.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
20 people are currently reading
2135 people want to read
About the author
Brigid Lowry
18 books77 followersBrigid Lowry was born in New Zealand into a rather strange but very creative family. Here she learned a love of books, too many swear words and how to cook a decent omelette. Brigid's early, rather awful poetry was made into a small book by her father, a printer and typographer, and sold to kindly relatives for two and sixpence a copy. Thus her writing career was launched, but it took about twenty years for her to take it to a higher place. In the meantime she tried being a hippie, a waitress, a software tutor, a librarian, a mother, a wife and a primary school teacher.
At the age of thirty five Brigid returned to university and began to publish poetry and short fiction. Her first young adult book was Fizz & Max & Me, which was published in the Dolly Fiction series. As well as teaching her how to write dialogue, this book paid Brigid the grand sum of $3000 and inspired her to apply for an Arts Council Grant for funding to write a second young adult book. With the grant safely in the bank, armed with nothing more than a flimsy idea about a girl who wanted a nose-ring, Brigid wrote Guitar Highway Rose. Constructed in a quirky collage style, this book was a runaway success. It was shortlisted for a number of major prizes in Australia, and won the WA Hoffman Young Readers Choice Award.
Brigid's star sign is Aries, and she has a tattoo of an island, a palm tree and a planet on her left shoulder. She has an MA in Creative Writing and teaches creative writing here and there. Brigid is currently working on a new young adult book and has recently returned to live in her homeland, New Zealand, after living for 27 wonderful years in Australia.
At the age of thirty five Brigid returned to university and began to publish poetry and short fiction. Her first young adult book was Fizz & Max & Me, which was published in the Dolly Fiction series. As well as teaching her how to write dialogue, this book paid Brigid the grand sum of $3000 and inspired her to apply for an Arts Council Grant for funding to write a second young adult book. With the grant safely in the bank, armed with nothing more than a flimsy idea about a girl who wanted a nose-ring, Brigid wrote Guitar Highway Rose. Constructed in a quirky collage style, this book was a runaway success. It was shortlisted for a number of major prizes in Australia, and won the WA Hoffman Young Readers Choice Award.
Brigid's star sign is Aries, and she has a tattoo of an island, a palm tree and a planet on her left shoulder. She has an MA in Creative Writing and teaches creative writing here and there. Brigid is currently working on a new young adult book and has recently returned to live in her homeland, New Zealand, after living for 27 wonderful years in Australia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
August 16, 2011
Guitar Highway Rose by Brigid Lowry is one of my most favourite nostalgia books <3
it came out when I was 17 and in my final year of high school.
i loved it.
my mates loved it.
i carried it around with me.
i wanted to be Rosie. i crushed on Asher.
i doodled all the little icons out of it into my journal.
i answered some of the profile-y parts in my journal, too :)
it's such a perfect teenagery book.
it's about crushes and first love. running away. a road trip. a kombi van. hippies. it sweet and quirky. funny and gorgeous. and very zen-alternative-byron-bay-esque.
it's gorgeously Australian.
it is experimental in structure: the story told from all POV's: Rosie and Asher and a narrator and their parents ...
Asher is all stream-of-consciousness with no punctuation.
other parts are all the little tidbits of their lives.
how much do i love it now? it was an ultimate favourite for me 14 years ago. it's still gorgeous and addictive and makes my heart swell when I flick through it. it reminds me of myself, as a teenager (not necessarily the characters, but how i felt and how i felt reading this book for the first time). i LOVE how different and arty it is (i do not know many books like it). it's still 5 stars from me ~ for being everything i wanted a book to be and more when I was younger.
i re-read this last month. i just got it back on my shelf ~ yesterday~ after loaning it to two sisters: 11 and 13 years old who LOVED it. i recced it to an adult friend of mine (in the US) last year, and she adored it too <3
this review is much more informal and chatty (although, it is my review and i'll chat books in whatever format i like ;).
as a bonus, i took some pics of random parts of the book so you could see how it is a little bit different ... captions/explanations under the images :)
asher has dreadlocks :D
rosie tries to make them ~ by putting wax in her hair O.o
lily is rosie's mum. she is having her own little freak-out due to what lily has gone and done...
this is what asher and rosie did while they were on their road trip
(for part of it. for the bliss part... ;)
top of page: asher sending a post card to his byron bay friends
middle: a slice of character profiles, very awesome
bottom: a wednesday diary for rosie
more of how the story moves forward in it's own funky/cool way
including:
snippet from LIVING WITH TEENAGERS (which rosie's mum is reading. her and rosie are getting all rock in their relationship)
what asher packs to run away
sightings at the local bus station
strange signs they see on the way
rosie's thoughts while on the bus <3
what rosie and asher talk about, under a tree, while on their road trip
(next section, we see all their answers to the questions)
it is my own personal aussie YA cult classic kind of book :)
it came out when I was 17 and in my final year of high school.
i loved it.
my mates loved it.
i carried it around with me.
i wanted to be Rosie. i crushed on Asher.
i doodled all the little icons out of it into my journal.
i answered some of the profile-y parts in my journal, too :)
it's such a perfect teenagery book.
it's about crushes and first love. running away. a road trip. a kombi van. hippies. it sweet and quirky. funny and gorgeous. and very zen-alternative-byron-bay-esque.
it's gorgeously Australian.
it is experimental in structure: the story told from all POV's: Rosie and Asher and a narrator and their parents ...
Asher is all stream-of-consciousness with no punctuation.
other parts are all the little tidbits of their lives.
how much do i love it now? it was an ultimate favourite for me 14 years ago. it's still gorgeous and addictive and makes my heart swell when I flick through it. it reminds me of myself, as a teenager (not necessarily the characters, but how i felt and how i felt reading this book for the first time). i LOVE how different and arty it is (i do not know many books like it). it's still 5 stars from me ~ for being everything i wanted a book to be and more when I was younger.
i re-read this last month. i just got it back on my shelf ~ yesterday~ after loaning it to two sisters: 11 and 13 years old who LOVED it. i recced it to an adult friend of mine (in the US) last year, and she adored it too <3
this review is much more informal and chatty (although, it is my review and i'll chat books in whatever format i like ;).
as a bonus, i took some pics of random parts of the book so you could see how it is a little bit different ... captions/explanations under the images :)
asher has dreadlocks :D
rosie tries to make them ~ by putting wax in her hair O.o
lily is rosie's mum. she is having her own little freak-out due to what lily has gone and done...
this is what asher and rosie did while they were on their road trip
(for part of it. for the bliss part... ;)
top of page: asher sending a post card to his byron bay friends
middle: a slice of character profiles, very awesome
bottom: a wednesday diary for rosie
more of how the story moves forward in it's own funky/cool way
including:
snippet from LIVING WITH TEENAGERS (which rosie's mum is reading. her and rosie are getting all rock in their relationship)
what asher packs to run away
sightings at the local bus station
strange signs they see on the way
rosie's thoughts while on the bus <3
what rosie and asher talk about, under a tree, while on their road trip
(next section, we see all their answers to the questions)
it is my own personal aussie YA cult classic kind of book :)
September 20, 2011
I WISH this were my favorite quote from the book:
Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavour of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territories of the unknown. We know that we shouldn't and that is exactly what we do.
However. Unfortunately.
It is this:
Sometimes you think you know where you're headed. You think you know what each day will bring you. You think there will be a breath to follow this breath. It has always been that way before. You think that lunch will follow breakfast and sometime later dinner will naturally appear. You think you know that the sky is blue and the trees are green, that cats are furry and that life will go on smoothly forever like an infinite ripple of turquoise ribbon. But sometimes you are wrong.
This is to say that I might be a tad too old for this book.
It's good, don't get me wrong, and I completely understand all those 5 and 4 stars reviews.
It is perfect for teens, 14 to 16/17 y.o., I'd say.
It is perfectly appropriate for adults who have read this book in their teens and are feeling nostalgic.
It is a celebration of striving to leave the parents' nest and become your own person/identity/personality.
It is a book about fathers/mothers and children and cutting the umbilical chord.
It is a book about a roadtrip.
It is a truly Australian book.
Too bad I related more to Rosie's mother than to Rosie.
Too bad I didn't much care for the stream-of-consciousness format, or the experimental style with lists and doodles and continuous switching of point of views.
What I am trying to say is that this book is far, far from being bad and it would have been perfect for a younger me. *sigh*
Younger teens will surely love it, a mix of rebellion, angst, romance, adventure, a swoonworthy guy and hippies.
And actually, my favorite passage is this:
Dear Asher,
[...] Grandpa and I are both well except for his new choppers. They look quite good but they don't fit properly. About three times a day I find him out in the shed rasping away at them with a file. He has to see the dentist again next week, if he has any plate left. He is persevering but I wouldn't be surprised to find the teeth shoved in the drawer one day soon.
Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavour of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territories of the unknown. We know that we shouldn't and that is exactly what we do.
However. Unfortunately.
It is this:
Sometimes you think you know where you're headed. You think you know what each day will bring you. You think there will be a breath to follow this breath. It has always been that way before. You think that lunch will follow breakfast and sometime later dinner will naturally appear. You think you know that the sky is blue and the trees are green, that cats are furry and that life will go on smoothly forever like an infinite ripple of turquoise ribbon. But sometimes you are wrong.
This is to say that I might be a tad too old for this book.
It's good, don't get me wrong, and I completely understand all those 5 and 4 stars reviews.
It is perfect for teens, 14 to 16/17 y.o., I'd say.
It is perfectly appropriate for adults who have read this book in their teens and are feeling nostalgic.
It is a celebration of striving to leave the parents' nest and become your own person/identity/personality.
It is a book about fathers/mothers and children and cutting the umbilical chord.
It is a book about a roadtrip.
It is a truly Australian book.
Too bad I related more to Rosie's mother than to Rosie.
Too bad I didn't much care for the stream-of-consciousness format, or the experimental style with lists and doodles and continuous switching of point of views.
What I am trying to say is that this book is far, far from being bad and it would have been perfect for a younger me. *sigh*
Younger teens will surely love it, a mix of rebellion, angst, romance, adventure, a swoonworthy guy and hippies.
And actually, my favorite passage is this:
Dear Asher,
[...] Grandpa and I are both well except for his new choppers. They look quite good but they don't fit properly. About three times a day I find him out in the shed rasping away at them with a file. He has to see the dentist again next week, if he has any plate left. He is persevering but I wouldn't be surprised to find the teeth shoved in the drawer one day soon.
September 6, 2011
Book quote: Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavor of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territory of the unknown. We know that we shouldn’t and that is exactly why we do.
Wow! How beautiful is that?
Guitar Highway Rose is filled with amazing thoughtful passages, enlightening Aussie lingo, and precise descriptions of the landscape in Australia that makes you feel part of the setting and the story. The writing style is light and very much unique as it allows glimpses into the lives of Rosie, Asher and their families during a time a transition and adjustment.
In this story, Asher comes to a new town and school in the aftermath of his parents’ separation. He’s had to leave his friends and father to try and make a new life in Perth with his mom. There he meets Rosie who not only develops a crush on him, but stands by him when he’s falsely accused of stealing a wallet at school. Rosie’s life isn’t much better. Her parents are fighting quite a bit and her relationship with her mom is strained and full of tension. Together, Rosie and Ash form a plan to take a small “time-out” from their lives and go on a road trip that ultimately leads to a lasting friendship.
Guitar Highway Rose was nothing short of what I expected from this genre of Australian YA Contemporary. I fell for the characters immediately as they shared their raw feelings with no remorse. There were moments in the story where my emotions jolted and that just proved how much I came to care for the characters in this story. From beginning to end, I was vested in this wonderful story, which I know I’ll be re-reading over and over again.
Another beautiful example of the brilliance Australia has to offer . Brigid Lowry holds a firm spot among her talent pool. Loved it!
Wow! How beautiful is that?
Guitar Highway Rose is filled with amazing thoughtful passages, enlightening Aussie lingo, and precise descriptions of the landscape in Australia that makes you feel part of the setting and the story. The writing style is light and very much unique as it allows glimpses into the lives of Rosie, Asher and their families during a time a transition and adjustment.
In this story, Asher comes to a new town and school in the aftermath of his parents’ separation. He’s had to leave his friends and father to try and make a new life in Perth with his mom. There he meets Rosie who not only develops a crush on him, but stands by him when he’s falsely accused of stealing a wallet at school. Rosie’s life isn’t much better. Her parents are fighting quite a bit and her relationship with her mom is strained and full of tension. Together, Rosie and Ash form a plan to take a small “time-out” from their lives and go on a road trip that ultimately leads to a lasting friendship.
Guitar Highway Rose was nothing short of what I expected from this genre of Australian YA Contemporary. I fell for the characters immediately as they shared their raw feelings with no remorse. There were moments in the story where my emotions jolted and that just proved how much I came to care for the characters in this story. From beginning to end, I was vested in this wonderful story, which I know I’ll be re-reading over and over again.
Another beautiful example of the brilliance Australia has to offer . Brigid Lowry holds a firm spot among her talent pool. Loved it!
June 18, 2012
The recent reviews I've read on this have been mediocre at best but I really didn't like it. The language is childish and the characters are boring. In the very first chapter there are sentences that repeatedly use "and" or are short and choppy, it reads like a young kid's book!
April 1, 2011
Favourite Quote: Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure juice and the sweet flavor of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the unknown. We know we shouldn't and that is exactly why we do.
Guitar Rose Highway is a fun read. It is quirky, charming and vibrant story that captures the joy and angst of being a teen.
Lowry's writing has a very lyrical feel and also a little bit different. There is multiple points of views and no punctuation in parts, snapshots and poetry giving it a very unique format. It kind of feel likes a happy place between a verse and prose novel. Also this book is a little bit dated written in the late 90's and has a hippie-grunge kind of feel but I enjoyed it and the memories it brought back.
The story and the characters really capture how it feels to be a teen with such raw honesty. Focusing on how you feel your parents don't get you and the feeling of being restricted. It also has the parents' points of views in a couple of parts showing their feelings.
Rosie and Asher are amusing and heartwarming characters. They are the kind of characters that grow on you more and more as the story goes on and in the end you don't won't to say goodbye.
The is a touch of romance that is sweet, tender and a little bit awkward like first relationships are. It just brings a grin to your face.
"they do not kiss but they both want to instead their feet touch and so do their arms it is electric magic their tiny arm hairs tingling happily lying together the sun warming them watching sky through green-leafed gum branch close enough to hear each other breathe sweet togetherness this lazy lying down dance of love"
Overall, Guitar Rose Highway was an enjoyable and slightly off beat read. Can't wait to read more from Lowry.
Guitar Rose Highway is a fun read. It is quirky, charming and vibrant story that captures the joy and angst of being a teen.
Lowry's writing has a very lyrical feel and also a little bit different. There is multiple points of views and no punctuation in parts, snapshots and poetry giving it a very unique format. It kind of feel likes a happy place between a verse and prose novel. Also this book is a little bit dated written in the late 90's and has a hippie-grunge kind of feel but I enjoyed it and the memories it brought back.
The story and the characters really capture how it feels to be a teen with such raw honesty. Focusing on how you feel your parents don't get you and the feeling of being restricted. It also has the parents' points of views in a couple of parts showing their feelings.
Rosie and Asher are amusing and heartwarming characters. They are the kind of characters that grow on you more and more as the story goes on and in the end you don't won't to say goodbye.
The is a touch of romance that is sweet, tender and a little bit awkward like first relationships are. It just brings a grin to your face.
"they do not kiss but they both want to instead their feet touch and so do their arms it is electric magic their tiny arm hairs tingling happily lying together the sun warming them watching sky through green-leafed gum branch close enough to hear each other breathe sweet togetherness this lazy lying down dance of love"
Overall, Guitar Rose Highway was an enjoyable and slightly off beat read. Can't wait to read more from Lowry.
September 18, 2011
Favourite Quote;
“Sometimes you think you know where you are headed. You
think you know what each day will bring. You think there will be
a breath to follow this breath. It has always been that way
before. You think that lunch will follow breakfast and sometime
later dinner will naturally appear. You think that you know that the
sky is blue and that trees are green, that cats are furry and that
life will go on quite smoothly for ever like an infinite ripple of
turquoise ribbon. But sometimes you are wrong.”
I’m quite gutted for only giving Guitar Highway Rose 3 stars, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, I think I just set my expectations too high, thinking I would love it as I’d really enjoyed every other Aussie book I’d read and given them 4 stars or more.
In Guitar Highway Rose both and Asher are restless; Asher’s the new kid in town, he’s been having a rough time of it lately, his parents have recently separated, so him and his mum have moved to Perth, he’s had to leave his dad and friends behind and start all over again. Rosie’s always getting into arguments with her mum, she always wants to know where she’s going and won’t even let her get her nose pierced. Everything changes when Rosie meets Asher, he’s different to the other people she knows. But it’s the final straw for Asher when he’s accused of stealing Mrs. Hyde’s wallet, he decides to take off and Rosie goes with him. What follows is an unforgettable adventure full of hitchhiking, short blonde hair, mistaken identities and fun.
What I liked about Guitar Highway Rose;
The alternative pov’s; I never used to read books with alternative pov’s, but now I can’t get enough of them, the alternative pov’s in Guitar Highway Rose could be a bit confusing at times as you didn’t know whose pov it was from, but nonetheless I found them extremely funny. Guitar Highway Rose definitely gave me the urge just to take off randomly one day to Australia, make a trip with no plans, no worries, nothing and just live in the moment.
What I didn’t like;
The writing was beautiful; but I couldn’t get to grips with the run along sentences and the no full stops.
Overall despite not enjoying Guitar Highway Rose as I’d hoped, it was a quick entertaining read.
“Sometimes you think you know where you are headed. You
think you know what each day will bring. You think there will be
a breath to follow this breath. It has always been that way
before. You think that lunch will follow breakfast and sometime
later dinner will naturally appear. You think that you know that the
sky is blue and that trees are green, that cats are furry and that
life will go on quite smoothly for ever like an infinite ripple of
turquoise ribbon. But sometimes you are wrong.”
I’m quite gutted for only giving Guitar Highway Rose 3 stars, it’s not that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, I think I just set my expectations too high, thinking I would love it as I’d really enjoyed every other Aussie book I’d read and given them 4 stars or more.
In Guitar Highway Rose both and Asher are restless; Asher’s the new kid in town, he’s been having a rough time of it lately, his parents have recently separated, so him and his mum have moved to Perth, he’s had to leave his dad and friends behind and start all over again. Rosie’s always getting into arguments with her mum, she always wants to know where she’s going and won’t even let her get her nose pierced. Everything changes when Rosie meets Asher, he’s different to the other people she knows. But it’s the final straw for Asher when he’s accused of stealing Mrs. Hyde’s wallet, he decides to take off and Rosie goes with him. What follows is an unforgettable adventure full of hitchhiking, short blonde hair, mistaken identities and fun.
What I liked about Guitar Highway Rose;
The alternative pov’s; I never used to read books with alternative pov’s, but now I can’t get enough of them, the alternative pov’s in Guitar Highway Rose could be a bit confusing at times as you didn’t know whose pov it was from, but nonetheless I found them extremely funny. Guitar Highway Rose definitely gave me the urge just to take off randomly one day to Australia, make a trip with no plans, no worries, nothing and just live in the moment.
What I didn’t like;
The writing was beautiful; but I couldn’t get to grips with the run along sentences and the no full stops.
Overall despite not enjoying Guitar Highway Rose as I’d hoped, it was a quick entertaining read.
April 5, 2010
I'm sorry, but all the run-on sentence/paragraphs without any commas or anything even drove me nutty! This book totally brought me back to 1997 considering all the music and fashion mentioned (in which I was a teenager at that time as well). It was nice that they gave you so many perspectives in this book. Sadly though, I was bored out of my mind. I was glad this was such a fast and short read. I couldn't even attach myself to the characters. I was extremely surprised to find that this book did so very well in Austrailia. The poetic pieces were wonderful in the book but I just had a hard time enjoying this. I also think that it lacked realism by making everything so happy for everyone in the end of the book. I don't think things always turn out that way considering how the characters are described throughout it. It was like everything had a quick fix suddenly.
February 8, 2011
I adored this book. I loved the poetic prose and the varying perspectives: it swooped from teenagers to adults to the younger brother in a way that kept me rapt the whole time I was reading it.
It's inspiring and creative and Brigid Lowry approached YA fiction with such a refreshing take on teenagers that I could not help but be drawn into the promise of it on first sight.
'Guitar Highway Rose' is not one thing in particular. Its part love story, part road trip, part families and friendships, and part life. I love it. Highly recommended.
(Thank you Samantha!)
It's inspiring and creative and Brigid Lowry approached YA fiction with such a refreshing take on teenagers that I could not help but be drawn into the promise of it on first sight.
'Guitar Highway Rose' is not one thing in particular. Its part love story, part road trip, part families and friendships, and part life. I love it. Highly recommended.
(Thank you Samantha!)
January 13, 2010
This is one of my favorite books ever! I love the author's unconventional writing/formatting style. It has a very sweet story and quirky, fun, interesting, lovable characters. :D
March 22, 2018
This is my favourite of the 3 available Aussie covers. <3
*crosses fingers*
Bought for $4.50 @ Brotherhood Books.
4/5
Loved the mad gypsy vibes. <3 What a lovely kind of feel good Aussie read. Rose and Asher were so good together, I liked the progression of their relationship. The writing was crisp and easy to read, I also enjoyed the unique storytelling format. It was interesting to see the point of view and lives of those involved in the story too. Will probably keep and re-read one day.. especially since I really like this cover, I do think it captures the spirit of the novel pretty well.
Quotes
"'You are joy and sorrow and energy and boredom and earth and sun.'" - 47
"Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavour of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territory of the unknown. We know that we shouldn't and that is exactly why we do. -93
*crosses fingers*
Bought for $4.50 @ Brotherhood Books.
4/5
Loved the mad gypsy vibes. <3 What a lovely kind of feel good Aussie read. Rose and Asher were so good together, I liked the progression of their relationship. The writing was crisp and easy to read, I also enjoyed the unique storytelling format. It was interesting to see the point of view and lives of those involved in the story too. Will probably keep and re-read one day.. especially since I really like this cover, I do think it captures the spirit of the novel pretty well.
Quotes
"'You are joy and sorrow and energy and boredom and earth and sun.'" - 47
"Some ideas are not born of logic and good sense. They are made of clouds and cobwebs. They sprout from nowhere and feed on excitement, sprinkled with adventure-juice and the sweet flavour of the forbidden. The psyche moves from the realms of the ordinary and takes a delicate step towards the territory of the unknown. We know that we shouldn't and that is exactly why we do. -93
September 19, 2011
3.7 stars (yes it's very close to 4)
When I was around 15, I was obsessed with the TV series My So-Called Life. And I can see how teenagers in Aus might have been in love with this book as I see similarities. The book also captures adolescence psych well: their burning desire for independence, their frustration with the parents as well as love and need for them, and their struggle and confusion with both internal and external variables which they cannot control (their hormones, family breakup, relocation etc). With all that the book deals with, it retains a positive and a bit fluffy atmosphere, in which I somehow kept seeing pink and sunshine. As usual I loved the tiny details. I loved the mention of Crocodile Dundee and numerous appearances of Vegemite.
Overall it was a very cute and nice read, which just fades a little in light of My So-Called Life (which I grew up with so nothing can beat it) and other recent Aussie YA reads.
I'm now thinking of giving this book to my 15 year-old friend as a present.
When I was around 15, I was obsessed with the TV series My So-Called Life. And I can see how teenagers in Aus might have been in love with this book as I see similarities. The book also captures adolescence psych well: their burning desire for independence, their frustration with the parents as well as love and need for them, and their struggle and confusion with both internal and external variables which they cannot control (their hormones, family breakup, relocation etc). With all that the book deals with, it retains a positive and a bit fluffy atmosphere, in which I somehow kept seeing pink and sunshine. As usual I loved the tiny details. I loved the mention of Crocodile Dundee and numerous appearances of Vegemite.
Overall it was a very cute and nice read, which just fades a little in light of My So-Called Life (which I grew up with so nothing can beat it) and other recent Aussie YA reads.
I'm now thinking of giving this book to my 15 year-old friend as a present.
March 24, 2013
I read this book for the first time when I was 12 years old and have continued to reread it every few years (I am now 24). It is one of my all time favourite teen novels and highly recommend it.
Edit 24.3.13
Now 26, I have finally attempted to review this properly.
In a Nutshell: Guitar Highway Rose is a novel about growing up. It’s about the family dynamic, in a variety of forms such as mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. It’s about teenage acts of rebellion and the restlessness felt at being in that limbo age of adolescents. And it’s about hope.
For the full review, please visit my blog: http://www.thetalescompendium.com/201...
Edit 24.3.13
Now 26, I have finally attempted to review this properly.
In a Nutshell: Guitar Highway Rose is a novel about growing up. It’s about the family dynamic, in a variety of forms such as mothers and daughters, husbands and wives. It’s about teenage acts of rebellion and the restlessness felt at being in that limbo age of adolescents. And it’s about hope.
For the full review, please visit my blog: http://www.thetalescompendium.com/201...
November 19, 2011
I absolutely love this book.
I think I first read it in 2007/08 (Around the time I first read Looking For Alaska and many other books that stuck with me), and I've just re-read it at least twice a year since.
I need to get a copy of my own, it amuses the librarian at my school everytime she sees I've picked it up again.
I don't know what to say. I love where it's set, I love Asher and Rose and Rose's best friend's relationship with her Mum, similar to my friend's.
Brigid's book Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful, filled with her short stories and poems, is just as perfect as this.
I think I'll stop rambling and just have a point here.
My dear Librarian calls books like this, the ones you read over and over "Comfort food", which is the perfect term. Fabulous book.
I think I first read it in 2007/08 (Around the time I first read Looking For Alaska and many other books that stuck with me), and I've just re-read it at least twice a year since.
I need to get a copy of my own, it amuses the librarian at my school everytime she sees I've picked it up again.
I don't know what to say. I love where it's set, I love Asher and Rose and Rose's best friend's relationship with her Mum, similar to my friend's.
Brigid's book Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful, filled with her short stories and poems, is just as perfect as this.
I think I'll stop rambling and just have a point here.
My dear Librarian calls books like this, the ones you read over and over "Comfort food", which is the perfect term. Fabulous book.
August 7, 2011
Rose is waiting for life to happen; to break free from her mum’s suffocating way of caring. She wanted her dad to do something about his suffering marriage to her mum.
Asher wanted nothing to do with Perth. He’d rather be back to his old hunting ground where everything was normal and familiar.
This is a story of two kids who found themselves on the run from a petty crime Asher was accused of. But mostly, they wanted freedom. Along their adventure, while their parents were going insane with worry, they took a journey of self-realization and discovery through the people they meet.
This book is a short read. And while I appreciate the uniqueness of the way this was written, I couldn’t be enthused about the story. The multiple P.O.Vs didn’t deter me as much as the lack of punctuations in Asher’s point of view. I did say I wasn’t going to get technical on my reviews but the lack of beginning and ending on a sentence loses some of the element of good storytelling. I can honestly say that I was tempted to put slashes and turn his POV into nice, tidy verses.
INSIDE HIS HEAD
”maybe i shouldn’t have said that about thinking she was a try-hard i hope she isn’t mad at me you never can tell with girl creatures but she seemed to understand hey cat i nearly flattened you she’s fun making up those names was cool i want to see her again…”
And he goes on.
What I liked, however was the way the author was very descriptive about a character’s quirks. There was something poetic about the way she enumerated the objects in a person’s room or the complete account of what Asher was wearing for the day. To some this may seem like fillers or something that was irrelevant, but for me, I took it as the author’s way of introducing a character. Kind of like the old adage, tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.
I have kids but they’re not teenagers. If this is what teenage angst is all about, then I’m in for a headache the size of Mt. Olympus. While I don’t want to brag about how much of a good girl I was when I was sixteen, I got a good look of how it was when your world is like a jail cell and every word that came out of your mother’s mouth was no. So I get where Rose was coming from. But. And this is a big BUT. I’m not a fan of teenage drinking and doping. I want to believe that this is something my kids will not discover. I’m going to drill it to their heads that curiosity is overrated and peer pressure is just a lame excuse for weaklings. Am I being naïve? Perhaps. But I’d like to keep the hopes alive.
To sum it up, Guitar Highway Rose is a quick, heartfelt and funny read. And though, the writing takes a bit of getting used to, this lyrically infused book will at least whet your reading appetite with idiosyncratic characters and peculiarly pretty prose.
Asher wanted nothing to do with Perth. He’d rather be back to his old hunting ground where everything was normal and familiar.
This is a story of two kids who found themselves on the run from a petty crime Asher was accused of. But mostly, they wanted freedom. Along their adventure, while their parents were going insane with worry, they took a journey of self-realization and discovery through the people they meet.
This book is a short read. And while I appreciate the uniqueness of the way this was written, I couldn’t be enthused about the story. The multiple P.O.Vs didn’t deter me as much as the lack of punctuations in Asher’s point of view. I did say I wasn’t going to get technical on my reviews but the lack of beginning and ending on a sentence loses some of the element of good storytelling. I can honestly say that I was tempted to put slashes and turn his POV into nice, tidy verses.
INSIDE HIS HEAD
”maybe i shouldn’t have said that about thinking she was a try-hard i hope she isn’t mad at me you never can tell with girl creatures but she seemed to understand hey cat i nearly flattened you she’s fun making up those names was cool i want to see her again…”
And he goes on.
What I liked, however was the way the author was very descriptive about a character’s quirks. There was something poetic about the way she enumerated the objects in a person’s room or the complete account of what Asher was wearing for the day. To some this may seem like fillers or something that was irrelevant, but for me, I took it as the author’s way of introducing a character. Kind of like the old adage, tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.
I have kids but they’re not teenagers. If this is what teenage angst is all about, then I’m in for a headache the size of Mt. Olympus. While I don’t want to brag about how much of a good girl I was when I was sixteen, I got a good look of how it was when your world is like a jail cell and every word that came out of your mother’s mouth was no. So I get where Rose was coming from. But. And this is a big BUT. I’m not a fan of teenage drinking and doping. I want to believe that this is something my kids will not discover. I’m going to drill it to their heads that curiosity is overrated and peer pressure is just a lame excuse for weaklings. Am I being naïve? Perhaps. But I’d like to keep the hopes alive.
To sum it up, Guitar Highway Rose is a quick, heartfelt and funny read. And though, the writing takes a bit of getting used to, this lyrically infused book will at least whet your reading appetite with idiosyncratic characters and peculiarly pretty prose.
July 9, 2013
Ok, I am out. I am not exactly done but what is it they say? Life is too short to read books you don't enjoy.
This book with its wonderful title is told in fragments, little snippets i would call them. In those short chapters we get a mix of descriptions (of how characters dress, how their rooms look like, etc.), thought snatches, dialogues between main characters, poems and diary entries and some similar details. It is sure an interesting idea to tell a story this way but it really didn't work for me. It actually annoyed the hell out of me. Therefor this might be an interesting book for someone else and my 1 star rating is a very personal judgement of how enjoyed "Guitar Highway Rose" (though my ratings are always personal and not based on the literary accomplishment of a book but) I want to stress this here since I believe some might really like the style.
But even beyond that, I thought that the teenagers and the parents we encounter and their issues were too mundane and in parts very stereotypical. Advantage of this: most people can relate. Disadvantage for me: I found it uninspiring, uninteresting and even eye-roll-worthy in its banality. The rebel acts of the teens were so clichéd I could not last long enough to come to the possibly redeeming parts later in the book, the usual problem with a boring book: I couldn't care less if it actually got more interesting.
With all that said I think this book could work for some people, maybe younger teenagers who would like to try an interesting structured book. But it not to my liking. Very much not to my liking.
This book with its wonderful title is told in fragments, little snippets i would call them. In those short chapters we get a mix of descriptions (of how characters dress, how their rooms look like, etc.), thought snatches, dialogues between main characters, poems and diary entries and some similar details. It is sure an interesting idea to tell a story this way but it really didn't work for me. It actually annoyed the hell out of me. Therefor this might be an interesting book for someone else and my 1 star rating is a very personal judgement of how enjoyed "Guitar Highway Rose" (though my ratings are always personal and not based on the literary accomplishment of a book but) I want to stress this here since I believe some might really like the style.
But even beyond that, I thought that the teenagers and the parents we encounter and their issues were too mundane and in parts very stereotypical. Advantage of this: most people can relate. Disadvantage for me: I found it uninspiring, uninteresting and even eye-roll-worthy in its banality. The rebel acts of the teens were so clichéd I could not last long enough to come to the possibly redeeming parts later in the book, the usual problem with a boring book: I couldn't care less if it actually got more interesting.
With all that said I think this book could work for some people, maybe younger teenagers who would like to try an interesting structured book. But it not to my liking. Very much not to my liking.
January 17, 2018
Ok... I loved this book. LOVED it. It was exactly the sort of book I needed/wanted to read at this particular moment.
It was a simple story: Two teens in love are tired of daily life and decide to run away and have an adventure. I think that sense of wanderlust is something that's true of everyone, regardless of their age or where they are in life. Sometimes you just need to escape from everything (family, friends, school, work, etc.). And all the better if your favorite person is by your side. But most of us just talk about doing it. Or silently wish they could do it. Rose and Asher actually DO do it.
But this is not a negative story about the dangers of the road and all the bad things that could happen to you out there. This is about that in-the-moment happy free feeling. And that's what I loved about this story. There is one scary moment, , but everything and everyone comes out just fine in the end. The ending is a happy one. There's some light romance (kissing, hand-holding), but nothing truly naughty enough to scare younger readers or conservative parents. This is just a beautiful story. Perfect for summer!
Thinking I need to chuck it all, grab the hubby, and hit the road with only a few changes of clothes and a limited amount of cash. Not forever. Just for a week or so.
It was a simple story: Two teens in love are tired of daily life and decide to run away and have an adventure. I think that sense of wanderlust is something that's true of everyone, regardless of their age or where they are in life. Sometimes you just need to escape from everything (family, friends, school, work, etc.). And all the better if your favorite person is by your side. But most of us just talk about doing it. Or silently wish they could do it. Rose and Asher actually DO do it.
But this is not a negative story about the dangers of the road and all the bad things that could happen to you out there. This is about that in-the-moment happy free feeling. And that's what I loved about this story. There is one scary moment, , but everything and everyone comes out just fine in the end. The ending is a happy one. There's some light romance (kissing, hand-holding), but nothing truly naughty enough to scare younger readers or conservative parents. This is just a beautiful story. Perfect for summer!
Thinking I need to chuck it all, grab the hubby, and hit the road with only a few changes of clothes and a limited amount of cash. Not forever. Just for a week or so.
July 19, 2007
This book is about two teenagers -- Rosie and Asher -- who decide to run away together, Asher because he's been falsely accused of theft at school, and Rosie because she's tired of being "good." Brigid tells the story in little snapshots that take you inside the minds of everyone in the book -- Rosie and Asher, the people they meet while they're hitchhiking, their teachers, their parents, their siblings, etc. While I could appreciate the experimental story-telling and the little details that made each character seem very real, I found that the style kept me from having any real loyalty toward any of the characters. It was hard for me to sympathize with Rosie and Asher at the same time that I could see how sick with worry their families were, which makes me wonder if this is meant to be a bit of a morality tale about the consequences of teenage rebellion. I would have preferred for Brigid to have chosen a few viewpoint characters and stuck with them.
The ending also has sort of a stupid twist, although it didn't end up being as bad as I expected.
The ending also has sort of a stupid twist, although it didn't end up being as bad as I expected.
April 2, 2009
Rosie Moon lives in a small seaside town in Australia, where experiencing life is limited to walks on the beach and secretly piercing your nose. She's not sure how to impress the quietly rebellious new boy in her class, Asher Fielding. Asher just moved to town with his newly single mother and desperately wants to leave his restrictive new school and head back across the country to his father and his old friends. Rosie and Asher's friendship begins when they are paired up for a poetry project. When Asher is mistakenly accused of stealing, he decides to run away. Rosie, desperate to break away from her own small-town troubles, decides to go with him, and the two take off on a cross-country search for adventure, freedom and, of course, love.
October 16, 2009
Loved this one, especially the cool narrative style, switching between view points, stream of consciousness type thing, lists, letters, ... at times, I laughed right out loud about the comical things people think and do. made me think of what it was like being a teenager...
July 31, 2020
This book is not for you if you: like punctuation
This book is for you if you: find poorly written cliches funny, and like reading about exaggerated teenage rebellion
(It was a nice quick read though, a good book for in-between heavier novels)
This book is for you if you: find poorly written cliches funny, and like reading about exaggerated teenage rebellion
(It was a nice quick read though, a good book for in-between heavier novels)
November 17, 2024
Firstly I was recommended to read this book by an 11 year old student of mine. It was her top book for 2012. Upon reading it, I loved it, however I did think perhaps 13 years and up would be a more suitable age. Miss 11 year old is a sophisticated reader and I could actually imagine her writing just such a creative and quirky book in a few years time, so I think the exception rather than the rule here.
This book has a seemingly ordinary plot, although a few surprises towards the end had me engaged to the finish. It is not the plot however that makes this book, rather it is the characters and the way in which the story is told. A wide mix of writing forms are used, at first I found it a little disconcerting, but I was soon loving it. Imagine this whole paragraph with out a capital or full stop. Every teacher's dread usually! There were paragraphs like this, taking the reader into the head of a 15 year old boy, and it worked. Other forms are diary, streams of consciousness, poetry, police notes..... and so it goes on. The reader is taken into conversations and characters minds and feelings, hopes, nightmares. In this way the story is told.
I felt close to the characters, I laughed at some of the conversations, Brigid Lowry had how a four year old talks and an eight year old does, and how a look down yer nose teacher talks. It was wonderful. Perhaps everything ended too happily? Is that how it works really? Not always, however I still love the way it did finish. There is so much in this book that could open discussion, wishing I taught slightly older students.
I would recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of teens, as well as teens themselves.
This book has a seemingly ordinary plot, although a few surprises towards the end had me engaged to the finish. It is not the plot however that makes this book, rather it is the characters and the way in which the story is told. A wide mix of writing forms are used, at first I found it a little disconcerting, but I was soon loving it. Imagine this whole paragraph with out a capital or full stop. Every teacher's dread usually! There were paragraphs like this, taking the reader into the head of a 15 year old boy, and it worked. Other forms are diary, streams of consciousness, poetry, police notes..... and so it goes on. The reader is taken into conversations and characters minds and feelings, hopes, nightmares. In this way the story is told.
I felt close to the characters, I laughed at some of the conversations, Brigid Lowry had how a four year old talks and an eight year old does, and how a look down yer nose teacher talks. It was wonderful. Perhaps everything ended too happily? Is that how it works really? Not always, however I still love the way it did finish. There is so much in this book that could open discussion, wishing I taught slightly older students.
I would recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of teens, as well as teens themselves.
March 31, 2023
"a universe of days went by, summer followed by spring danced past leading winter by the hand. The kid got on with being a kid, gulping life he rode his bike and swam in the ocean"
I first read this book when I was 13, the summer before the start of high school. Having come out of a really traumatic time in my life, this book completely rewired my brain and genuinely shaped me, maybe still does. All I wanted was to be the careless hippie from perth that could run away from home and wear docs to the beach and pierce their nose and have ratty hair and experience freedom, and I think even if I didn't really get all that all at once, the book still stuck with me. The writing is very simplistic and juvenile but I'd expect nothing more from a book literally made for children. A quick easy read and a few hours well spent.
“I'm hungry for a juicy life. I lean out my window at night and I can taste it out there, just waiting for me.”
I first read this book when I was 13, the summer before the start of high school. Having come out of a really traumatic time in my life, this book completely rewired my brain and genuinely shaped me, maybe still does. All I wanted was to be the careless hippie from perth that could run away from home and wear docs to the beach and pierce their nose and have ratty hair and experience freedom, and I think even if I didn't really get all that all at once, the book still stuck with me. The writing is very simplistic and juvenile but I'd expect nothing more from a book literally made for children. A quick easy read and a few hours well spent.
“I'm hungry for a juicy life. I lean out my window at night and I can taste it out there, just waiting for me.”
November 22, 2022
Well, this was amazing. Guitar Highway Rose is not made up of just conversation and descriptions, it's also lists and messages and memories and musings and observations. Each page section (I can't call them paragraphs, they aren't.) jumps from person to person--Rose, Asher, their parents, their teachers, people they met, friends, police officers, Rose's brother, therapists... Normally, shifting points of view drive me crazy. These all flowed easily, and I don't know how the author pulled it off. There are no quotation marks and some tremendously long stream of thought bits without pause or period--yet it's not annoying. Okay, the ending was a bit overly shiny happy--but I was delighted did end like that. Putting in a request with my library's ILL to get Brigid Lowry's Follow the Blue. Fingers crossed it's as good as this one.
February 1, 2026
Found this in my old boxes, which needed clearing out; it was my son's from his high school years for English class. I decided to read it, and I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it was.
It did jump around between characters, and it took me a few pages in to get the hang of that. Asher's narration has no grammar and makes it a little difficult but I think that only adds to his character.
Told in both first and third person, in teen, child and adult perspectives, I found it to be an easy read, one which holds attention. The angst of teen life came through beautifully. The near end was written well and got me concerned there for a bit for the characters!
I wonder what teenagers got from this in their English classes, or just thought it was an adult trying to be cool to them? I liked it, anyway.
It did jump around between characters, and it took me a few pages in to get the hang of that. Asher's narration has no grammar and makes it a little difficult but I think that only adds to his character.
Told in both first and third person, in teen, child and adult perspectives, I found it to be an easy read, one which holds attention. The angst of teen life came through beautifully. The near end was written well and got me concerned there for a bit for the characters!
I wonder what teenagers got from this in their English classes, or just thought it was an adult trying to be cool to them? I liked it, anyway.
Read
February 21, 2024i read this 10 years ago, but i have to get this off my chest: I HATE THIS BOOK SO MUCH. the format is interesting - it's told through a combination of diary entries, shopping lists, and narrative, but this is just pretty window dressing for a bland, shallow, derivative story with an unlikable, self-absorbed main character and her manic hippie dream boy. thankfully it's an extremely quick read because it has about three plot points. a completely fine way to kill an hour or two, but not much else.
July 12, 2022
I tried to get into this book because it sounded like a good story but only read the first couple of pages because I was put off by the writing style; didn't like all the run-on sentences, paragraph breaks without any commas or punctuation, and when characters were speaking to each other you couldn't tell who was whom. Really disappointed to say the least.
April 27, 2019
beautiful, unique, nostalgic and inspiring
August 16, 2020
One of the best teenage books I read
October 15, 2020
I really like this book,there a lot of information in it and also some advise for our life in the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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