How to Be Bad by E. Lockhart, Sarah Mlynowski, & Lauren Myracle

Three girls, whose seemingly only similarity is that they all work their local Waffle House, are about to embark on no ordinary road trip. Jesse and Vicks are friends, but lately that friendship has been under some strain with Jesse’s uptight ways and Vicks’ more relaxed style and her missing her college-bound boyfriend. The third girl in this unusual trio is Mel, a privileged girl who for some reason works at the Waffle House as well—and surprisingly doesn’t flaunt her wealth much. Vicks is unhappy with Jesse’s unbending Christian ways and Jesse is rather disdainful of Mel and her wealth so how on earth will these three last the long drive to Miami and survive this excursion?

When Jesse wants to get away for a bit from the troubles at home and her mother’s embarrassing activities, she offers to drive Vicks to Miami so she can see her boyfriend, who hasn’t been calling her and has only sent a text message or two at unearthly hours of the night. Their Waffle House coworker, Mel, who was standing next to Jesse and Vicks when they discussed their possible road trip, invites herself along, with Jesse only agreeing when Mel offers to cover their trip’s expenses.

Before long, these three take off in Jesse’s mom’s old car, stopping to visit unusual sites like the smallest police station and a large stuffed gator named Old Joe. Not long after they exit the museum where Old Joe was (having broken in to see the old gator since the museum was closed), they encounter a cutie guy named Marco, whom they eventually end up giving a ride to. Marco, much to Jesse’s dismay, invites them to a party where Vicks and Mel get extremely drunk and have to stay over for a night. Being a Christian, Jesse does not drink and cannot wait to leave the next morning, but Mel and Marco have begun to warm up to each other, showing some real chemistry.

Already unhappy at the pervious night’s events, Jesse is furious at Vicks the next morning, and her opinion of Mel hasn’t improved either. But Jesse isn’t the only unhappy one. Arguments break out between Vicks and Jesse as Vicks is struggling with a drunken decision that she is starting to regret and Jesse struggles with what is going on with her mother. Things only get worse when a vicious storm breaks out and the trio is forced to look for somewhere to stay near DisneyLand. With their bickering almost as bad as the weather, the rest of this road trip does not look promising…

With three distinct characters and a road trip that you’ll never forget, Mel, Jesse, and Vicks have a lot to learn, not only about each other, but about themselves as well. And if only they could learn to be more forgiving, understanding and open-minded, their trip may prove to be a lot more enjoyable and fulfilling for all three of them!