“100 Sideways Miles” by Andrew Smith – Steering Your Own Life

It seems that even though coming of age novels are pouring out one after the next, there is little new to introduce into the genre at this stage.

Let's face it, the transition into adulthood can certainly be frightening, confusing, disorienting and enlightening, but it is something everyone goes through (barring some notable exceptions, we all know one of those) and in the end, there are countless other topics in life that deserve more attention.

Nevertheless, they do have an undeniable appeal, perhaps due to our ability to relate to them so easily, especially when the author manages to surprise the reader and make the subject feel fresh, which is something I believe Andrew Smith did in 100 Sideways Miles.

The story is that of Finn Easton, a very young man whose life teeters on the edge of an abyss; he feels like he actually is a character in his father's cult science-fiction novel rather than being its inspiration, he gets visions of two girls who died in a flood while having epilepsy attacks, and his dog is unnecessarily attracted to dead things. To top it all off, the only girl he's loved so far and who reciprocated in kind has moved back to the Mid-West.

In Finn's world, his only companion is Cade Hernandez, the possibly-crazy friend whose shadow he lives in. Deciding that something needed to change, anything at all, Finn and Cade decide to head on a road trip to visit their college of choice.

Needless to say, as it is always the case, life had other plans for the two of them, and after unwittingly becoming heroes during a flash flood the two boys are thrust on a path that will take them out of the darkness and fear of being a teenager and into the light of adulthood.

If you believe that you can get an accurate idea of what the book is all about on a general level from that description, then you are most certainly right. The author doesn't try to subvert the reader at every turn and defy their expectations at any cost.

It doesn't try new paths for the sake of trying them... rather, it is an intriguing, moving and thought-provoking read that is lighthearted in its nature, flowing rather easily at a leisurely pace, taking you along for the journey rather than having you simply act as a spectator.

As far as the worth of the story goes, I will admit that on a few occasions things felt a bit re-hashed and cliched, but those moments were far and few in-between, and I suppose they are hardly avoidable when writing this kind of novel, the one that's been done countlessly in recent years.

As you would expect from such a solid effort, underneath the light, quirky and humorous story lie teachings, observations and thoughts about this whole stage in life; the more intellectual readers out there certainly won't feel left out or insulted in here.

I especially enjoyed the persisting theme of learning what control is and how much power we truly have in steering our lives about. In the end, this is the kind of novel that leaves you feeling warm, in peace, and with a few things to consider here and there.

To conclude things here, if you enjoy coming of age novels and/or are looking for something in this genre that is all-around solid and injects some fresh air here and there, then 100 Sideways Miles is most certainly a book I would recommend without hesitation.

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Andrew Smith Personal site Andrew Smith is an American author who has taken mostly to penning coming-of-age novels, only recently publishing his first book in 2008, Ghost Medicine. His first effort earned him an ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults Award, and his following book, Falling Objects, was awarded a BBYA prize.