Road Tripping with Pearl Nash

Ever since Pearl Nash’s best friend Daisy started dating Lachlan, she’s had no time to spend with her friends. Lachlan always expects that she’ll do whatever he’s doing, so the only reason she reaches out to her friends is when he cancels on her last-minute.

Pearl is sick of being treated like Daisy’s second choice. She’s agreed to go on a road trip with her to a party at a beach shack, and this trip will be Daisy’s last chance to clean up her act. But of course, Pearl finds out on the day that Daisy has decided to drive with Lachlan instead. Frustrated, Pearl sets off alone—only to find Lachlan’s friend Obiara abandoned at a petrol station. He begs her for a lift, saying that Lachlan and Daisy left him there—though he won’t explain why. This trip is off to a great start.

Pearl and Obi have never gotten on. Obi pointed out Pearl’s braces when they first met, and Pearl has never forgiven him for that embarrassment. Over the years, they’ve just gotten used to hating each other. But on the road, they find out that they may not be so different. They open up to each other, and Obi reveals his embarrassment about his plan to leave school after grade 11 to apprentice as an electrician. He’s concerned that all his friends will forget about him or judge him for his decision. And after the van breaks down and they spend a night sheltering from the rain in the back, they kiss. In the morning, they agree to forget about it—but is a kiss like that so easily forgotten?

Meanwhile, Pearl is struggling with keeping her family together. After her grandfather died, her parents moved away from the family farm and into the city. Her father and uncle haven’t spoken since. Her grandmother was living with them for a time, but she moved back to the country recently and now no-one can get in touch with her. That’s why her parents allowed her to go on the road trip—she’s supposed to be checking on her grandmother. But when she arrives, her grandmother is nowhere to be found.

Pearl contacts her uncle, and she and Obi borrow his ute to search for her grandmother. When they find her, she’s annoyed—she hadn’t realised that the beach where she was staying had no reception and is frustrated that Pearl’s father has called the police when he clearly couldn’t be bothered to contact her in the weeks leading up to her disappearance. Talking to Pearl, Nana finally opens up about how hard the grieving process has been for her—she was married to her husband for decades, and now everything she does, everywhere she goes, is either something she shared with him or something she didn’t. No-one wants to talk about what she’s going through, so she’s felt utterly alone.

Nana takes Pearl and Obi to the beach shack where Pearl finally confronts Daisy about what a terrible friend she’s been. Daisy doesn’t apologise, just promises to do better—but Pearl can’t tell if that’s because she’s realised that when Lachlan leaves school, she’ll be alone. Not as satisfying or cathartic as she would have liked, but that’s life. Similarly, her father, mother and younger brother have come out to the coast and met up with her uncle and his family. The whole extended family is in one piece again—and though there’s no heartfelt reunions or apologies, it feels like they might be on the right track. Obi asks Pearl out, and Pearl’s family approve of him. Pearl might not have fixed her relationship with Daisy over the course of the road trip, but she’s helped her family to heal and made a connection with an amazing boy who she doesn’t feel shy around.

Funny and light-hearted, this book tackles grief, coming-of-age, anxiety over what to do after school, and breakdowns of friendship and family. The romance between Pearl and Obi is fraught with misunderstandings and second-guessing, but when they get together it’s because they’ve connected on a deep, meaningful level and know that they bring out the best in each other. Overall, a wonderful and diverting read.

coming of age, city vs country, rural, farms, school and trades, friendship, conflict, family breakdowns, miscommunication, road trips, resolution, grief, change, romance, rom-com

1. Language: f**k x 3 (p. 15, 37, 218), shit x 13, bloody x 5, dick x 2. 2. Pearl comments that Daisy has experienced everything first: boyfriend, love, sex, relationship (p. 23). Obi and Pearl kiss (p. 39-40, 216-217, 219-220). 3. Nana chased Pearl around with a broom handle (p. 171). 4. Underage drinking (p. 195, 211, 212-215, 221-223).