Desert Crossing by Elise Broach is a great novel which combines perfect amounts of mystery and romance. This book was written to entertain teenagers and young adults with amusing scenes and mysterious dilemmas. Throughout the book, the reader can enjoy entertaining character dialogue as well as a unique and well designed plot. With a few unanswered questions at the beginning of the story, readers can anxiously anticipate the result. The main theme of Desert Crossing is that you should make the right choices. Early on in the book, Luce Martinez, her brother Jami, and their friend Kit are all traveling in a car along a desert road. The road was barely visible due to rain. Their car hits something, and when each of these characters gets out of the car, they find a girl laying dead in the road, but without a scratch. Once they called the police, the officers recognized that Jami and Kit had been drinking. Jami, who was driving, goes to jail. Without giving too much away, drinking and driving was not the reason he was put into jail; the police let him off the hook for drinking. From this lesson, Jami recognized how lucky he was not to get into trouble for drinking and driving, and he decided not to drink and drive again. This story is a narration, as the author uses a sequence of events in order to tell the story. Although the book was not a complete description style, the author did make it feel as though you were there, taking part in the events in which were happening in the story. Overall, I believe that the narration of the story was done very good. In my opinion, this book was descent. It was very well written, and descriptions used in the book made the story feel more realistic. The characters seemed to be completely alive. The only thing that I did not like about the writing was the use of bad language, which I found to be unnecessary. I did not absolutely love this book because I was not a fan of the story as a whole. The story itself was not all that interesting. I am a huge fan of mystery books, however, this one seemed generic; nothing in particular stood out to me. In my opinion, the story plot was not exciting or moving in any way; but it wasn’t boring, either. It’s just that the storyline for me was nothing special.
Book love #2 - Liam donohue In Desert crossing by Elise Broach the story line is simple. Basically the main character Lucy, her brother Jamie, and her brothers friend Kit going to her dads for spring break when they believe to have hit a girl in amidst a brutal rain storm. Lucy pleads for them to turn around, Jamie listens. They saw a house down the highway and drove there while Jamie stayed with the body. The lady who lives there was named Beth and when the police forced the kids to stay in kilmore she offered them to stay at her house. A few days later the police cleared it up and said that they didn’t hit the girl so they could leave. This is when Lucy made it her mission to find out who the girl was. Lucy’s brother Jamie and Beth ended up having feelings for each other and Lucy couldn’t stand it so she made Kit drive her into town. This is when Lucy tries to find out who the girl is. This book is interesting because the main plot is three teenagers in a desert but some how the author makes it relatable and fun to read. This book suggests that no matter how scared you are of doing something, you shouldn’t back down or take no as an answer. This book changed me because now I believe if you something wrong or multiple things wrong for the right reason it’s ok. Although this book is a slow read it’s worth the time because it’s relatable to someone in at least one way. After reading the last page of Desert Crossing, the reader is left with a feeling of relief because the suspense only builds through out the story and then it falls all in a couple of sentences. As humans, we should take the advice that of the author which is the bigger the risk the greater the reward. Courage is a fascinating one because courage is only mental no physical aspect to it at all.This book is worth the time because it makes me think different about tough situations in my life.
What do You think about Desert Crossing (2006)?
I heard Elise Broach speak at a library conference--mostly she talked about her other book, Shakespeare's Secret, which, since I took a college class on Shakespeare, was quite interesting. However, when reading the book flaps of that book and this one, Desert Crossing sounded far more interesting to me. This is for older teens--there's a murder and an 18-year-old having an affair with a 30+ -year-old woman and the implication of a man who is a serial rapist--but I think a high school age kid could read this without it being too much. Some parts of the story were a bit too coincidental, but it was a good thriller overall.
—Kate
Lucy Martinez is travelling across the desert with her brother Jamie and his best friend Kit when their car hits what they think is a coyote. They go back and find a girl, dead in the road. Lucy is filled with fear and guilt, thinking they've killed the girl. But all is not as it seems.I've read this book over and over for years. I could probably recite it by heart. It's tense and full of twists, with some genuinely creepy moments. I love the non-relationship between Lucy and Kit but I'll admit that Lucy sometimes annoys me when it comes to Jamie and the woman he starts seeing. Her attitude is a bit preachy and strange to hear from a girl as young as her. Other than that it's brilliant. Well, I wouldn't have read it so many times if it wasn't.
—Michaela
I thought book was going to be a survival story and got a mystery combined with romance instead. I was a bit put off by the device the author used to remove the older brother from the story so the other boy and his younger sister could develop a relationship and try to solve a murder. I mean, is it me, or is a 30-40 something year old woman having a sexual affair with a just turned 18 year old boy who the police left in her custody after he supposedly hit a teen on the road while drinking....well, a bit creepy? I also found the way the kids put themselves into danger by breaking into a killer's house hard to read. I also found the relationship between the girl and the brother's friend odd...he wants to kiss her and stuff but hey when we go back to school no one can know about this....yuck.I save one starts for books that are WRETCHED so this got two as it does have some suspense and a ploy that keeps you reading even if you don't like what's happening.
—Amy
