'Road to Nowhere' is one of the books I kept from my teenage years. I was a massive fan of Christopher Pike, and I suppose I didn't want to let go of the nostalgic feelings. Well, now that I have read this book again, I'm ready to let it go. I can't remember reading it the first time around, but I can remember that it is not one of the better ones. Last year I read 'Witch' and it was much better.This book tells the story of Teresa Chafey, driving away from her ruined life, when she sees two hitchhikers in the torrential rain. She doesn't know why, but she picks them up. They are Free, a magician and charmer, and Poppy, his assistant, sullen and a chain-smoker. Teresa doesn't know where it is she's running to, but she wants to get away, drive up the west coast of the US from her home in LA. So when her passengers ask her to take them to San Francisco, she is willing. Along the way, Free and Poppy decide to tell stories to pass the time - in particular, one story, of their friends John and Candy. In return, they ask Teresa to tell the story of why she is running away from home.There are some strange moments through the narrative, such as visiting a spooky house with a wizened fortune teller, and stopping by a cathedral on the coast of California, with people milling about the grounds listlessly. There is a lot of stopping to get fuel and snacks. Teresa always gets Junior Mints, Free gets each time a six-pack of beer, a carton of milk and a box of doughnuts, and Poppy is partial to cigarettes, a lighter, or peanuts. The journey seems to last forever, and Teresa keeps getting mysterious pains, feverish symptoms and waves of dizziness.Along the drive, it is easy for the reader to get stuck into the doomed story of John and Candy, and the disappointment of Teresa's story involving her boyfriend Bill. Both stories started out with great hope, only to dwindle into sadness. These stories were enough to keep my attention, but the episodes of getting out of the car and weird things happening were a bit annoying.I did find this book predictable. I guess the genre might have something to do with that. Young Adult fiction is never anything life-changing. I knew there was something weird about the hitchhikers, and about Teresa's flawed story. I guess the ending was satisfying enough, if a bit cheesy and clichéd. I did find it a little too religious for my liking, though. I can't say I would recommend 'Road to Nowhere', because Christopher Pike did write better books than this one. It was just what my brain needed, though: something light after reading 'A Game of Thrones'.
I probably shouldn't have read this book after the last one of Pike's I've read, but I got these books for free and I was hoping that this one might be different.Well, I was wrong.Again, the cover of the book is all wrong. It screams horror and mystery. Certainly, this story was more of a thriller than "The Midnight Club," but honestly, it was so terrible that I couldn't even place it in that genre. The twist did not make my jaw drop; rather, I was amazed at the amount of plot devices present and how awkwardly the plot was laced together. Every character was bipolar and inconsistent - I didn't give a shit about anybody, except for Teresa (at least until she couldn't admit that she was being a little ridiculous about how much of an asshole her boyfriend was). Don't even get me started on how bad the "storytelling" was. I couldn't believe that Teresa thought that Free was so gifted with storytelling. He was TERRIBLE. And, honestly, the storytelling took up more space than the actual plot of the book, which was irritating, even though both, overall, were rather stupid. Plus, how the hell did Candy and John become angels and demons? The mythology of the book isn't explained; even if it isn't the primary thing, it should still make sense. And the underlying Christian nudges were especially annoying.No more Christopher Pike, thank you.
What do You think about Road To Nowhere (2002)?
This is the book by Christopher Pike that still stays and have a small impact in my mind, from my teen years until my adulthood (I still remember Christopher Pike by this book whenever people mentioned him). I believed that if I re-read this book, I might have second thoughts as it might not be a good book like other current bestsellers, however I prefer the story of Freedom Jack (John) and Poppy Corn (Candy) to stay like it is in my teenage memories. John and Candy's stories, to me, are the reason why this book is a good-one to read; back at those years. Reminds you of Romeo and Juliet, with a twist here and there, though not so convincing enough. It is an easy read, I still rate it good.
—Fin Zy
I'm pretty sure this was the book that made me stop reading Christopher Pike books. When I first found him, I LOVED everything I read. I devoured his books one by one, I couldn't get enough. But as the years went by, they started getting more and more strange. At first I could overlook some of the elements of the stories, but when I got to this one it was just TOO much. Too weird, a little too disturbing, and no real conclusion. I just didn't like this one and it turned me off to his books completely.
—Amber
I read this book when I was about 11. And I remember telling my dad as he was driving me to school one morning that I liked Christopher Pike books because they were profound. He really made me think about things. At that time I had never read any books with the subject matter that some of his books contained. They had life, death, and religion. What I remember most about the YA horror/suspense/supernatural books at the time were that they were the slasher type where kids got together and got killed in various ways. That could be because those were the only kind I really read. Christopher Pike sometimes just seemed to have more meaning...for an 11 year old.
—Kia
