Books I've Read: Exit Everything

I had to read this book after seeing the title and recognizing it as being the name of one of my favorite songs.

Set in Australia, the book follows three kids who have never really fit in at school.  They don't really know each other despite having been in classes together since they were little kids, but wind up going on a road trip together that changes their lives.  Bound together by their mutual of love of a singular artist, they hit the road without any real direction in mind.  They just want out.  Out of town, out of their lives, just out.

Interestingly, the road trip isn't that exciting.  Not a lot happens except some drinking and one brief act of violence that is diffused far too quickly to feel very perilous.  Yet the way the dynamic between the three characters plays out is interesting.  There's a definite love triangle going on, and more than once the possibility of a threesome is mentioned, although this doesn't actually ever happen.

And these are interesting characters.  They could be more distinctive in their individual voices, but their issues and the problems they are running from are real and feel genuine.  These are people who would definitely drown their sorrows in screeching guitars and blazes of feedback.

If you're looking for a story about outsiders finding a community of their own, this is one of those stories.

But don't just listen to me.

Here's the blurb:

Seth is gay.

Ronnie was born without her left hand.

Harlon is newly homeless.

Acceptance? Friendship? Love?

All three teens are looking for something … they just aren’t sure what that something is.

When the unlikely trio go on a road-trip with only their love of late post-punk guitar legend Rowland S. Howard in common, something happens.

They leave on Friday as strangers, but return home Monday forever changed ... and maybe even a little in love.

But what if the one you’re falling for is in love with another?

The trio are about to discover that love is a strange, fluid thing that comes in many shapes and forms … and most importantly, it does not discriminate.