The Road to You by Marilyn Brant
Paperback, 300 pages
Published October 3rd 2013 by Twelfth Night Books
Age Group: YA/NA 
Source: ecopy from Publisher
Summary:
Sometimes the only road to the truth…is one you’ve never taken.
Until I found Gideon’s journal in the tool shed — locked in the cedar box where I’d once hidden my old diary — I’d been led to believe my brother was dead. But the contents of his journal changed all that.
The Road to Discovery…
Two years ago, Aurora Gray’s world turned upside down when her big brother Gideon and his best friend Jeremy disappeared. Now, during the summer of her 18th birthday, she unexpectedly finds her brother’s journal and sees that it’s been written in again. Recently. By him.
The Road to Danger…
There are secret messages coded within the journal’s pages. Aurora, who’s unusually perceptive and a natural puzzle solver, is hell bent on following where they lead, no matter what the cost. She confides in the only person she feels can help her interpret the clues: Donovan McCafferty, Jeremy’s older brother and a guy she’s always been drawn to — even against her better judgment.
The Road to You…
Reluctantly, Donovan agrees to go with her and, together, they set out on a road trip of discovery and danger, hoping to find their lost brothers and the answers to questions they’ve never dared to ask aloud.
In that expectant space between silence and melody, our trip began…
I love a good mystery and The Road To You is one of the better mysteries that I have encountered in a long time. This book will really keep you guessing. This book takes place in the 1970s and Aurora and Donovan’s older brothers have been missing for over two years. Aurora finds her brothers journal out of the blue and as she starts to go through it she noticed that there are clues hidden throughout. I love that concept. Puzzles and scavenger hunt type mysteries are always really fun for me to read about. And this is a very intricate mystery. I was trying to solve it right along with Aurora and Donovan and I couldn’t crack it before they did. Marilyn Brant did a really great job with this book.
Aurora is so determined. I really wanted everything to work out for her because she wanted it so badly. And nothing was easy for her. You have to remember that this book takes place in the 70s so there was no internet, no cell phones and CSI/ police forensics are nothing like they are today. There is almost no researching that Aurora could have done. If she wants to find her brother she has to literally go to all the places that they went and do some major footwork. Talk to the people they talked to, try and figure out what they were doing at each place and look for leads that way. And because of that sometimes the book seems a little long. It wasn’t really slow pe se, it is just a long process that the two of them had to go through just to advance one step. But it was really interesting. Aurora was my favorite character. I liked Donovan too, but Aurora just seemed to be the driving force behind everything and her determination and can do spirit impressed me.
There is a little bit of a romance but it is very secondary to the main mystery. I liked it that way. Normally, I like more romance in my stories, but here it worked as a secondary aspect because this book really was about finding their brothers. I really liked the mystery that Marylin came up with. It was interesting and well thought out. I was really impressed with The Road to You overall. It was my first time reading one of her books and I can really see that she is a very detail oriented writer. Everything is so well described and the story seemed very fleshed out. It was an enjoyable read.
Andrea @The Bookish Babes
Oh wow! This sounds pretty fantastic. I really love the premise of the story, and it seems to have been executed well. Thanks for bringing The Road to You to my attention!
Christina Fiorelli
Christina R. in the rafflecopter
LOVE it when mysteries have to do with family secrets, and the diary that’s being updated? Very very awesome!!:)
Love the period it’s set in too. Makes it harder for the characters:)
Lovely review!! 🙂
Marilyn Brant
Michelle,
Thanks so much for your thoughtful review of my novel! I really loved reading your thoughts!!
🙂