A madcap roadtrip with a kidnapping alien, a gambling grandma, a conman, and a harried bridesmaid
The Road to Roswell — Connie Willis
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The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
Content warnings included in the footnote of this newsletter.1
What It’s About
When Francie’s BFF asks her to be her maid of honor, she of course says yes. Even if that means traveling to Roswell for a true-believer/UFO-inspired wedding, complete with alien conspiracy theorists in the rest of the wedding party. But when Francie goes to collect something from her car, she’s yanked inside by something that doesn’t seem entirely human — yep, it’s definitely an alien. An alien who forces her to drive . . . somewhere.
Francie isn’t sure what the alien wants, other than to drive in a specific direction because it’s looking for something or someone. When they run into others along their journey, the alien yoinks them into the car, too, and soon they have a whole crew trying to help the alien complete whatever task it is trying to and get it home safely.
It’s truly as ridiculous and fun as it sounds, as this weird group of humans tries not to run away but instead help the alien (who, by the way, doesn’t speak), leading to a riotous and genuinely heartwarming story that makes you think people aren’t so bad, after all (something we could all use right now).
Why You Should Read It
Let’s be honest, it’s a tough world right now. I’m having a hard time, and I know everyone else is, too. Who doesn’t need a totally escapist, silly story about an alien abduction that ends up being heartwarming and not scary?
There were a few moments that dragged out a bit, IMO, and could have been shortened, but honestly, I was so happy to spend my time with this strange crew of characters as they went on an expedition across the Southwestern desert to appease a friendly alien.
If you want more weird but uplifting and hopeful stories, I also recommend An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green (yes, the internet’s dad, Hank Green) and When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald (which I recommended here, and does get quite sad occasionally, so please read with caution!).
I’m doing a huge spring cleaning of my bookshelves and selling a ton for super cheap over on Pango Books — check out my storefront! (Above are a few books I have listed for sale that can be your very own!) Please come take some books from me! And tell me what your favorite places to find used books are. It’s almost library sale season, and those are some of my favorite things to do in the summer!
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