Book:  Two Way Street
Author:  Lauren Barnholdt
Published:  June 26, 2007 from Simon Pulse
My edition/number of pages:  PB/288

Age group:  Young adult
Source:  Bookstore
Series?:  No.

There are two sides to every breakup. This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They’re even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation. Then Jordan dumps Courtney — for a girl he met on the Internet. It’s too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney’s heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la — this is Courtney pretending not to care. But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot. Turns out, he’s got a secret or two that he’s not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can’t get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other.

I honestly do not know why it has taken me so long to read this book.  I have had it on my shelf for a long time and I have had tons of my friends tell me that I need to read it.  For some reason, I just kept putting it off but I figured that it would be the perfect book to take with me on my vacation and I was right. 

Two Way Street is the story of Courtney and Jordan.  They both love each other but only one of them knows the real reason why they can’t be together.  Jordan has been keeping the truth from Courtney for months now but this road trip may change everything.  Courtney is still in love with him and she will do anything to get him back.  Jordan is still in love with Courtney so it really doesn’t take much to get him to notice her.  All the crazy things that she does to get his attention only make him want her back more.  The truth will have to come out before they can start to fix things but will the truth make things better or worse?

I know tons of people who loved Two Way Street and I really did expect to like it but I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did.  It was kind of sad how Courtney and Jordan were still in love with each other but couldn’t be together but there were so many times that I couldn’t help but laugh.  B.J. and Jocelyn, Jordan and Courtney’s best friends were hilarious.  The book would have been nowhere near as funny without those two.  Their relationship was so odd but they seemed perfect for each other.  Just like Jordan and Courtney.  When I read about their past together, I didn’t see the chemistry between them at first.  As they spent more time together I started to love their weird relationship.  They brought out the best and the worst in each other and it was such a perfect relationship because it was so odd. 

The best part of the book was the way it was told.  Some of the chapters were told from Courtney’s POV and some were told from Jordan’s.  Also, some of the chapters were about what happened on the actual trip and some of them were about the months that led up to the trip.  It gave a good, in depth look at how their relationship got started and how it ended.  The one thing that I could have done without was the cussing.  Jordan cussed a lot and it was mainly the F-word.  I didn’t think it was necessary that much but I do live with a teenage boy so I know that they actually talk like that.  Obviously, younger teens may want to stay away from this one if they don’t like cussing.

Overall, Two Way Street was a great book and it’s the perfect summer read.  It’s not exactly a new release but it should be pretty easy to find yourself a copy of it.  I will have to check out more of Lauren Barnholdt’s books now because this one was fantastic. 

First line: I’m a traitor to my generation.

Writing:  4

Characters:  4

Plot:  5

Ending:  5

Originality:  5

Overall:  23=A-

Cover:  5=A++