Schwartz's book is a wonderful glimpse into the life of a girl who is trying to follow her dreams of becoming an artist, but who is being held back by her mother, who, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot get along with. On the way to an artist's retreat in Ireland, our heroine and her bothersome mother travel through the European continent eating at French Cafe's and realizing there is nothing to do in Belgium. The book has heart, and it has character. Most of all, it has nostaligia. It reminds me of all the things I hoped and dreamed of before going off on my own to college. Through Nora's dreams of becoming an artist, and finding her way through the world by doing what she thinks is right, I am reminded of going head to head with my father when I decided not to become an engineer, but to study literature.
And We're Off by Dana Schwartz is a young adult novel written for 24 year olds. I feel this way because as a 24 year old myself, I enjoyed the references to pop culture and literature that I grew up with, and was able to relate to the book on a personal level, despite not being a teenage girl on a European trip with my mother. I say that it is written for 24 year olds, and not teenagers because as a teacher of teenagers, I have learned that teenagers immersed in the current world of snapchat and instagram are not aware of pop culture in the way that I feel most people are in my own echo chamber. My students have never seen a second of Game of Thrones. They have never heard of Lord of the Rings, much less, The Silmarillion. An entire class had not even seen the seventh Star Wars movie months after it had come out.
I am not saying that Dana Schwartz's book wasn't any good. I liked it. I even gave it a rating on Book of the Month's website. I am saying that it seems to fall into a place that lacks an audience. The numerous references to pop culture, and dreams of becoming an artist are things that people my age can relate to, but most teenagers cannot, but the writing style is below the level of most people who would enjoy the content.
Overall, I believe that if you fall into the narrow demographic that this book is targeted at, then you should pick it up for a quick summer read. I'm sure it would be great to read on the beach, or on a train ride across the European continent.
