Are We There Yet?

I'd never read any David Levithan books before, so this was my first and I will be looking for more! It was a quick, easy read. I managed it in a single afternoon. A great travel story about the reconnection between two brothers who have drifted apart, not because of any great rift or epic argument, but mostly just because of life and growing up. That really resonates with me, as it would for many people, I would imagine. My husband and I both have brothers (the age gap between my husband and his brother is large, similar to the gap between Danny and Elijah), and Levithan is spot-on when he writes about the evolution of the relationship between Elijah and Danny--the closeness in childhood, the tension during adolescence, the way life gets in the way as you age. I also loved the setting (Italy!). I would have liked the book to be longer, but that's just because I enjoyed the writing and the characters so much.Read it! And then share it with your brother/sister/best friend!

I had spent so long searching for this book because David Levithan is one of my favorite authors. Then finally Amazon was selling it so I jumped on the opportunity to purchase it! The book is a must read and really would appeal to a teenager with a close brother and those who love road-trip books (John Green fans especially). The only problems I had (and have had with Amazon in the past) is that the books are in a odd quality. They're a little dirty and maybe crinkled at the edges. Either terrible shipping quality or just lots of moving around in the warehouse. The physical book may not be appealing but it's what's in the content, right?

This book had all of the characteristics of a Levithan novel; chracters that you could relate to, emotional problems that one could understand, and deeper thoughts that one might never have thought of before.It wasn't funny like the summary of the book had claimed, but it was a book worth reading if only because it was one that made you think and one that will probably be remembered

This is such a sweet and poignant story of brothers forced to journey together and learning to reconnect after years and miles have separated them.

This is a great, light read! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Brilliant writing, engrossing story. Highly recommended.

Short, sweet, utterly forgettable.It was kind of hard to get into this, thus explaining the entire week it took to read 200 some pages. I like that this is a story about the relationship between two brothers, and their extreme disconnect. Their parents "trick" them into going on this 9-day Italian vacation, and they spend most of it apart, and fighting when together.Such a great premise. But...there is some severe lack here. And the inclusion of Julia. I see why it's necessary for Elijah's arc, but the triangle-y bit is so extra. So much wince.Not terrible. Just forgettable.

My David Levithan obsession continues! After reading and adoring Every Day, I went out and bought four more David Levithan books, Are We There Yet? being one that really intrigued me. Much is made of the relationships between sisters, but I've certainly not read many books about the relationships between brothers. And never having been a brother myself (but having three of them), I wasn't quite sure what to expect.Born seven years apart, Danny and Elijah are complete opposites - Danny is a workaholic advertising guru and Elijah is a high school student who is more interested in chilling out and getting stoned than really being engaged with the world. And their relationship is incredibly strained - they have very little in common and are sent on holiday together by their parents but aren't really interested in spending any time together.I found both of them frustrating, but Elijah in particular was quite likable, despite his pretty laid-back attitude towards life. I do wish there had been more about Julia's past as I found it quite hard to understand her behaviour, which wasn't really wierd but rather quite random. What I did like though was that there wasn't a huge focus on the relationships between Julie and the brothers, instead it was more of a hint of what could have been.Although the relationship between the brothers changes during the course of their journey, I found it quite hard to pinpoint exactly when it evolved, which is both a positive and a negative - a positive because there's nothing worse than the blatant 'let's love each other now' moment, and a negative in that I didn't really understand why their relationship changed and they became closer.The setting of Are We There Yet? immediately grabbed me - Italy is one of those countries that is right up there on my Must Travel list, and through the course of the book Danny and Elijah travel through Venice, Florence and Rome, and their experiences in the three cities are very different but also very similar.Overall I did enjoy Are We There Yet? - it was a quick, fun read and although I didn't really get everything that I'd hoped for, I loved that it was about the relationship between brothers, and there was more than enough travel references to satisfy my travel bug.

This is my third David Levithan book so I'm obviously a fan! His style is so gorgeous; he conveys so much with so little effort, (some of the chapters are only a few sentences long after all). Each chapter alternates narrators between Danny and Elijah, estranged brothers on a 9 day journey through Rome, Florence and more. There's not much in the way of plot, and as with Levithan's other books there are no villains here, and your opinions change as you get to know the characters.The book began to drag for me in the second third, where the characterisation was in place but not much seemed to be happening. Mind you the book is short and fast enough for this to be a minor complaint, and it does pick up after that to the point I was actually left wanting more, but I always am with Levithan's solo efforts!If you've never read David levithan before I'd recommend starting with Will Grayson, Will Grayson which he co-authored, so you can see if his style's for you, and if you are familiar with him Are We There Yet is a nice addition to a strong body of work.

I'd read a couple of David Levithan's books, so was already comfortable with his wonderful way of creating stories by really explaining what's behind his rich depth of characters. He creates love and joy in his writing, with feel good factor, without being bland or dull in any way. A joy to read.

A god read.

Condition is good enough.

With every book that I read by David Levithan, he comes closer and closer to becoming a favourite. So far, I've read three and loved them all. This one's no different.Are We There Yet? is about two brothers. They have a seven-year age difference and very different personalities. Elijah is super nice, naive, and is perfectly okay with gliding through life remaining that way. In fact, Elijah is a little too nice. He even chats with people sitting next to him on the plane. Danny, who's over organised and practical, is annoyed that his little brother never takes things seriously. There are misunderstandings and resentments that have made them distant.Their parents decide that something must be done. Which leads to a week-long trip to Italy for the two brothers, with hope that bridges will be mended.Initially, none of that happens. They've barely talked to each other for years, ever since Danny went to college. Now Elijah is in a boarding school while Danny's busy with his new job. Being thrust together is not guaranteed to make them suddenly want to talk about their feelings. Also, neither of them wanted to go on the trip with the other and they don't seem eager to reconcile.But they're brother. They still care about each other. They're got eight days in some of the most beautiful cities in the world to work things out. Maybe their common love for museums would help? Progress is slow, though.Then the girl comes in. Elijah's the one who meets her and he's immediately fascinated by her. He can think of nothing better than ditching his older brother to hang out with her. Danny isn't entirely pleased by that. I wasn't pleased either. I'll admit, I didn't like her. She was of the flighty and run-away-from-all-problems variety. She was indecisive and she tried to hit on both the brothers. She didn't intend to come between them, but she did. And even though I understand the role she played (it was an important one), I still had to resist the urge to point and yell, "INTRUDER!" every time she was in a scene.I don' think Levithan intended for her to be likable but I still wish she had been, just a little because she kinda soured the experience. Because if you take her away (even though it wouldn't work that way), this book was wonderful.First of all, I loved how real the relationship between Danny and Elijah was. I really liked both the characters and I think Levithan did a bang-up job of writing them individually, and writing their relationship. Speaking of writing, the prose was beautiful. Levithan uses different styles for each book and this one might be my favourite. The imagery of Italy was so beautiful. If I ever go to Italy, I am definitely taking this book with me.Overall, this is a mellow and wonderful novel and, to end, I just have to give to a taste of the prose."He feels not only discovery but also a discovery of discovery. It's a spiritual rush, and it leaves him buoyant. He feels the antithesis of alone, because he is in the company of circumstance."