What did the road trip reveal about the characters' motivations? Was meeting Laurentas a surprise to you? What were you expecting to find in Granyard, Vermont?

How does the road trip reveal the varying motivations of Ona, Quinn, and Belle? Was meeting Laurentas a surprise to you? What were you expecting to find in Granyard, Vermont?

I loved the road trip! What an unexpected turn of events. Yes, I was surprised by Laurentas, just as Ona was. I expected the author to make him an explanatory character, but he refused to play that role! But how realistic! People so rarely fulfill the roles we egotistically assign to them.

Ona said said she wanted to reunite with Lurentas, but was more interested in acquiring her birth certificate. When she found he suffered from dementia, she seemed to dismiss him. (Yes, his condition was a surprise to me.) Quinn was pulled into the trip, although he thought his obligation was finished. Belle was trying to escape her sorrow and the pressure from her sister and father.

The road trip was a good way to get the main characters together and to show the difference between Quinn and Belle's relationship with Ona. I was surprised with Ona's dismissal of Lurentas, especially knowing that his children and grandchildren were her only living relatives. I liked the bond that Belle and Luentas had, both damaged souls.

Belle was motivated to get away from her over protective family & grieve in peace. Ona was motivated to find her birth certificate. She also looked forward to an adventure & seeing something else besides her own home. It had probably been a while since she ventured so far away from her neighborhood. Quinn was trying to help Ona. He knew his son was interested in Guinness Book Records and Ona was trying to honor the boy. I didn't really have any expection of Laurentas. I figured he had to be very old as Ona herself was 104. It was nice that Belle could visit with him & accept him where he was mentally, when Ona could not. It was disappointing that Ona was not interested in looking up her grand and great grandchildren.

I love road trips in novels and this one did not disappoint me. I wasn't surprised by Laurentas, but perhaps wished he wasn't as he was. The road trip was a turning point in the novel and everyone's life. I wasn't aware that Ona's real motivation for the trip and the visit was to find her birth certificate. I could see this trip as a movie.

The road trip was a very interesting event in the book and the outcome was totally unexpected. Louise's lies, Laurentas' condition and Belle and Ted's wedding. Whew! What a trip.

It was a trip I found hard to relate to. I felt Louise intruded, although it all worked out to enhance the story details. When Ona showed little interest in Laurentas, it was unexpected and disappointing. I thought the trip did bring about development of the characters.