Road Queens
Catherine MacDonald
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2006 Star Publish
ISBN: 1932993304

Faced with phobias & broken relationships, four middle-age women take to the RV life.

For those who don't know: RV = recreational vehicle.

On the surface, things look A-ok for Diana, Mary Anne & Suzy, until the you-know-what hits each woman's fan. Suddenly one is widowed, another cheated on & the third is fired when her employer learns of her past. Now each must face some serious forks in their roads. &, with not too much stress, each does what Yogi Berra tells us to: take 'em! & suddenly three trapped spirits are set free to kick up their heels, release the emergency brake & head out for wider horizons.

Along the way, at an RV park, Diana, Mary Anne & Suzy meet up & start getting to know each other. Then they meet Lily, also traveling alone, & in no time at all, they've come up with a name for themselves: they're the Road Queens.

Women all too easily sublimate themselves in service to their families, jobs & men, so what better way to shuck the rut & get a life than to take off in your own home-on-wheels to see what the world has to offer? We don't bat an eye when immigrants do it, searching for a better life. Jack Kerouac made his name by writing about his road trip. One of Willie Nelson's most enduring songs is about being on the road again, & all country singers do it every year to meet & greet their fans, so why is four not nearly so glamorous gals setting out on a journey of discovery, so unthinkable? It isn't, it's touching, memorable & hilarious!

Road Queens reminded me of one of my favorite movies Leaving Normal with Meg, Christine & Patrika. & I've loved being on the road ever since my Mater crammed all six of us first in the Tin Lizzie & then the Vauxhall sedan to find holiday spots all over the British Isles. When I got my driver's license in America along with my first car -- a perky red Pinto, I drove all over, napping in the back bundled up in a sleeping bag.

Back to the Road Queens: roaming south along the Californian coast to the beaches of Mexico, it is a multi-layered story inspired by the author's own conversations with women currently living on the road. & Catherine MacDonald knows of what she writes because together with her husband, she owns & operates a full-service RV dealership in Reno, Nevada.

Don't let the price of gas, nor the need for an editor dampen your enjoyment of this fun & insightful debut novel.

Road Queens will certainly give reading groups a lot to talk about!
(05/07/06)

Rebecca