Let’s start the review of Kristen Mei Chase’s debut adult novel with a couple warnings. First, if you want to read A Thousand Miles to Graceland, please give Grace, the protagonist, a chance. I’ll admit I almost quit early on, and a friend did quit because Grace is not the most likable person in the world at the beginning of the book. But, the road trip and the entire book is about Grace’s change, and her confrontation with her past. So, if you can get past the early Grace, you might enjoy it as much as I did. The second is about a trigger warning. It’s not a spoiler to say Grace’s mother has cancer, but this may bother some readers.
Grace is a CPA who lives in Boston and seldom returns home or even talks to her mother in El Paso, Texas. Grace fled El Paso as soon as she could. As an Asian American, she was out of place in school, and her mother, Loralynn Johnson, who was a loud Asian American Elvis Presley fan who wore wigs and dressed outlandishly, always embarrassed Grace. With a drunk, abusive father, Grace had reasons to flee into the arms of a man who made light of everything. But, now, Grace’s husband, Jim, confesses he met someone else. Grace needs space, so she agrees to accompany her mother on her dream trip.
Loralynn wants to go to Graceland for her seventieth birthday. She has the route planned out, and she even rents a purple convertible for the trip. Grace feels as conspicuous as she always has. From the moment the trip starts, she wonders if she’s making a mistake.
Is it a mistake to spend twenty-four hours with her mother, and finally confront all of the issues they have between them? Early on, Grace has a panic attack at a diner where she sees seventy-five clones of her mama dancing at an Elvis show. But, Grace’s panic attacks are just a symptom of all the emotions she has kept inside for so long.
A Thousand Miles to Graceland is everything I look for in a road trip novel. The main character changes, grows as a result of the trip and the time spent confronting her past. The epilogue promises a future that is more positive, although there will also be loss. And, there’s humor and tears and surprises along the way. As I said, everything I look for in a road trip novel.
Kristen Mei Chase’s website is https://kristenmeichase.com/
A Thousand Miles to Graceland by Kristen Mei Chase. Forever, 2023. ISBN 9781538710463 (paperback), 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I requested a copy on NetGalley.
I am still interested in reading this book, but I played an audio sample of it and the voices got on my nerves! I had to turn it off. Problem too when the author makes the characters turn you off so much that you want to quit the book! A trick that authors need to know is how to keep you reading the book!
Oh, that’s a shame about the voices in the audio sample, Carolee. You’re right. I almost quit this one, and Kaye did. But, if the audio sample included voices similar to the characters (Boston and southern – El Paso), I can see why you quit.