"The Vanderbeekers on the Road" by Karina Yan Glaser

Hmm.  Although I still very much enjoyed this latest installment in the Vanderbeekers series, I didn't love it quite as much as the first five.

This book picks up right where The Vanderbeekers Make a Wish left off, with Mrs. Vanderbeeker and all her kids, plus their friends Mr. Beiderman and his ward Orlando, setting off in a borrowed van to pick up Mr. Vanderbeeker.  They follow the cross-country route his dad had planned to take him on twenty years earlier, stopping at places like the St. Louis Arch and the Grand Canyon and ending up in California where his grandfather had been stationed during WWII.  And all of that was absolutely lovely.  They made new friends, acquired new pets, and had lots of really sweet adventures.

However.  As usual, the Vanderbeeker kids are keeping secrets from their parents and each other, as well as making big plans without asking for permission or telling anyone about them... but, unlike in the other books, these aren't just plans to clean up a vacant lot and make a garden or secrets about health inspections that got messed up.  The kids are working against each other, and some of the kids very nearly mess up the futures for the other kids.

Also, it's really hard to keep secrets when you're on a road trip across the whole continent.  My credulity got strained a little too much by that, I'm afraid.

However, I did still really enjoy the book, over all.  I loved how excited these city-raised kids got over getting to visit a Target, stay at a farm, and sleep under the stars.  The whole family is becoming very dear to me, and I still find their parents to be some of the finest fictional parents I have ever encountered in kids fiction.  In any fiction, really!

Particularly Good Bits:

Wasn't it funny how you could feel so drawn to home and still feel the urge to explore the whole world? (p. 143).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  No objectionable content other than a few mentions of evolutionary theories and some discussion of "praying to the universe."  I did find that last thing a bit disappointing, as previous books have had the parents saying a blessing over the food or the kids saying a prayer in a non-specific way.  I liked that, because readers could feel like maybe the Vanderbeekers shared their own beliefs, but this book kind of nixed that.

This is my 6th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.