Road to Recovery

Abigail Sharpee

Hour 3

Authors note: This is my formal essay; from the book “Rules of the Road” by Joan Bauer. This piece is describing the character development of Jenna Boller.

The Road to Recovery

Have you ever felt the need to change? Have you felt if you changed the way you acted, your whole life would change? The main character, Jenna from the book “Rules of the Road” by Joan Bauer, felt the same way before she set out on an adventure that changed her as a person. Jenna Boller got asked to be the driver for her boss, Mrs. Gladstone, at the shoe store from which she worked at. This road trip goes from Illinois to Texas, and they would be in Texas for 4 months. Throughout the trip, Jenna majorly develops as a character and seems quite different by the time she returns home.

Jenna Boller  is a sophisticated, misunderstood teenager who  took care of her high maintenance sister Faith, her overwhelmed mother, and her alcoholic father. With all of these problems going on at home, all Jenna wanted was to move away from them, even if it meant having to spend four months with Mrs. Gladstone. However, Mrs. Gladstone had more of an influence on her then she expected.

Jenna Boller had never been the most popular, or the prettiest girl in her high school, and hasn’t really found out who she wanted to be and what her sense of personality or style was like yet. Except, Jenna isn’t really looking for who she is, she has nearly given up. She feels almost as if there is nothing more to her besides brains, and homework. Although, she does discover that there is more to her, she just hasn’t found her other half yet.

This is quite similar to me, I feel as if I haven’t found my other half yet either. Except the difference is that I haven’t stopped looking and that I have a longer time to uncover who I really am and my true friends, then Jenna did. Also, I feel as if I have found more of myself then Jenna has. Therefore, Jenna and I are a tad bit similar but yet I’d say that we are more different. Therefore, I believe that Jenna and I are similar, yet we have our differences Jenna keeps more to herself than I, and she has more and bigger issues to deal with than me. Although, there is a character from the book “Boy Proof” by’ Cecil Castellucci, who is very similar to Jenna and goes by the name of Victoria. Victoria spends the second half of the school year trying to go from geek to popular for the first boy she has ever crushed on, Max. The book is basically about how she finds her true self, and the way she develops as a person. These two characters, Jenna and Victoria are both alike because they both try to find out who they really are, and have rather interesting journeys doing so.

Over the road trip, Jenna learns a lot about how to style her tomato red hair, and what clothes will blend nicely with it. She also discovers how to make business deals, the right way to treat others, and how to live a good life the right way.  Jenna meets some really spectacular people that made a significant impact on her new self. By the time Jenna returned home she had a new hair-do, a new way of living, and different ways to face, address and solve her problems. These changes demonstrate that Jenna is a dynamic character. Those dramatic changes owe great thanks towards Mrs. Gladstone, who was there with her every step of the way.

New and improved Jenna took her life into her own hands, and realized that you don’t have to be the prettiest nor most popular girl at school, you just have to be you. Now thanks to the trip, she knows who she really is; she has more self confidence and can’t wait for school to start up again so that she can go show off the new Jenna Boller.