More than the light hearted road trip novel you might believe this to be. Grace left home, a home which was tough and didn't look back until now, when her marriage has fallen apart and she feels the need for some connection. She agrees to drive her mom Loralynn from El Paso to Memphis because her mom well, worships Elvis. These two have a lot of issues to resolve along the way and they do so in ways both humorous and touching. Grace finally comes to understand something more about her Chinese mom while Loralynn sees how her childhood affected Grace, And they meet some interesting characters along the way. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

A quick, cute read about family, coming home, and choosing yourself instead of what you think others expect of you. A heartwarming story of healed family trauma too.

This story is about a mother/daughter bonding road trip. Grace’s mother is Elvis obsessed and has always wanted to go to Graceland. When Grace’s marriage breaks down she takes on the task of helping her mom’s dream come true. Even though the concept is one that interested me I really struggled to get into it. Still I think others, especially Elvis fans, would like this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Forever ( Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to review this arc.

This was a fun read, nothing revelatory but fun anyway. I loved the mother daughter angle, along with the backdrop of a roadtrip to Graceland. Having taken many roadtrips with my own mother I felt a little connection to this novel aspect. I think people looking for a lot of action or LOL moments might not connect with this book, but I'm positive it will make a lot of hearts happy. Thank you for an early copy!

When Grace’s marriage ends, she reluctantly agrees to go on a road trip to Graceland with her Elvis-loving 70 year old mother.

The description sounds like a light, easy read but it is actually much deeper than that. It expertly highlights mother/daughter issues, and delves into fall-out from alcoholism and abuse. And there’s enough humor and wackiness sprinkled in that it never becomes unbearably depressing. I really didn’t know what to expect with this debut novel, but it was very well written and enjoyable.

I read A Thousand Miles to Graceland in one day and found myself thinking so much of my Mom. This story is about Grace and her mother Loralynn, an Elvis megafan, and their adventurous road trip to Graceland. This story had such vulnerability and explored heavier topics while also shining light on the more tender and lighthearted moments shared between mother and daughter. This was a beautiful debut story and I look forward to more of Kristen Mei Chase’s books!

4.5 stars

Thank you@netgalley and @readforeverpub for the early copy

Grab your copy 1/24!

A Thousand Miles to Graceland deserves ten stars, and not just because I love Elvis. Despite its tenderness and sometimes heartbreaking nature, this book touched my heart in so many ways. In many ways, this mother-daughter story with a touch of romance appeals to me in a way that mirrors my own experience. My heart ached for Grace, the daughter, and her struggles with her family and her relationship with her mother. Grace's mom was delightful, relatable, and heartwarming. In addition to their heartbreaking and heartwarming journey to Graceland, I really enjoyed the discovery of self on their journey.

Thank you Forever and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was an honest review.

As a lifelong Memphian/someone whose grandma went to kindergarten with Elvis, I’m always intrigued by books with the King at the forefront. A THOUSAND MILES TO GRACELAND follows a woman and her somewhat estranged mother on their cross-country road-trip/pilgrimage to visit Graceland. From the jump, this book hit harder than I was expecting. The relationship between Grace and Mama is fraught with lots of history and hurt. The ghost (not literal) of Grace’s abusive father is present in most of their interactions and Grace’s memories of her childhood, and it kept reminding me of the quote “if you’re raised with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house. you will find him even when he is not there.” Over the course of the story, Grace and Mama start really hearing each other for the first time, and the catharsis is tangible. If you enjoy family sagas, this is a book you should pick up.

I was not sure what I was expecting when I chose to read this book. According to the title and the cover, I was probably expecting a light and fun road trip story about a mother and daughter. But, I got so much more.

This IS a mother/daughter story. The mother and daughter have been in an ongoing conflict for years. Loralynn is the mother, Grace is the daughter. The source of the conflict is that Grace has felt neglected most of her life because her mother has had an over the top Elvis obsession for too many years and she had also been coping with an abusive, alcoholic husband for too long.

Now, for her 70th Birthday, Loralynn has asked Grace to accompany her on a road trip from El Paso, Texas to Graceland in Memphis.

It turns out to be a revealing, emotional road trip. Both mother and daughter learn a lot about what makes the other tick. They learn some pretty serious things. And, there is a lot of fun on the way. They make different stops during their pilgrimage. Each stop helps them learn something about the other.

I love Loralynn's unabashed obsession with Elvis. It's not a quiet admiration. And I love Grace's subtle and dry humour as she tries to keep her mother in line during the trip and as she texts the progress back to friends. I enjoyed watching their relationship change along the way.

This is a fun read and also a touching read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Grace's mother, Loralynn, has a 70th birthday coming up, and there is nothing more she would love to do then go to Graceland, as she is the biggest fan of Elvis. She convinces her daughter to join her on the road trip and has planned several stops along the way. This road trip is the perfect opportunity for them to reconnect and explore their relationship. It also may turn into an opportunity for Grace to disconnect from her current life and to try new things.

I expected this to be a fun little road trip book, but instead it provided me with so much more. It's a mother daughter story that is full of love, hope, regret, forgiveness, and reaching your dreams. It challenges your emotions as you journey along to Graceland. It connects past to present and emphasizes living in the moment. Be ready to laugh out loud and hold back your tears all at the same time.

Thank you to Forever and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to read and review.

The book opens with Grace Johnson, an unemotional 40 year old that keeps everything inside. Because of this, I had trouble connecting with her for the first few chapters. As the book opens up more, the reader finds that Grace has shut down her emotions to keep away memories of a rotten childhood. As her marriage unravels, Grace consents to take her mother to Graceland on a road trip. What a beautifully written story of forgiveness and understanding between a mother and daughter that haven't spoken much in years. Keep the tissues handy! I was honored to receive a digital ARC from NetGalley and Forever Publishing. The review is my own opinion.

Grace starts her 1,000 mile road trip from El Paso to Graceland, with her seventy year old, eccentric mother, thinking it would be the worst roadtrip of her life. But boy was she wrong. I found myself feeling all the emotions of Grace and Loralynn and their strained family. Kristen Mei Chase created a narrative that feels so authentic you will feel the tension in this mother-daughter relationship, laugh as they grow together and feel the hope they both begin to see as they continue their roadtrip together.

I particularly enjoyed Grace’s relationship with Wyatt. He is the sweetest supporting character and made me enjoy reading this book even more. I appreciated the BIPOC representation and Kristen Mei Chase’s attention to inappropriate stereotypes. With themes of change, reconciliation and healing this is a fantastic book for anyone looking for a heartwarming, poignant read.

First, I wanted to say how excited I was to read the description of this book as a woman named Grace with an Elvis obsessed parent. I knew I had to read it. I just got the ARC today and finished it, I couldn’t put it down! A Thousand Miles to Graceland is an amazing story about healing told through a mother and daughter relationship. After Grace’s husband decides to call it quits on their marriage, she takes up her mother’s offer to take a long road trip to Graceland for her 70th birthday. They hit many ups and downs on their way to Graceland, a mix of much needed conversations that they never had until then and some reconciliation on their many different stops before they finally landed in Graceland I found this book to have a beautiful balance of vivacious moments between Grace and her Mother and more serious hard hitting topics such as abuse, racism, and death. This book was a magnificent read and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

Such a touching mother/daughter story. Makes you want to take a road trip with your momma and find out more about her.

Grace Johnson leaves a crumbled marriage and boring job for a few weeks to take a road trip with her mom to celebrate her 70th birthday. Loralynn, a huge Elvis fan, wants to take a memorable road trip with her distant daughter to Graceland to celebrate turning 70. Along the way, there are stops made to visit old friends and historical Elvis sites. Also along the way, Grace learns more about her mom and their relationship and why Elvis is so danged important to her mother. It's a fun and bittersweet story to read and I enjoyed it. The characters are so quirky and entertaining and the story unveils a lot of famly dynamics and helps mother and daughter become closer.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a digital, temporary ARC in return for my review.

I found this book very hard to get through. The concept was fun and I love a mother daughter book but not much happened for such a long stretch that I found myself putting it down.

What do you think of when you see this title? Yep! You guessed it! Elvis! I loved this book! Not just because it's centered around a mother's love of Elvis, but it's a mom and daughter trip to look back on the past and move forward while clearing the air of some ghosts that haunt each of their pasts.

This book made me think about my own mom and pulled on my heartstrings. I even cried a little bit. My mom and I have always clashed, but as I have gotten older, I now understand some of her quirky ways and why she made some of the choices she made. I want the rest of our life to be great before it's too late and I never get a "redo" again.

A Thousand Miles to Graceland is a super sweet book that doesn't need to go unread! Available 1/24/2023

Thank you to @readforeverpub and @Netgalley for this heart-warming book. Congrats to Kristen Mei Chase on a superb debut novel!

This is a lovely book that shows the complex relationships between mother and daughter. There are plenty of hijinx and lighter moments, but at the core it shows how you can love fiercely, while still often being frustrated as all get-out!

A Thousand Miles to Graceland was an interesting read about a mother daughter road trip to graceland - I personally think this book is very sweet and objectively a fun read. Not a lot brought to the table, but still very sweet. I did struggle to read this and found it to be very triggering as I do not have a great relationship with my own mother, but overall would still suggest it.

The title is what caught my attention (even though at first I wasn't clear if it was hinting to Elvis' Graceland). I do love a cheesy story every not and then and this one hit the spot. Takes place around a mother-daughter trip with some humor and relationship issues. Grace has long for a trip to Graceland since she was a little girl, she is whiny and self-centered but you begin to change how you feel about her because of what she's endured. The ending was beautiful and though the story was predictable in spots it was a great read and one to get you out of a slump. Not only was it heartwarming, but it was also incredibly encouraging and a great insight into what can happen when you “don’t wait”. Would highly recommend.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this digital arc

I loved this story about Grace taking her mother on a road trip to Graceland for her 70th. birthday. They had a lot to talk about. The past, her father and why Grace left home after school. Also her Mom's obsession with Elvis and her mother having cancer. Let me tell you it sure made a difference in the type of trip they were on. They visited a friend, stopped in a town to go to a doctor's appointment her mother had scheduled so Grace would know about the cancer ,made friends in a small town where they stayed while the car was getting fixed and when almost to Graceland, by the first Graceland sign Mom had a seizure and a hospital stay. Did they get to Graceland? What happened in the end of the book. A Very Good READ.