Final

To be honest, I am not sure what to say in my final post about The Road, other than that I really enjoyed the book. However, I would not go as far as to say that I am anxious to read more of Cormac McCarthy's work. His writing style worked in  The Road, but there were certain points where I wish he had switched to a more traditional writing style to identify events that cannot be read in the same summary-like tone as the rest of the book. I am specifically talking about the end of the book, when the man dies. McCarthy's writing style took away from the emotional impact this should have on the boy. It still feels like summary, and I think the pace of the book should slow down significantly for this one section. The book did seem to slow down when we first meet the "bad guys" to establish the significance of that event, so the death of the only person the boy has ever loved in the world should be regarded as being just as important. 
While reading this book I assumed this was a deliberate choice of McCarthy to change writing styles for this book, but apparently he never uses quotation marks and his style of writing is consistent throughout all of his books. This is off-putting to me as a reader, because quotation marks are helpful while reading. McCarthy is a great writer, but I do not care for his particular style all the time. 
The evolution of the boy's attitude toward life is something I believe is also worth mentioning in this final post. In the beginning of the book, The boy wants to die, so that he can be with his mother. Had there been no evolution in his character he would have wanted to die more after the death of his father. He does, at first want this but his father quickly persuades him to keep on living. The boy survives so that he can keep the flame of morality burning in this dark and evil wasteland. 
To wrap this up, I would like to highly recommend this book to absolutely anyone. It is a great read if you get around a quarter of the way in. 

Is it AP?

The Road is, undoubtedly, a good book, but the question as to whether or not it is of AP merit is a more difficult question than I initially thought. I do not pretend to be an expert in this area, but it seems to me after careful consideration that it is of AP merit, although I completely understand arguments to the contrary. It has a strange writing style that, if it had been done unintentionally, would have disqualified it, as it feels like summary, but as I stated in a previous post, I absolutely believe that this is intentional, and it had an interesting effect on me as a reader. I would say that this writing style had a lot of risk, but, at least in my view, had a high reward. 
The plot does tend to drag on at times, but when there is something happening it is impossible to put the book down. Therefore, as far as being an engaging read it could go either way. As for the end of the book, it may feel a little too abrupt, but the book ends the only way it ever could, by having the boy carry the fire of humanity without his father's guidance. 
 Finally there is what I believe to be the most important qualifier for an AP book; symbolism and deeper meaning. The road gives strong questions of morality. Through 
horrific images in a foreign world, we are asked questions that apply to our own, such as: where is the line between self-preservation and greed?  It also allows you to sympathize with two characters whose names we do not even know, which would normally inhibit our ability to sympathize but in this case it allows all males to picture themselves in this situation. Anyone could be the boy, including the reader. I would say that for these reasons, 
The Road at AP level.