Book Review: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Goodreads Description:

 

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost.

Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named LEILA. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most.

There's HUDSON, a small-town mechanic who is willing to throw away his dreams for true love.

And BREE, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way.

ELLIOT believes in happy endings…until his own life goes off-script.

And SONIA worries that when she lost her boyfriend, she also lost the ability to love.
Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila's own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth— sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.  

 

Title: Let's Get Lost
Author: Adi Alsaid
Genre: Contemporary, Coming Of Age, YA
Format: Paperback

Pages: 352 pages
Publisher:  Harlequin Teen
Source: Purchased at Target

 

 

 

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of ‘road trip contemporary’ popping around the bookstores and with the hype of John Green’s Paper towns being made into a movie, I’m expecting more coming my way.

The book follows Leila who is on a road trip to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. Along the way she drives by Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia lives and helps them with their problems.

Following the 5 characters, the book is told in ‘short stories’ from each characters POV.

 

Husdon

Hudson, a small town boy who works at his dad’s workshop, we follow him on the eve of his big college interview when Leila drives into his life.

I was not a fan of Hudson’s story. While I did like the ‘treasure adventure’ part, I was not a fan of his characters, the decision he made or even the instant love.

I especially hated the ending on how he acted and treated Leila.

It was kind of cringing reading about Husdon. So yah… not a great start to the book for me.

2.5/5 stars

 

Bree

Bree is a teen runaway who has been on the streets for months since a falling out with her sister. She shoplifts to survive and indulge in a thing called ‘Seize the Tuesday’.

I enjoyed Bree story and it was trilling and nerve wrecking reading about her and Leila on their shoplifting spree.

I like how her story was played out and we get to know more about her past along with her relationship with her sister and the events that led her to run.

I also like how Bree realises her wrong doing and her miscommunication with her sister.

It was a great family oriented story as well as well as a coming of age. I wanted to read more about Bree and a sister and won’t mind a full book on that.

4.5/5 stars

 

Elliot

Hopeless in romance and obsess with movies (especially good 80’s rom-com movies) Elliot has his senior prom scripted out on how he’s gonna confess his love to his best friend. However he didn’t see the plot twist and now his prom night is going off script.

I adored Elliot’s character and I was laughing and cheering for him as he and Leila goes on a mad goose chase around the small town of Minnesota to get the girl

Yah I had that 1989 Taylor Swift song stuck in my head trough the story.

Elliot started out as clingy and whiny but that’s kind of because he was upset that the girl he likes rejected him. Once you get to know him, you’ll learn what a sweet guy he is!

It was fun watching Leila being the ‘cheerleader’ for Elliot, motivating and pushing him to win heart.

This was one of my more favourite stories in the book!

Laugh out loud hilarious, cute and entertaining as we watch Elliot get the girl, I don’t mind a longer story or even a full book of Elliot as well.

5/5 stars

Sonia

Sonia’s boyfriend Sam recently passed away and she is not over him.

In British Colombia as the bridesmaid at Sam sister’s wedding and secretly seeing the Groom’s brother, Jeremiah who is also the best man of the wedding. She’s not ready to tell Sam’s family who is like family to her that she has moved on, afraid of betraying them.

This story talks about moving on from losing a love one but also moving on in a relationship.

It was very bitter sweet to read about and I keep thinking of a friend of mine who recently loss her boyfriend in a motorbike accident.

Even though I like Sonia and felt bad for her, the story was kind of strange in a way that will only work in stories like this.

On the eve of the wedding, Sonia leave Jeremiah's Room after an argument with his jacket (which has the rings in it) and runs into Leila in a convenient shop. The two of them drives back to America and haves to get back to Canada since Sonia has the rings. However it is not an easy task as they side track into a situation that includes a missing passport, custom officers and Tim Horton doughnuts. 

I neither like nor didn’t like this story but I enjoyed how Sonia’s story came to be.

4/5 stars

 

Leila

I was excited to read about Leila’s story as trough the book she had this air of mystery that got my brain churning conspiracy theories about her character and her reason on making her trip to the Northern Lights.

Trough the book there were some hints that something bad happened to her and once I got the answer to the mystery of her past, I felt like a rock hit the inside of me as its freaking sad and emotional. Leila seemed like this free spirit and happy go lucky girl who is intelligent, compassionate and quirk but once you get to know the real her, she’s currently in a position where she’s just very loss with herself.

I’m not going to get into spoiler territory (like all my reviews) as reading all the short stories leading up to Leila’s story is worth the journey to finding out about her.

All I can say is that Leila is on a self-discovery road trip hoping to feel whole and complete. In this story she meets a family who helps her see the Northern Lights.

Once again this story is very emotional and bitter sweet especially when we learn the truth about Leila. While I found part of the ending a bit cliché, I still enjoyed how her story and the book ended.

5/5 stars

 

I enjoyed Let’s get Lost and it reminds me of a bit of Since You’ve Been Gone and Paper Towns. I like the different narrations and characters and how their stories intertwined. I also love the small town atmospheres in the book.

My favourite thing about this book is the element of friendship. When Leila coincidently meet this 4 strangers on her trip, she became something important to them, she was their friend, voice of reason, supporter and listener and a good one too. She did all of this and left this impression and effect on them and the readers and we don't know anything about her till the end!

This is a great coming of age story and road trip themed book!

Leila and her story is my favourite in the book. She is one of those breath of fresh air characters that you’ll never forget and like the other characters in the book, Leila had the same effect on me when I was done with her story.

I also like reading the post cards that Leila sends out through the book as ‘dividers’ in between stories.

Fun, entertaining and adventurous, I was hooked to each characters and their stories and didn’t want to put it down! If any of this characters get a full book I'll read it as I want to read more about them! This was a unique twist to the 'fun summer road trip' genre!

I really enjoyed Adi Alsaid’s writing and the book leaves me with a big smile and wanting more!

Seize the Tuesday and have an epic adventure with this book (legally!!! lolz)!!!

 

 

I’m looking forward to his next book Never Always Sometimes coming out in August and this is one of those 'bucket list' stories!