Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”
Let’s Get Lost is told from the perspective of four teens who all encounter Leila, a girl on her own journey, in places along her road trip. They all have their separate life happenings and hurts and somehow Leila winds up in their life at the right moment as she’s driving across the United States. She’s kind, is one of those people who shines brighter than the rest, isn’t afraid to get involved in their lives and yet she’s such a mystery. In the process of changing their lives as she’s passing through, the trip she has embarked on just might help her find the answers she’s looking for but in ways she’d never expect.
ROAD TRIP NOW PLEASE?
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid was one of my most anticipated 2014 debuts and I’m happy to report that Let’s Get Lost and I were a good match! I look forward to what Adi Alsaid will write next to be honest.
1. This was one of the most exhilarating road trip I’ve been on in a book: It was the type of book where I could feel the wind in my hair, the bass from the road trip tunes buzzing through my body and the open road before me. Lots of adventures, exploring and the adventure of meeting people on the road. Sometimes you had to suspend disbelief but there were lots of crazy shenanigans that happened on this trip and it was EPIC. It’s the best part of travel — those stories that are of the “totally doesn’t sound true but it really happened” variety and you seriously could relay those stories to the best of your abilities but you’d never be able to convey how you felt when it happened.
2. The way the story was told was just magical: Not only was the prose just delectable but the way it was written was perfect. So we get the POVs of Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia and the main thread is that Leila has met them on her journey and she just jumps into their lives and changes it in her own way. We get about 60 pages or so of their encounter and then the new encounter happens on the road. So we see Leila through their eyes and learn about her through their encounters. But really she’s still an enigma…like we don’t quite have the whole picture. We get bits of pieces of what kind of person she is but we don’t really know anything about her past and what her reason for traveling to see The Northern Lights is especially when she isn’t consistent in her answers. You get to know the other characters, not SUPER well but in the glimpse one would have with someone you might meet on the road, but you know enough to be invested in their story and then we get to HER story. And OHMYGOD. The momentum of the trip and then we learn about her just took my breath away. In my mind I thought I knew something about her story but NOPE. Wrong.
3. This book was thought-provoking as hell: I love books that really make me think about my own life and the world. This one definitely was that kind of book. I have a new mantra to come out of this book (Seize the Tuesday) and I’ve thought a lot about living life actively and what that means vs. what we think it should look like sometimes.
4. My only downfall was the romance and the character attached to the romance: There was a romance and it initially made me go “EH” because it was kind of insta-lovey and I just didn’t GET the attraction so fast — like I could get why he was attracted to her because she shines BRIGHT but I don’t get her interest at all from what we saw. But I’m glad the romance wasn’t the bulk of the story! I will say that this character’s story grabbed my attention the least while the other ones I was SO invested in. (My favorite was a toss up between Sonia and Bree’s stories).
+ beautiful writing, the storytelling, the ability to create this beautiful enigma around Leila and it pays off, FEELINGS, thought-provoking
– the romance aspect just didn’t work for me
Re-readability: I would actually…despite knowing Leila’s story. There’s just some really great thoughts in here I want to revisit. Great moments. And I especially want to reread after KNOWING Leila’s story to pick up on things I missed.
Would I buy a copy for my collection? YES!! I need this!
people who like road trip novels, people who like thought-provoking and soul searching types of books, fans of contemporary YA,
Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid was a journey that left me yearning for my own crazy road trip and doing some major soul searching about Big Life Things all that the same time. Told through snapshots of four people’s encounter with Leila while she passes through town, I found myself desperate to know why Leila’s journey was so important and loved watching how Leila would get entangled in each person’s individual affairs. Like the characters felt the mark of Leila in their life, I found her story to linger well after I finished and I felt so deeply how we are all tethered together in this life and have the ability to make a mark on the people who we encounter — no matter how brief the encounter.
* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
* If you haven’t read it, is it something on your radar or that you think you will read?
* What are some of your favorite road trip books?
* Did you figure out Leila’s story before it was revealed?
* Which was your favorite story out of Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia?
Rosie says
I read this a couple of weeks back and loved it! I want to re-read it again and again! I really liked the way Alsaid made me feel like I’d known these characters all my life, reminded me of Looking For Alaska in that way.
My favourite story was Sonia’s because it was so crazy, though I did enjoy them all. It’s truly one of the best books I’ve read.
Rosie x
Jamie says
Yes! Very reminiscent of Looking For Alaska but maybe without some of the pretentiousness (and I say that as someone who considers that their favorite book haha)
YES Sonia’s was so crazy and fun to read!
I can’t wait for what else he will put out!!
Trish @ Between My Lines says
I had very different feels to you on this one. I couldn’t connect at all with the 4 characters Leila met on the road. I just thought the author was trying too hard to make the characters quirky and it just annoyed me. I did like Leila best of all though and the last chapter was my favourite chapter in the book.
I’m glad you enjoyed more than I did 🙂
Jamie says
I can see how it would be hard to connect with the characters in different ways. I had a hard time connecting with Hudson…thankfully the rest of the book got better for me. I think, for me, even though I didn’t feel like I had this true I KNOW YOU connection I saw it as these encounters with people on the road so I kind of excused it if that makes sense? But, I agree, Leila’s chapter was BY FAR the best. GOD THAT CHAPTER. I didn’t see it coming.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts even though you weren’t as big of fan as I was!! I appreciated hearing them!
Rebecca @ The Library Canary says
I loved this book! It definitely made me want to go on a road trip immediately. It also made me want to be a better person if that makes sense. Leila is such a good person. She’s willing to set aside her own needs/wants and help others. I kind of thought of her as some kind of superhero just popping into people’s lives and helping them right when they needed it. Bree’s story was my favorite. I just loved her spirit and her outlook on life. I definitely didn’t figure out Leila’s story and was shocked and heartbroken when it was revealed. I do agree with you on the romance though. I was glad it wasn’t the central focus of the story because I was not a fan. And then at the end it just got kind of creepy in my opinion. But I’ll just pretend like that didn’t happen because the rest of the book was sooo amazing!!
Mary @ BookSwarm says
I have some love for this story, that’s for sure. The way it was told was so unique and kept me reading but the love…yeah, that fell flat for me, too. It’s sweet that they were both still thinking about one another but maybe they could have just met up for coffee and realized the impact they had on each other rather than “lurve”.
BTW, love the review on a post-it. I’m addicted to those things!
Bear Allen says
I have been so fascinated to see Harlequin branching out genres. Psyched to see this type of book in their catalog!
And I agree with Mary @ BookSwarm. The post-it note reviews are one of my favorite things… likely because it’s the perfect length for my attention span these days. 😉
This is now on my TBR list! Thanks!
Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit says
Reading right now…so far, I love the writing, but yeah, the romance isn’t doing it for me. And I’m finding Leila just a little too much of a manic pixie dream girl. I’m really hoping I like some of the later stories better…
Hannah Harvey says
I just got done reading this book Amber I really enjoyed it. I haven’t written my review yet, but it will definitely be getting a good review.
I do agree with you about the romance aspect of this book. For news that really was the only place it fell flat.
Kristilyn (Reading in Winter) says
This one sounds really, really good! I was skeptical with the cover at first, but I do love a good road trip book. I might have to add this one to my wishlist!
Alexa S. says
We definitely felt the same about Let’s Get Lost! I know that you know how I’m a huge fan of novels that make me think about my life and the big picture, books that genuinely encourage and inspire reflection and action. Let’s Get Lost is one such novel, and I’m thrilled you enjoyed it as much as I did!
Claire says
I really adore the layout of your site, it’s so cute! May I know how did you add the “review on a post-it” widget and the rating widget to your blog? Because I would love to add something similar to that sense on my blog as well. Thanks. x
Naina says
I loved this novel I read it in one sitting, I loved the concept and each story like how she impacted their lives. I loved Sonia’s the best made me actually tear up but leilas story shocked me I would have never guessed. I didn’t connect with Hudson as much and didnt like the romance element, like you it felt kind of instant. But apart from that I really loved it I now want a road trip lol.