Monday, July 28, 2014

Review: Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

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I received this book for free from Harlequin Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Let’s Get Lost by Adi AlsaidLet's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Published by Harlequin Teen on July 29th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Source: Harlequin Teen
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four-stars

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.

When you want a book to escape reality for a few hours, Let’s Get Lost is what I would hand you. A road trip, intriguing characters, wild adventures, and, of course, a healthy dose of romance – this is the perfect beach read!

I’ve read a few road trip books and this one is just as much fun, yet different in many ways. We follow Leila’s trip to Alaska, but we follow it through others’ eyes – the story is told using the point-of-views of the people she gets to meet during her trip. I found this very unique and it allowed us to get to know Leila through different perspectives. We start with Hudson who quickly becomes the love interest. I can see why some have different reactions towards him, he can be frustrating especially at the end of his POV, but he came off as a realistic teenage boy who’s afraid of going after what he wants. While some might consider this romance insta-love, they had so much chemistry that I could legitimately feel their connection. His part also made me instantly click with Leila and her boldness. I knew then that she was a character I would really like. Then we move on to Bree who, coupled with Leila’s boldness, puts them in trouble, but not without first having a blast. The third character, Elliot, takes the hopeless romantic out of Leila when they try to get him his girl. And finally, Sonia – though I felt the least connected with – brought us on a fun adventure across the border.

While meeting all those people, we also get the hint that Leila’s story is not as simple as she makes it seem. There’s darkness and sadness hidden behind her carefree persona, and when we finally do get to see her POV, we learn of the tragic past she’s trying to heal from by going on this trip. It’s emotional and gives the journey that much more meaning. We also meet more characters that help her along in those final chapters that are just as colourful, adding even more heart and personality to this story. Because we only get to see Leila’s perspective at the end, I do feel as if her character was… not exactly underdeveloped, I will say kept at arm’s length. For this reason, I don’t think I was as emotionally invested as it was intended, but I still felt she was genuine, and her voice, compelling.

Though it may seem this book has emotional depth – and it does – it remains a lighthearted read regardless. It’s well balanced with enough humour, joy, and just plain recklessness to keep it fun; the emotional stuff gives it substance without weighing it down. The ending is maybe a bit too perfect, and definitely predictable, but those who love HEA endings will appreciate it.

Entertaining and full of adventures, Let’s Get Lost will make you laugh and smile and want to take a trip across the country yourself. This is the perfect beach read; the perfect rainy Sunday afternoon read; the perfect get-out-of-a-reading-slump read!

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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12 Responses to “Review: Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid”

  1. Siiri

    I’m glad you enjoyed this so much. Giselle! I’m not keen on so many POVs, but I think it actually works for this one seeing as people love it. You’re pretty bold too so I’m not surprised you liked Leila 😉 I really want to know about her backstory now even if I don’t think this book is for me. Sorry you weren’t that emotionally connected though. Yay for a HEA 🙂 You’ve def made me intrigued now, girl!

    Siiri @ Little Pieces of Imagination

  2. Nick @ Nick's Book Blog

    I think I would really like this book despite the multiple POVs. I’m a fan of road trip books and ones with great characters like Leila are even better. I’m curious about why everyone is taking the road trip. I will definitely pick this up if I see it in a library! 🙂 Lovely review, Giselle.

  3. jazmen

    I’ve seen this book countless times over the last couple of weeks. It looks pretty good but I’m not sure how excited I am to read it. Great review, though!

  4. Sarah P.

    This book is calling my soul. I am on a verge of a reading slump again and I feel like I need a book that could make me get going as soon as possilbe. I’ve read pretty differing views about Let’s Get Lost but many of my trusted reviewers liked it barring Hudson, of course. Haha. I am keen on trying this one out and I’m excited to see if the multiple POVs would work out for me. I do hope I’d get more invested in Leila though. Lovely review, Giselle!

  5. Cait @ Notebook Sisters

    This sounds really fun! Although that dark backstory is totally intriguing me…But it’s by multiple povs?? Thats the only part I’m concerned about. I kind of find it hard to get into a book when there’s lots of different voices. STILL. I want to try this.

  6. Rashika

    *tackle hugs*
    I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU ENJOYED THIS TOO, Giselle!!!

    I actually liked Hudson’s POV aside from the insta-love .-. I did see the chemistry but as someone who is can be pretty picky.. the romance didn’t work for me. I warmed up to it but I never really completely believed it. That aside though, I think Hudson was one of the most realistic characters in this book. Especially considering how ‘normal’ he is and the thing he is dealing with is something almost all teens will have to deal with.

    I felt the least connected with Sonia too but… for me her story was something that just didn’t work for me. I LOVED the whole border dynamic, I burst into laughter at times but still. There is just something about dead-exs that has never worked for me .-.

    I think the best thing about this book is how it does explore this whole coming of age thing but instead of being super serious, it’s very light-hearted and it works so well and makes for a FANTASTIC summer read!

    Gorgeous review, hon!!! You said everything PERFECTLY.

  7. Lisa (Fic Talk)

    Great review, Giselle!

    Yours is probably the first review I’ve read that actually praises this book. The others that I’ve seen have mostly been DNFs and quite a few low ratings. I’m glad that at least one person liked it so that I could get another perspective on the story.

    Thanks for sharing!

  8. Pili

    I really wasn’t entirely sure about this one, but after reading your review I feel like reading this one if only for the road trip aspect!
    Great review, Giselle!