Posts Tagged: Let’s Get Lost

Monday, July 28, 2014

Review: Let’s Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Posted by 12 Comments

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
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
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