Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Lets Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

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. Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it's 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 the find what you're looking for is to get lost along the way.

Review:

Lets Get Lost came along at the exact moment I needed it to. I was feeling caught up in a mess of emotions about both this blog and the fact that I wasn't excited by reading anymore. But then I decided to give this book a try, and ended up reading it entirely in one sitting. Lets Get Lost is a beautiful exploration of friendships, heartbreak and adulthood all the while being quick witted and simply just really easy to read.

The book was initially released in 2014 and I remember everyone absolutely raving about it - well, now it's my turn. I wasn't sure what Lets Get Lost was about. I knew it was a road trip book and frankly that's all I needed to know, so I went in blindly with high expectations and every single one was exceeded. Possibly the thing I loved most about the book was the way that it held itself with a quiet sort of dignity. The writing seemed effortless, and so the book tied together in a way that was simple yet the impact it left me with felt like a tonne of bricks to the gut. Lets Get Lost doesn't try to be deep in a soul sucking, sob inducing, tear fest of a book - it just is, and that's what I find so beautiful. Essentially, the book is split into five sections with each section introducing a new character and a new place - the one thing linking all of these sections is Leila. Through Leila we learn more about the characters and the cities that she meets on her way to see the Northern Lights. The adventures that happen in each of these sections just get crazier and crazier and lovelier and lovelier - but, of course, there are also underlying themes that tug on your heart.

While every section of the book explores some of the same themes, each character brings an entirely new element to the story and I absolutely adored each of the characters. Sometimes in road trip books I can find that the characters tend to be a little bit two dimensional, but in Lets Get Lost that just isn't the case at all. Each character has their own backstory, their own families, their own traits and habits and desires. First of all, I'd like to point out the fact that the car almost becomes a character in itself and perhaps takes on the role of the most important character as it helps to guide Leila and the friends she meets along the way on their own little adventures. However, the first human character we are introduced to is Hudson. Now, Hudson really sets the tone for the rest of book with his quick wit and semi-spontaneous whims. The only thing that annoyed me is how quickly he and Leila start to fall for each other, although it does match up with that reckless feeling that comes across throughout the rest of the characters. Then comes Bree, and she brings an entirely different atmosphere than the calm resolution of Hudson. Bree is completely unpredictable, deciding to constantly throw caution to the wind and 'Seize The Tuesday'. This attitude gets the two into some pretty unexpected situations that offer a direct opposition to the monotonous type of adventure that Hudson seeks. Elliot is the hopeless romantic that we all need in our lives, he's on the verge of giving up fighting for the love of his life when Leila steps in and refuses to let him stop. I found Elliot to be a bit of a drama queen, to say the least, which makes reading the quips between the two so entertaining as they explore his hometown trying to find the girl he is in love with. And then there is Sonia, who introduces Leila to the weirdest, craziest and most complicated adventure of them all. The places that these two end up in are hilarious to read about and Sonia ended up being one of the characters that I found myself most attached to. And then Leila, who we don't end up finding out much about, until the very last section of the book where everything ties itself together. Reading Leila throughout the entire book from the other characters perspectives is so wonderful, because we can see Leila as she discovers herself through the encounters that she has along her journey.

I absolutely adored this book, and if for some reason you're like me and haven't read this book yet, you need to do it. Even if just for the experience.

"What if she was supposed to be a painter, but no one ever gave her a brush?"