Let's Get Lost: A Coming-Of-Age Novel

by Adi Alsaid

During her cross-country adventures following the tragic death of her family, Leila touches the lives of four strangers -- Hudson, Bree, Elliot, and Sonia. While forever changing the lives of these four, Leila also discovers an important truth about herself.

A love-seeking mechanic, a dramatic petty thief, a disappointed planner, and a broken-hearted teen all find their lives transformed as each shares whirlwind adventures with a girl in an insanely red car.

• ISBN10: 1460326717
• ISBN13: 9781460326718
• Publish Date: 1 August 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[justine_manzano]

I won this book on a twitter giveaway and I'm so happy I did. This is the first book I've read by Adi Alsaid, but it certainly won't be the last. His prose is strong, his descriptions ground you and make you feel, and his characters are interesting. This being a character driven story, characterization was very important, but even when one of the characters was an enigma, you wanted to know why.

The story is split into 5 parts. Each part tells the story of a different teenager. There's Hudson, who works in a garage and is about to go for a career-making college interview. There's Bree, a runaway who has been hitchhiking away from her life, never wanting to look back. There's Elliot, a guy who just told his best friend that he loves her, only to be rejected. There's Sonia, whose is struggling with moving on after the death of her boyfriend. All of their stories start just before they meet Leila, a mysterious girl who is on her way to see the Northern Lights, and whose presence in their story completely changes their lives.

This bothered me at first. Leila seemed like a bit of a Mary Sue, a character who seemed to have a perfect personality, the kind of person everybody liked. In that way, she was a bit of a chameleon. And even though I liked the characters she meets along the way, and was intrigued by the story, Leila bothered me up until I got to the last story, Leila's. When I read that, everything made sense, the story so carefully crafted that moments that flitted by suddenly had meaning.

Four stars for the fact that I questioned Leila's character throughout.

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



Ah! I struggled so much with Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid! It took me nine days to get through it all. That's a long time for me anymore. I wasn't really motivated to read it either. I was so mad at the book community for awhile. I remember this book being hyped and I couldn't understand why there was so much love for this book.

Lelia is a fun character to read about. She is fun and kind. Leila is the type of girl you want to be friends with. She makes being a decent human being look effortless. The people she meets along her trip were lucky she came along when she did.

Speaking of the people Leila meets along the way, they were a lot of fun to meet too. Herein lays the problem. It seems that the first person she meets doesn't end well. Everyone after that first one gets a happy ending. I think that's what really slowed me down with this book. All I could think of was Hudson. What happened with Hudson? How did things go for him?

Let's Get Lost really cemented itself for me in Leila's section. It was like everything fell into place and made sense. I really don't want to go into too much detail here because I think if you haven't read the book, Leila's ending needs to be spoiler free. Overall though the ending is what saved Let's Get Lost for me. It was an enjoyable read but I probably wouldn't read it again.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I love a good road trip story, so when I first heard about Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid, I knew I had to read it! It wasn't the story I was expecting, but it was a great great novel!

Leila is going on a road trip, heading as far north as she can go to see the Northern Lights. On her way, she by chance meets with four very different teens, and makes a big difference to their lives. Hudson works at his dad's garage, but has an interview coming up for Med School, and he's about to have the best day of his life. Bree is a hitch-hiking runaway, for whom ordinary days should be few and far between. Elliot, obsessed with 80s movies, has just had his heart broken on prom night, and soon finds himself injured in an accident. And Sonia is still grieving from the death of her boyfriend, and finding it hard to move on. Leila touches each and every person in big ways, and changes the direction of their lives. But Leila herself has her own secrets; her reason for wanting to see the Northern Lights.

Let's Get Lost almost reads like an anthology, with a story for each teenager. Each is told in the third person from the perspective of the teenagers, until the final one, which is Leila's own story. Leila breezes into their lives for maybe 24 hours at the most before moving on on her journey northward, but making a huge impact on each of their lives.

Because it feels like an anthology of short stories, there isn't a huge amount I can say about each without spoiling them, but I can talk about the characters themselves. Each character is so well developed, their voices so individual, despite the multiple narrations. Hudson is a really nice, ordinary guy, with hopes and dreams and aspirations. He loves his town, and the very specific, unique things about it that you won't find anywhere else, the treasures of the town. He is completely enamoured by Leila, so he jumps at the opportunity to take her on a tour to show her the treasures. Bree is reckless but pretty brave - or idiotic, depending on how you look at things. But it's almost a front to cover how she's really feeling. Elliot is so sweet with an almost innocence about him, and thinks life should be like the movies. Sonia is a really lovely girl, suffering with her grief and whether moving on or holding on to her memories is the right thing to do. Leila herself is really wonderful, so supportive and encouraging of these strangers she meets, weaving magic into their lives simply by being on their side.

Let's Get Lost really is such a beautiful story, with wonderful insights that make you stop and think. These four teenagers' lives could have been so different if they hadn't met Leila. It's wonderful how a small change, a different perspective, the right words said at the right time, can turn your whole life around. Such a beautifully written story, it gives these little moments of wonder even more impact.

The only thing that bothered me was how nice it was. There are people with some big problems in this book, but I never felt that affected by them. It's always overshadowed by the events that happen. It's a pretty light and fluffy book, but I would have liked to have to have felt more about the sad parts of the stories.

But still, a beautiful and eye-opening novel! Really, really good! And I'm looking forward to seeing what Alsaid writes in the future!

Thank you to Mira Ink for the review copy.

[Kelly]

3½ Stars.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2014/08/lets-get-lost-by-adi-alsaid.html
I love a contemporary adventure where characters travel to find themselves, and Let's Get Lost is an entertaining and subtle take on a quirky, John Green style road trip. The one factor all the characters have in common is Leila, a girl who is determined to make it through the United States to Alaska, to see the Northern Lights. But rather than share her own story, Leila meets Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia along the way and shares a few brief moments with each, poignant moments that may change their lives.

Looking for treasures in Hudson's small town, seizing the Tuesday with Bree, helping Elliot to win the girl and smuggling Sonia over the border to find love again. Leila always seems to be willing to put her own adventure on hold in order to help her new companion. She's quirky and fun, but holds her own story close to her chest until she reaches her own destination. I loved her character, she was selfless and a point of motivation in each situation.

Sadly with so many short stories making up the complete road trip, I never quite connected with the characters, as their persona doesn't delve into anything more than their current situations. Overall, it's a nice, quick read that will surprise.

[lizarodz]

When books get a lot of hype and many bloggers that I trust recommend it so highly, I get a little skeptical and hesitant. What if I don’t love it as much as they did? In the case of Let’s Get Lost, my hesitation was unfounded. I have one word to describe it: Magnificent.

I’ve always been fond of “road trip” books and Let’s Get Lost is one of the very best. This is a story told in five parts, and we shall tackle each now.

Hudson is graduating from high school and ready for a college interview in the eve of which he meets Leila. Hudson is smart, loves to read and loves his father and the life he knows. He immediately connects with Leila even if neither one can understand the depth of what’s happening. They know each other for less than 24 hours, but they leave a monumental imprint on each other.

“He let some time pass, focusing on nothing but her in his arms. Then he leaned his neck toward her and kissed the top of her head. He kissed her softly, not because he wanted anything, but because he could no longer keep the kiss to himself.”

Bree ran away from home and is living in the moment, even if she has to steal those moments. She has lost her way and lost sight of what really matters. It took a scary encounter with the law for her to realize the meaning of family and forgiveness.

“Bree thought about the arc of her day in terms of temperature, starting with the sunburn on the side of the road, the sweltering heat of Laila’s car, the cold initial blast from the Mercedes, and now the miraculous way that dark could make the air pleasant. “People don’t appreciate the Earth’s rotation enough,” she said, slipping a finger through the cracked windows.”

Elliot is so much fun! He has been in love with his best friend forever. When a prom night declaration goes south, he finds in Leila a partner working towards a common goal. Elliot is nerdy, quirky, loving, and honest. This was perhaps the funniest story! The creepy dolls, the almost running over, the bathroom scene, the movie references; and his mom is exactly like my aunt!

“You keep saying that,” Elliot said. He was shaking his head, even though he could feel a small part of him flaring with hope. “But life’s not like the movies, You try to live your life like the movies, and you end up with a bloody hand and a broken heart.”

Sonia has a lost love and found it again in a short time. She feels guilt and shame, and doesn’t know what to do, it’s in this state that she finds Leila. They become partners on their goal to get to a wedding and their antics are so funny. Stoner Timmy is hilarious in his “dude” sort of way.

“You’ve been lucky to fall in love twice in our life already. The coming of it may be a little confusing, but don’t think for a second later it cheapens either of the relationships.” Leila stood up, reaching for the tissues by the bed and handing one to Sonia.”

Leila wants to see the northern lights. She takes a car and travels by herself to see them in Alaska. We know throughout the story that it is the goal of the trip, but not why. She is forever solving other people’s problems, but volunteers very little information about herself. In this last part of the book we found out why. Leila is so accepting of other, she has an open mind and will try everything at least once. She’s spontaneous, loyal, loving, and unconcerned by conventionalism and rules. I’m so happy that things ended so well for her.

“People hurt each other,” Leila said without much inflection in her voice. “It happens to everyone. Internationally, unintentionally, regretfully or not. It’s a part of what we do as people. The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive.”

Each story is unique, with a combination of sad, happy and funny. You will laugh at the same time that you will cry. They all have Laila and her fun, insightful and accepting personality in common. Even though Laila’s time with each of the characters was short, she had a big impression on them on a moment that was crucial to them. I also love the postcards between each part of the book.

Let’s Get Lost is a story of discovery and loss, a story of heartbreak and the restoring power of love, a story about dreams and reality, a story about the power of losing yourself and most importantly of finding yourself; a story of dreams and facing reality; story of knowing when to fight and when to let go. The writing, as you can appreciate from the quotes above, is magnificent. It’s funny, heartfelt, insightful, and intuitive. I honestly wished the book was longer, so I didn’t have to reach the last page.

Personal note: I briefly saw Adi Alsaid at the Harlequin Teen Hour signing at BEA this year. He graciously posed for this picture and asked me where I was from (probably due to my accent!) and proceeded to pronounce Puerto Rico with a perfect Spanish pronunciation and told us he was from Mexico. Lovely!

Let’s Get Lost is one of the best books I’ve ever read and I’m sure that it will stay with me for a long time. I cannot wait for the next one. Mr. Alsaid, uno de los mejores libros que he leído en mi vida, espero que el próximo sea mejor (¡sin presión alguna!)

[Leah]

If there's any Young Adult novel that seems to have a lot of hype around it, it is Adi Alsaid's novel Let's Get Lost. All I've seen about this novel has been good stuff, so when it popped up on Netgalley, I decided to download myself a copy and see what all the fuss is about. I really, really enjoy road trip novels. They make me envious, because I long to do what Leila does - just take off on a road trip, to see the Northern Lights (which sound SO beautiful, and the story she tells about them to young Dee is awesome) or just to see anything, really. To get in your car, and drive to any given destination, without having to really worry about life, or your job, or anything like that, is something I wish I had the guts to do! (A driving license would also help...)

Let's Get Lost is a super interesting read. It's like four short stories, all bound up by this one girl, Leila. She's the force that holds all of the stories together, and she's always in the right place, at the right time, with the right dose of optimism and belief to help whomever is in need of helping. It's great. The four different stories include Hudson, Sonia, Bree and Elliott, who all need a Leila intervention for one reason or another, and she helps them with whatever they need, and leaves them with a much brighter future than they anticipated. It takes quite a special girl to do all that, and I sort of wish we'd got to know her better. As much as I loved getting to know Hudson, Sonia, Bree and Elliott, Leila remains an enigma for much of the novel, more interested in helping others than helping herself (which is no bad thing!), but I wanted to know more about this young girl, who was traversing across America to see the Northern Lights, picking up strangers with her red, red car.

I enjoyed the writing approach to Let's Get Lost. I wasn't sure at first how the novel would play out, but each of the stories are like their own mini version, held together by Leila. My favourite was probably Bree's. Because it was just ridiculously fun and slightly insane. I absolutely LOVED Bree's idea to "Seize the Tuesday", too, and she did - with Leila right alongside her, and they got into some crazy situations and it was almost unreal at times, but Bree and Leila just had this awesome instant bond that I adored. Although, Leila could bond with a stick of rock, just sayin'. She's that kinda girl. What really stood out for all the stories, though, was Leila's optimism. Yes, they're about helping the person we're reading about - Hudson getting to his interview, Bree to keep running away, Elliott to get the girl and Sonia to deliver the wedding rings, but Leila does it in such an easy, likeable way that you can't help but love her. Her speeches to Elliott about their situation being rom-com like was amazing, especially since I adore rom-coms and it's all about getting the girl or guy.

Adi Alsaid has written such an interesting, enjoyable, warm novel. You warm to the characters instantly, and you end up feeling so grateful that Leila was in the right place, at the right time. I would have perhaps liked a bit more of an ending - considering the way the novel goes, I think Leila deserved better than what I read. I'm a sucker for happy endings, and this one needed just a teensy bit more build-up, a bit more... action. It's totally the road I wanted it to go on, mind, but I just needed a teensy bit more to convince me this was it. But apart from that it was a superb road-trip novel. So enjoyable, so fun, with one of the most unforgettable characters I'll probably ever meet. I am sorely tempted to go outside and raise some trouble, in the hope that a girl in a red car, with a red interior, might just be moseying on by. If you could bottle and sell Leila, she would sell out in seconds. I loved Let's Get Lost, it allowed me, as a reader, to just lose myself in the words and the enjoyable characters for a few hours, and that is priceless.