The Geography of Lost Things

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Jessica Brody

Young Adult, Young Adult Romance

458 pages

Published October 2, 2018 by Simon Pulse

After Ali’s father passes away, he leaves his one and only prized possession—a 1968 Firebird convertible—to his daughter. But Ali doesn’t plan on keeping it. Not when it reminds her too much of all her father’s unfulfilled promises. So when she finds a buyer three hundred miles up the Pacific coast willing to pay enough money for the car to save her childhood home, Ali can’t wait to get going. Except Ali has no idea how to drive a stick shift. But guess who does?

Ali’s ex-boyfriend, Nico. And Nico has other plans.

He persuades Ali that instead of selling the car, they should “trade up” the items they collect on their trip to eventually reach the monetary amount Ali needs. Agreeing with Nico’s crazy plan, Ali sets off on a unique adventure that is unlike anything she ever could have expected.

And it’s through Ali’s travels, through the strangers she meets and the things that they value—and why they value them—that Ali eventually comes to understand her father and how his life may not have been as easy and carefree as she previously thought. Because just like the seemingly insignificant objects Ali collects, not everything is exactly as it appears.

My Thoughts:

Oh this was a good one!! It’s not newly published, but it was new to our middle school library. The cover is beautiful, caught my eye and made me want to pick it up. Don't be scared off by the page count. I read this in hardcover and the font size was pretty big. 

I started it while eating breakfast and stayed up late the same day to finish it. When I first started to read I had my doubts. Sometimes I can’t get the adult (and mom) in me to be quiet and when Ali talks about her scholarship I had one of those moments. I wasn’t sure if my inner teenager would be able to surface and connect with her and her story. But I kept going and I was so glad I did. I got lost in her story, her relationship with Nico, her father, and the journey they go on. 

This is age appropriate and I will be recommending it to others. In fact, I've already recommended it to 2 students. 

We have 7 other books written by Jessica Brody in our collection and I definitely am interested in reading more from her.