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letizialosada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
4/5
I cannot believe I read this at 4 am. J loved this book, the story, the characters, the trip. The fact that they did have a plan but it was always changing. I could just be tired and not really thinking that this could be a five star or it could just be because I felt like it just wasn’t.. five star material?
I cannot believe I read this at 4 am. J loved this book, the story, the characters, the trip. The fact that they did have a plan but it was always changing. I could just be tired and not really thinking that this could be a five star or it could just be because I felt like it just wasn’t.. five star material?
myeisha_123's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Amazing book people are so focused on book tok they forget there are other awesome books out there plz gv other books a chance being it or in is not important the book is...with respect I am nit cursing bt as I found tog through it but plz find a balance as some books don't get the appreciation they deserve
adelavmb's review against another edition
5.0
When I started reading Where the Road Leads Us, I was expecting a very heartbreaking and difficult-to-read book. What I discovered instead was a fun read, with lots of profound messages, much the same as Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan. They both feature a road trip where all the characters have a different purpose but have gathered in the same car for the ride. While in Unpregnant it was with the purpose of ending an unwanted pregnancy for one girl and meeting a distant father for the other one, in Where the Road Leads Us, we have three characters who at first seem, total strangers, each with their own goal.
Hallie is a cancer survivor who wants to leave Los Angeles to visit a friend she met online who is ending his own life via assisted suicide since he is in a lot of pain and his cancer is incurable. She buys the bus tickets with money she steals from her parents since she thinks they would not approve of her leaving on her own to meet a boy she met online for such a tragic meeting, but the wildfires are making all the buses late and she is stuck.
Jack was just dumped by his girlfriend on graduation day which is also his birthday so he is naturally very upset and leaves a party with a car-sharing service to hang out at a nearby bus station to lose some time because his car is stuck by other party attendants. In the car, he meets Hallie who is going in the same direction, and their car driver Oscar, who also wants to leave LA to stop his ex-girlfriend's wedding and maybe switch places with the groom if all goes according to his plan. Earlier in the day, Jack discovers a letter from his departed father to his estranged brother that he never managed to send before he died. So when the buses don't arrive for Hallie, he makes up his mind for the three of them to use Oscar's car and go together since they have the same destination or general direction anyway.
Now of course there are lots of misfortunes and adventures on the way, but the story didn't feel cliche at all and despite the serious topics it delves into like cancer, death of a family member, overdose, assisted suicide, it manages to somehow be a fun read at the same time as being profound and meaningful.
"I'd always wondered what happened to her in the same way you wonder about a canceled TV series that abruptly ends without resolution. Eventually you make peace with the fact that just because you want answers it doesn't mean you're gonna get them, and after a while you forget about it and move on."
It's a very good coming-of-age story, and probably one of the best I read so far in 2021.
Hallie is a cancer survivor who wants to leave Los Angeles to visit a friend she met online who is ending his own life via assisted suicide since he is in a lot of pain and his cancer is incurable. She buys the bus tickets with money she steals from her parents since she thinks they would not approve of her leaving on her own to meet a boy she met online for such a tragic meeting, but the wildfires are making all the buses late and she is stuck.
Jack was just dumped by his girlfriend on graduation day which is also his birthday so he is naturally very upset and leaves a party with a car-sharing service to hang out at a nearby bus station to lose some time because his car is stuck by other party attendants. In the car, he meets Hallie who is going in the same direction, and their car driver Oscar, who also wants to leave LA to stop his ex-girlfriend's wedding and maybe switch places with the groom if all goes according to his plan. Earlier in the day, Jack discovers a letter from his departed father to his estranged brother that he never managed to send before he died. So when the buses don't arrive for Hallie, he makes up his mind for the three of them to use Oscar's car and go together since they have the same destination or general direction anyway.
Now of course there are lots of misfortunes and adventures on the way, but the story didn't feel cliche at all and despite the serious topics it delves into like cancer, death of a family member, overdose, assisted suicide, it manages to somehow be a fun read at the same time as being profound and meaningful.
"I'd always wondered what happened to her in the same way you wonder about a canceled TV series that abruptly ends without resolution. Eventually you make peace with the fact that just because you want answers it doesn't mean you're gonna get them, and after a while you forget about it and move on."
It's a very good coming-of-age story, and probably one of the best I read so far in 2021.
angietreesea's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Incredible read. Inspiring, introspective, lighthearted, witty, sad. All of the best things.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Grief, and Death
zbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
“Some times the best plan is no plan”. A rule that Hallie and Jack learn after spending 24 hours together. This was a very sweet book, with great life lessons. It’s ok not to have a plan, not to know what road to travel. This books discusses teen cancer, teen anxiety, drug abuse, family tough love, all wrapped up in a story that is similar to the one that Jack is writing: Choose your own ending. This is definitely not a rom-com book, but rather a rom-com-drama. Jack is dealing with the anxiety of losing his father, his brother to drugs and having a mother who is too wrapped up in her own world to realize the pain that Jack is in. Hallie is struggling with a rare form of cancer, trying to find her way in the world & not wanting to be a burden on her family. Jack & Hallie’s “meet-cute” is not your normal get together. It’s one that builds over time, which is what they both realize they have a lot of and can choose the path of the unknown.
seifknits's review against another edition
4.0
This one really ticks a lot of my favorite boxes:
Road trip: check.
Plot mostly happens in one day/night: check.
Smart teens making decisions about their futures: check.
Scenes set (accurately) in San Francisco and Berkeley: check.
A great read!
Road trip: check.
Plot mostly happens in one day/night: check.
Smart teens making decisions about their futures: check.
Scenes set (accurately) in San Francisco and Berkeley: check.
A great read!
kellyjk's review against another edition
4.0
This sweet YA centers around teens who have just graduated finding promises behind dead ends. Through medical problems, grief, sibling relations, and high school drama, Jack and Hallie find themselves to have promising outlooks. This was a short and sweet read.
sofiemelaniedahl's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
whatanerdgirlsays's review against another edition
5.0
***REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WHAT A NERD GIRL SAYS IN 2021***
I was absolutely eager to get my hands on this book and when I was able to get an early e-ARC to be a part of the blog tour (read my post here), I was so stoked. Robin and I were debut authors together at the Ontario Teen Book Fest and she’s been a wonderful friend since then. I adored her debut novel and I couldn’t wait until her second novel and it was absolutely worth the wait. Though Robin has only written two books at this point, she has shown that she is incredibly talented at capturing human emotion, especially in young people like teenagers. Whether its because she is a mom to her own teenagers/young adults or whether she just has a tap into that emotional side, her book leaves you feeling SO much. I loved both Jack and Hallie, with a special love toward Hallie, and I loved them from the moment they graced the pages because they felt so genuine and so real. I also have a deep love for any book that takes place in California, because I know it so well, and I love recognizing the places that Robin talks about in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It feels almost like the places that Jack and Hallie go are characters in themselves and I truly enjoy when that happens. I think Robin does a wonderful job of tackling the emotions that come with family and love and life and the future and all of that. I felt every emotion of that book and I was hooked from beginning to end. Robin writes realistic, genuine, emotional, beautiful and, most of all, hopeful stories and I am already counting down the days until she gives us book three.
I was absolutely eager to get my hands on this book and when I was able to get an early e-ARC to be a part of the blog tour (read my post here), I was so stoked. Robin and I were debut authors together at the Ontario Teen Book Fest and she’s been a wonderful friend since then. I adored her debut novel and I couldn’t wait until her second novel and it was absolutely worth the wait. Though Robin has only written two books at this point, she has shown that she is incredibly talented at capturing human emotion, especially in young people like teenagers. Whether its because she is a mom to her own teenagers/young adults or whether she just has a tap into that emotional side, her book leaves you feeling SO much. I loved both Jack and Hallie, with a special love toward Hallie, and I loved them from the moment they graced the pages because they felt so genuine and so real. I also have a deep love for any book that takes place in California, because I know it so well, and I love recognizing the places that Robin talks about in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It feels almost like the places that Jack and Hallie go are characters in themselves and I truly enjoy when that happens. I think Robin does a wonderful job of tackling the emotions that come with family and love and life and the future and all of that. I felt every emotion of that book and I was hooked from beginning to end. Robin writes realistic, genuine, emotional, beautiful and, most of all, hopeful stories and I am already counting down the days until she gives us book three.