Book Review: The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody


ABOUT THE BOOK
Ali Collins doesn’t have room in her life for clutter or complications. So when her estranged father passes away and leaves her his only prized possession—a 1968 Firebird convertible—Ali knows she won’t keep it. Not when it reminds her too much of all her father’s unfulfilled promises. And especially not when a buyer three hundred miles up the Pacific coast is offering enough money for the car to save her childhood home from foreclosure. There’s only one problem. Ali has no idea how to drive a stick shift.

But her ex-boyfriend, Nico, does.

The road trip gets off to a horrible start filled with unexpected detours, road blocks, and all the uncomfortable tension that comes with being trapped in a car with your ex. But when Nico starts collecting items from the quirky strangers they meet along the way, Ali begins to sense that these objects aren’t random: somehow they seem to be leading her to an unknown truth about her father. A truth that will finally prove to Ali that some things—even broken things—are worth saving. 


BOOK REVIEW
I grabbed this book b/c it’s teen fiction (which I enjoy writing) and she’s the author of Save the Cat, which is a fabulous writing tool. The book was very good. I enjoyed the story and the depth that I got to know the main character was very thorough and her transformation throughout the book was well executed. I haven’t read mainstream teen fiction in a VERY long time, and at the end I was left feeling like I’d read a good story, but not fulfilled in any way. Clearly, I want my books to have a faith element to them, especially teen fiction. There is so much going on in those years, and having God as a foundation, even if a character is searching, is the kind of stories I’d rather read.