Book Bites: 3 Sentence Intro About What This Story Is

Ali’s estranged father passes away and leaves her with his prized possession: a classic muscle car (1968 Firebird Convertible). Desperate for money to prevent her house from foreclosure, Ali finds a buyer on Craigslist who was willing to give her enough money for the car but Ali can’t drive the car up to the buyer because it’s a manual transmission. She reluctantly requests Nico’s (her ex-boyfriend) help as he’s the only one she knows who could drive the car, and their journey proves to be more than they bargained for.

*As usual, to see the official book teaser/summary of this, go to anywhere books are found and read up more about what this book is about.

Now on to My Commentary (**May Contain Spoilers: Read at Your Own Risk)

So as I continue my writing career journey, I decided to take writing courses on Lynda.com by author Jessica Brody.

I immediately knew when I clicked on and viewed Ms. Brody’s course introduction video that her style was going to vibe well with me. And curiously, I wanted to explore some of her works to understand how to apply the concepts I learned from the course.

The Geography of Lost Things was the first book I picked up to read by Jessica Brody. I mean the description talked about two exes going on a road trip together. Uh, bad idea?! Which is exactly why I was curious to see how this played out!

On Amazon, the listing mentioned this book would be attractive to fans of Sarah Dessen. I used to read Dessen books frequently during my late teens because come on, teenage heroine who’s learning a life lesson and easing into adulthood with the help of her adorable, supportive hot male teen lead? This is the kind of cozy, romantic comedy and coming of age novels I’d like to curl up with in bed when I’m looking for a relaxing read at the end of the day.

And I fell in love with it! Just getting the chance to write this post/review about it, I’m bouncing in my seat out of excitement because I want to talk about this book to no end! Shocker-but-not-really-a-shocker because I fall in love with like 95% of the books I pick up to read.

I have to say, I re-read this book two more times right after I finished it. And several more times after that. I couldn’t get enough of the exes! Now, not all of you will share the enthusiasm I have for this book but I hope you do find it enjoyable to read.

Here are the main points I’ll address that stuck with me.

Nico and Ali’s relationship

These two are hilarious! The banter between these exes captured the realistic ups-and-downs of a strained relationship and I could feel the tension between Ali and Nico during the entire journey. Imagine being stuck with your ex in a car on a road trip for days. Talk about entertaining! It really puts a test to your relationship, patience, and sanity. For better or for worse.

I found Ali to be a little harsh and quick to pass judgments on people and on Nico, which was part of reason why they broke up in the first place. This is very counter to Nico’s character and the two balance each other well in this regard. But as the trip continues (and bless Nico’s patience with her), we start to understand how her father, Jackson’s, behavior during her childhood really effected Ali’s trust in others. That would harden anyone, so my heart does go out to you, Ali.

On the other hand, Nico is this upbeat, amiable guy who can make friends with literally just about anyone (as we see when the pair meet up with various strangers on Craigslist to make their trades). He’s also very sweet without being a pushover. He gives Ali the right amount of encouragement, support, and push to get her to step out of her comfort zone and learn to trust others again. Despite this exterior demeanor of Nico, we (as well as Ali) learn that Nico’s not as perfect as he seems. That he also has issues that he’s dealing with. This poor sweet boy. I won’t spoil this for anyone, so read the book to find out what exactly Nico’s been dealing with.

The Value Behind Things and People

Now this was the main point of this book, hence the title. Ali was dead-set on getting rid of her father’s car because she felt she needed to toss out any reminder of him as a result of her disappointment towards Jackson’s lack of parental care and attention. Plus, she desperately needed the money so her home wouldn’t be taken away. Hell, Ali has a little habit of clearing her house and life of clutter, as her best friend June berates her for.

During their trip, Nico offers another method of earning money which was to trade up. Ali scoffs at this idea, but goes along with Nico’s ridiculous plan, trying to prove him wrong.

Even though the original goal was to trade with people on Craigslist during their road trip to solely earn money, the various, quirky characters they meet along the way all contributed a little piece to the important life lesson Ali needed to learn: value is subjective. Or as Nico says, one man’s trash is another’s treasure. The two teens learn how specific people personally resonate with these seemingly useless items they’ve collected along the way. That lost items need be found by the right person who’s waiting to accept them. And the coolest part, Nico and Ali contributed to uniting random folks with items that were sentimental to them while finding themselves through the process.

*Side note: At the beginning of each chapter, Brody also notes their current location on their road trip as well as lists the inventory they have collected so far. I thought this was super cute!

The Flashbacks with Jackson

Brody beautifully weaved in the flashbacks between Jackson and Ali to align those moments with where Nico and Ali are at in their current journey. Honestly, this was a different writing style from the books I’m used to reading. I find this flashback/present scene pattern to be a signature aspect as I read Brody’s books and it works really well. Through the mirrored scenes between past and present events, we get a deeper understanding into how the character’s history shaped their current perspective, feelings, and thoughts. We get to see how Ali’s impression of Jackson ultimately affected her relationship with Nico.

We also get to experience Jackson’s character, his influence on his loved ones, even though he’s not physically alive at the start of the book. This continuous mention of her father throughout the book symbolized how Jackson was very much still alive to Ali, how he still lingered around even though he was no longer in her life.

Overall, the pacing of the book was awesome! Loved how eager I was to keep reading it. The characters were relatable and the life lesson made me contemplate my own life (in a good way). And I was so shocked when I reached the end because I felt like I just started the journey! Hence why I re-read it several times right after.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for an adventure and to find yourself, then get lost in this book. You won’t be sorry! It transports you to a fun, insightful, and heartwarming road trip with Nico and Ali that will make you laugh (a lot) and cry (always in a good way).

I’m not a huge young adult genre reader, but I really loved this one. It was real and it helped me contemplate about the lost things in my own life that are waiting to be found.

Check out this book if it piques your interest. Hope you enjoy it as your next read or a re-read!

And remember, “Every story is worth the read. Someone (some poor, overworked, ink-stains-on-the-clothes lovely soul) took the time to write it.”