June 2, 2014
Leila’s road trip to see the Northern Lights in Alaska takes her across the U.S. and into the lives of a series of desperate teens. In five multichapter vignettes, readers meet these characters in crisis,
including Bree, an orphan who has run away from an older sister she considers overbearing, and Elliot, who has been rebuffed by his longtime crush on prom night. Leila spends one epic night trying to help each of these strangers, often going to extreme lengths—such sneaking a girl who has lost her passport across the Canadian border to stop a wedding disaster—before continuing her journey. The stories are distinct and Leila distinctive—she’s loyal, insightful, but no angel (she plays a drinking game with boys in one town and later gets arrested after taking an expensive car for a joyride). The individual conclusions to each section can be abrupt and a bit too neat, but debut author Alsaid creates enough adventure to make the stories feel breathless, if not always believable, ending with Leila’s own literal and figurative road home. Ages 14–up. Agency: Alloy Entertainment.
Road-tripping Leila acts as agent of change for four different teens.Hudson tunes up her car in Vicksburg, sparking an immediate romantic connection that leads to one great night and then a disaster. Bree, estranged from her older sister since their parents' deaths, is on a road trip of her own, encountering Leila in Kansas, where the two flirt with the law. Elliot is deeply in love with Maribel, but after she rejects his romantic advances, he flees the prom and, drunk, is clipped by Leila's car in Minneapolis, launching a farcical attempt at recovery. Sonia, caught between her love for her deceased boyfriend and a new romantic interest, ends up in Washington state on the wrong side of the border without her passport, where she's rescued by Leila. The final section is Leila's own as readers discover her tragic back story and motivation for the road trip. Her frenetic adventures with the other teens are told from their respective third-person points of view, maintaining her air of mystery and emphasizing her role as catalyst. Characters are portrayed attractively and with a colorful authenticity, although the plot necessarily strains at times to accommodate the structural conceit. Within each story, the end is fairly predictable, but as with all road trips, the point is how they get there.An entertaining and romantic road-trip debut. (Fiction. 13-18) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
May 1, 2014
Gr 8 Up-An achingly beautiful story about the profound impacts of opening oneself to a stranger. Seventeen-year-old Leila, on a road trip to Alaska, gives each person she encounters a different reason for traveling to see the Northern Lights. First she meets Hudson, the best mechanic around and a medical school hopeful. With him she finds love but not before she leaves Hudson's dreams in shambles. As she continues her journey, Leila picks up hitchhiker Bree, whose skewed moral compass and heavy baggage land the girls in jail overnight. The protagonist is pivotal in Bree's intervention, pushing her to work things out with her orphaned sister. Next is Elliot, whom Leila almost kills with her distinctive too-red car. These two conspire to use '80s movies as inspiration to convince Elliot's unrequited love of his true feelings. Lastly, the teen consoles Sonia, who has lost and found love at the most inconvenient and confusing time in her life. They embark on a quest to smuggle missing wedding rings across the Canadian border, while Leila coaxes Sonia into letting go of her past and embracing the future. Readers learn little about Leila's motivations until the very end, when her tragic truth is revealed and some questions are still left unanswered. Reminiscent of John Green's Paper Towns (Dutton, 2008) and road trip novels that feature a teen paving the way to adulthood, Alsaid's debut is a gem among contemporary YA novels.-Jamie-Lee Schombs, Loyola School, New York City
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
July 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 Leila is on a road trip headed north. Whether she is looking for something or running away from something is not totally clear, but as in most road trip novels, it's the journey that matters. Here, the trip takes center stage in the form of four incredibly different young people that Leila encounters and the way she influences their lives. In each section of Alsaid's debut novel, Leila almost always arrives like a gentle breeze and departs like a tornado, forcing each person to take an honest look at themselves and face their fearsfor better or worse. But for all her pithy wisdom and take-life-by-the-reins attitude, Leila is haunted by her past and the handsome young man she left behind. Can she take her own advice and live her life with unabashed honesty? With romantic interludes, witty banter, some exhilarating minor law breaking, occasional drinking, an empowering message, and satisfying conclusions for everyone involved, this will likely be a popular summer hit, especially for older teens about to embark on their own journeys of self-discovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2015
In this five-part novel, Leila is driving from Louisiana to Alaska to see the northern lights. Along the way, she befriends four fellow teenagers in need, improving their lives by inspiring them to take risks. It's not until the final section that we learn the truth about who Leila is, and why she's undertaken her journey. The characters' connections are simple and honest.
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
September 1, 2014
The central character in this five-part novel is Leila, who is driving from Louisiana to Alaska to see the Northern Lights. Along the way, she befriends four fellow teenagers in need: Hudson, who's so smitten with Leila that he jeopardizes a big opportunity; Bree, who's aimlessly hitchhiking, trying to forget a tragedy in her past; Elliot, who's devastated after the girl of his dreams rejects him; and Sonia, who's feeling guilty about moving on after her boyfriend's death. Leila improves each of their lives by inspiring her new friends to take risks and to "seize the Tuesday" (a variation on carpe diem). But it's not until the final section that we learn the devastating truth about who Leila is, and why she's undertaken such a long journey. Despite the short amount of time they spend together, the characters' connections are simple and honest, preventing the novel's morals from feeling forced. "People hurt each other," Leila gently counsels Bree in one such instance. "The beauty is that we have the ability to heal and forgive." Any potential heaviness, however, is balanced by some over-the-top adventures, such as when Leila and Sonia attempt to sneak over international lines--into Canada--with the help of "Stoner Timmy" and a dozen donuts. With equal parts heartache and hope, this debut is a fresh interpretation of the premise that "home is who you're with." rachel l. smith
(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)
October 1, 2014
Gr 8 Up-Seventeen-year-old Leila is on a solo road trip to see Alaska's Northern Lights. On her first stop she meets Hudson, a high school senior on the verge of getting a much-needed college scholarship. But their brief romance falters when he misses his appointment with the university dean. As Leila moves on, she meets Bree, Elliot, and Sonia, helping each of them through their own relationship issues. When Leila reaches her destination, she shares a secret with a friendly family. After that family's "lost" daughter is found, Leila goes back to her Mississippi relatives, and it all ends happily when Hudson finds her. Narrator Amanda Leigh Cobb brings genuine personality to the novel's diverse characters and the protagonist's youthful optimism. Realistic situations, including teens drinking, running away, and dealing with overprotective parents, make this a worthwhile addition to high school and public library collections, especially for those looking for an atypical romance.-"Barbara Wysocki, retired from Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT"
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.