Books I've Read: The Geography of Lost Things

Ali has just finished high school.  Her mother is away setting up an apartment she's found for them to move into after the house they've been living in is being taken by the bank.  Things have been tough for most of Ali's life, with her father largely absent, but his bills always showing up.

So she doesn't exactly mourn when she hears he's died.  And when someone shows up with her father's car - his pride an joy - she doesn't even consider keeping it.  Who needs that reminder hanging around?

She finds a buyer online who offers enough that she might just be able to save the house.  The catch? He's hundreds of miles away and Ali doesn't know how to drive a manual car.  In comes Nico, her ex-boyfriend, who not only can drive stick, but insists on doing it.

Ali and Nico's relationship was brief (88 days) but intense.  It ended with a single act of betrayal on Nico's part.  At least, that's how it looks from Ali's point of view.  And after being betrayed over and over again by her father, she knows when to walk away.  So she did.

But as they travel up the coast, the feelings she thought she'd banished keep rearing their ugly little heads.  Nico is still sweet and charming and quirky and fun.  She still enjoys talking to him and teasing him and being teased.

When the car sale falls through, Nico convinces her to keep going, constantly trading up useless objects for ones of more value as they struggle to find the cash to save Ali's home.

This is one of those books I enjoyed, but not as much as I should have because the main character was kind of a bitch.  Sure, she had a reason to be prickly and distrusting of people, but the way she treated Nico just wasn't okay.

Plus, Nico's secret was pretty obvious to me from early on - not the exact detail, but the general gist - so that moment of great reveal toward the end was not really a huge surprise to me.  And frankly, it shouldn't have been such a big surprise to Ali either.  If she wasn't so self absorbed, she might have picked up that something was going on there.

I really loved the trading up idea though.  I'm sure it's a fictional device designed for this book, but it sounds like a lot of fun.  Start with an elastic band, end with something worth way more...

So I would recommend this book.  Just be aware the main character is difficult to like.  But it almost doesn't matter because the people surrounding her are so much fun to spend time with.

But don't just listen to me.  Here's the blurb:

In this romantic road trip story perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Morgan Matson, a teen girl discovers the value of ordinary objects while learning to forgive her absent father.

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.