Name: Where the Road Leads Us
Rating: 3.666666666666667 (12 reviews)
ISBN: 9781492635253

Robin Reul

From Robin Reul, the author of My Kind of Crazy, comes an uplifting YA contemporary novel about two teens on an unexpected journey to forge their own paths.

Where the Road Leads Us

Ethan Hill

If you're not into road trip narratives than I can't really recommend this because it definitely falls prey to the sillier tropes of the genre but the dialogue was inspired at parts (and really cheesy the rest of the time) and it was so good at generating catharsis that it squeezed a few tears out of me!

Kath Lau

trigger warning: drug abuse/overdose, death of a family member, cancer, assisted suicide


Hallie has an online friend who is dying so she decides to finally visit and meet him for the first time before he dies. Jack is leaving for college but first he wants to find his estranged brother and get some closure. Hallie and Jack end up in the same rideshare to the bus terminal without knowing how this journey will change their lives.

The book is written in Hallie and Jack's perspectives. I really loved the dynamic between these two. They are both dealing with their own issues and not really sure how to handle them. I liked that by helping each other they also find ways to understand themselves. I loved how their bond started and developed throughout their trip. Their relationship is so precious and intimate, and I appreciated that the romance in this book is very subtle. Of course I have to mention their rideshare driver Oscar because he makes the story even more entertaining. I wished there was more about him though. I liked how the ending is pretty much like Jack's wip "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel.

The premise of the story gives us an impression of a heavy and very emotional read and while there are some serious themes and poignant scenes, I still thought that this was a lighthearted yet very insightful read. The author created a well-balanced and thought-provoking story with outstanding characters. This is definitely one of my all-time favorite road trip stories.

disclaimer: Thanks to the author for providing an e-arc via NetGalley. This did not affect my overall opinion of the book.

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED A PHYSICAL GALLEY BY MY WORKPLACE IN RETURN FOR MY HONEST REVIEW. THIS DOES NOT AFFECT MY OPINION*

When this book showed up on the cart in our employee break room, I was immediately excited about it. I'd had my eye on it for quite a while, and I'd been working up to possibly requesting it. Not even two days after this, it was suddenly there and available for my eyes to read.

Where the Road Leads Us  is a whirlwind adventure of emotions, subtle insta-love romance, and coming-of-age. In this book, we have two perspectives: Jack, a wealthy boy who has his entire future already planned out for him; and Hallie, a girl with an overly-worried mother and a diagnosis that is holding her back from the things she loves.


For each character in this book--yes, even the side characters--I felt that the author developed them wonderfully. Jack went through a lot of deep thinking and came to some realizations about himself that made him second-guess a few things and look at his perspective from different vantage-points. For Hallie, I felt that she really did a deep-dive into understanding and unveiling things about herself that she'd previously hidden and locked away out of fear.

There were a lot of funny points in this book, and I'm mainly speaking in terms of the dog. Around the midpoint of this book, an adorable chihuahua tags along on their spontaneous adventure. I found myself laughing along and relating to a lot of things that were present and included.

However, there were also quite a few issues I had. For one, I wasn't the biggest fan of the depression representation this book was trying to pull off. I think the author was trying to come from a good and well-meaning place with it, but it wasn't really woven into the story all that well, and it ended up feeling more like a tokenization rep than anything else.

Another problem I had was the pacing. Every time a big event would happen, the pacing would slightly speed up in anticipation of it, but then immediately after the event passed, it would sort of crash and slow down. It was a little debilitating, and it made me--at quite a few points--want to DNF than continue reading.

Along with that, I also had a problem with quite a bit of the dialogue from all of the characters. While they each had great development, their dialogue was clearly separated from them. At times, they would have a huge paragraph of monologue that made me skip over or briefly glance through it. On top of that, I also didn't think they spoke like actual teenagers. It was almost as though they were talking out of a dictionary. I would like to add that Jack constantly refers to himself as a human google, but there's supposed to be a clear difference in pointing something like that out during specific parts. Overall, the casual dialogue felt a bit too flowery and poetical at times, and it made it annoying to read through.

All in all though, I did enjoy this book. It was a bit more fun than I anticipated, and for that, I rate it 3.25 stars. I look forward to reading more from Robin Reul in the future, and I do encourage y'all to consider adding this to your TBR if you haven't yet already.

TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNINGS: Mentions of depression, depression, overdose, mentions of drugs, drug addiction, character death, mention of character death, cancer, mentions of surgery

Irin 

“Each road is the right one. Different outcome. Both have challenges to overcome. Everything in life is an opportunity to learn. Learning is not just in school. Trust your intuition. ” ❤️

I started reading Where The Road Leads Us at the perfect time. Escaping on a road trip with Jack and Hallie was just what I needed right now. I’m so glad I discovered this gem of a novel. WTRLU comes out next week, so please take a screenshot/save this review as a reminder to buy this book then. YOU NEED IT IN YOUR LIFE. 🥺😭

My favourite thing about YA realistic fiction is how relatable the characters are. Both Hallie and Jack from WTRLU are at a crossroads in their lives ~ just like I am since I’ll be starting university soon. That alone made the story very real to me. The author included thought-proviking quotes all throughout the story and made reading this book such an uplifting ride. I saved a lot of notes and highlights on my Kindle while reading it, and I’m going to write those down for when I need a little “pick-me-up” ❤️

The friendship between Jack and Hallie was just the best thing ever. The banter and their thoughtful conversations felt like cherries on top of an already beautiful cake. I deeply connected with their individual stories and cheered them on throughout the book. I loved how it was evident that they became different, better versions of themselves after the road trip ended. It made my heart so happy!

I will keep my review short, because I think Where the Road Leads Us is a book which you should explore all by yourself. I can’t recommend it enough.

Where the Road Leads Us

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