The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody - Review

Book Synopsis: 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.

My Review:

4.5/5 stars. This was a great book! I loved the fun concept, the relationship between Ali and Nico, the amazing character growth, and the themes of forgiveness. It was so close to being 5 stars, but there were just a couple plot points that annoyed me that lowered the rating.

I'll start with all the positives. First of all, I didn't realize how much I enjoyed the author's prose until I finished the book. It was poetic and had lots of well-written, deep quotes. At the same time, it was also very readable, which made it easy to get through.

On the topic of the writing style, this novel kind of played with format a bit. It wasn't anything crazy, but each chapter started with Ali's "inventory" like it was a video game. It also occasionally had boxes in the middle of paragraphs with multiple-choice questions, which was related to Ali's love of personality quizzes. I thought that was a fun idea. The multiple-choice didn't really add to it in a big way, but the inventory was clever.

The whole concept, with them "trading up" to get the money they need, was so fun to me. It reminded me of the guy who traded a paperclip for, eventually, a house. There were a lot of unique minor characters introduced as they made the trades. I also got so invested and couldn't wait to see what the next item would be.

I loved the romance. I'd never read a second-chance romance before this, but now it might be one of my favorite tropes. I loved Nico. He was so sweet and nerdy, and he and Ali had such good chemistry and banter. It was clear throughout the book that they were great together, so it helped you root for them.

This book uses a lot of flashbacks, but it's done in a way that makes you so invested. The author did a great job of only gradually revealing little bits about what happened in the past. It's just enough to make you intrigued early on, but it's not so vague that you are frustrated by all the unanswered questions. Every flashback reveals some important character detail or significant past event. All of the flashbacks of Ali's childhood were heartbreaking.

The ending was beautiful. Ali had such great character growth over the course of the novel, as she finally looked at herself and realized she was wrong. One major theme was learning to forgive people. As a Christian, I saw a lot of unintentional parallels to how no one is too far gone for God's forgiveness. There was also the theme of how complex humans are. Ali's dad wasn't excused and justified--he was still a very flawed dad--but he was humanized and given depth, showing that he wasn't completely bad.

Finally, I'll talk about the plot point that prevents this from being 5 stars. It kind of includes the "only one bed" trope, which I hate. It's subverted a little bit in this book because Nico actually decides to sleep on the floor, but that didn't really change the effect. Ali still thought about him romantically because he was sleeping near her, and it was still used as unrealistic, forced tension. "Only one bed" is one of my most-hated tropes, so even the semi-inclusion of it lowers my rating.

Content Warning

Language: Includes h*ll, p*ss, God’s name taken in vain, sexy, d*mn, b*stard, made-up euphemisms for sh*t and f*ck with the same connotation.

Sexual Content: Mentions of making out, rape, sex, prostitution, emotionally detailed kissing, some physical description (e.g., touching abs/curves), a minor lesbian character, a shop owner references “gender fluid” statues.

Violence/Gore: None

Drugs/Alcohol: Flashback of Ali’s dad drunk, reference to a character looking or acting like they’re on drugs, drunk driving.

Other: Mentions of a severe gambling addiction.