Thursday, September 27, 2018

My Thoughts: The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36435651-the-other-side-of-lost
The Other Side of Lost
by Jessi Kirby
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Publication Date: August 7th 2018
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 312
ISBN: 9780062424242
Genre: Young Adult | Contemporary
Source: Edelweiss Review Copy

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Girl Online meets Wild in this emotionally charged story of girl who takes to the wilderness to rediscover herself and escape the superficial persona she created on social media.

Mari Turner’s life is perfect. That is, at least to her thousands of followers who have helped her become an internet starlet. But when she breaks down and posts a video confessing she’s been living a lie—that she isn’t the happy, in-love, inspirational online personality she’s been trying so hard to portray—it goes viral and she receives major backlash. To get away from it all, she makes an impulsive decision: to hike the entire John Muir trail. Mari and her late cousin, Bri, were supposed to do it together, to celebrate their shared eighteenth birthday. But that was before Mari got so wrapped up in her online world that she shut anyone out who questioned its worth—like Bri.

With Bri’s boots and trail diary, a heart full of regret, and a group of strangers that she meets along the way, Mari tries to navigate the difficult terrain of the hike. But the true challenge lies within, as she searches for the way back to the girl she fears may be too lost to find: herself. (Goodreads)


I absolutely LOVE discovering new books by authors that I enjoy, so of course I was pretty excited when I first discovered The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby. I’ve read a few of Jessi’s book in the past, and really enjoyed them, and have a few of her books that I still need to read as well. But, once I discovered this new book, I just HAD to check it out, and I’m so glad that I did!

I want to start this by saying that I *really* enjoyed the storyline for this book SO much more than I expected to. I’m not at all a nature/outdoorsy person, and while I love the idea of hiking, especially like the main character in the story did, I doubt I could ever pull it off. BUT, I did enjoy reading all about Mari’s adventure, especially the descriptions of the hike, and I have to wonder if the Jessi Kirby has made this hike herself.

Also, there are some really great characters in this book. I love all the friends that Mari meets during her hike, and I think I could totally do a hike if I had a group of friends like these there to support and cheer me on. Some pretty awesome friendships are made throughout this book, and there’s quite a bit of romance along the way as well, which was really sweet.

That being said, as much as I liked this book, as a mom I feel like I need to add… Mari totally should have checked in with her mom before and during her adventure!! (Especially after what happened to her cousin.) I would have been completely terrified if I was her mom, and Mari blowing her off didn’t work for me. This was the only part of the book that I really didn’t care for. As a mom, it just seemed really selfish to me. But, that’s just me!

Overall; While I had one small issue with The Other Side of Lost, I still found it to be a very enjoyable read! I definitely think fans of Jessi’s will definitely enjoy this new book as well! I will most totally be keeping my eye out for new books by Jessi in the future, and I also am really looking forward to reading the few books of hers that I haven’t read yet!! If you’re looking for a good contemporary novel, do check this book out!

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