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A review by mainstbooksmonroe
Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
The premise (a cross-country train ride with a burgeoning romance, and sprinkles of inter-generational friendships with the other passengers and staff) was cute. Our main character figuring out their gender, sexuality, and the intersection thereof and blundering through the discovery was relatable and well-worth reading for young adults on the same journey.
Other aspects were frustrating, however. One character is considering leaving her family's Mormonism so it gets REALLY preachy at times, unbearably whenshe decides to over-ride another character's parenting decisions, and ruin a little girl's birthday party *after* purposefully throwing it to spite the mother. There are also the tropes like falling in love with a stranger in four days, which might be to some readers' tastes, and at the climax, forcing a train (plus who knows how many others) to delay just so they can make out in... Leavenworth?
I would recommend it to fans of Casey McQuiston's I Kissed Shara Wheeler, or John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. Oh, and train lovers.
Other aspects were frustrating, however. One character is considering leaving her family's Mormonism so it gets REALLY preachy at times, unbearably when
I would recommend it to fans of Casey McQuiston's I Kissed Shara Wheeler, or John Green's An Abundance of Katherines. Oh, and train lovers.