It’s my stop with MTMC Tours to talk about WHERE THE ROAD LEADS US by Robin Reul!
The story takes place over one life-changing night, where Jack and Hallie take a deep breath and leap. They’re both at a crossroads with decisions and huge life changes ahead — some good, some bad. And they both feel so trapped by expectations and the fates that have been designed for them. Jack’s mostly-absent-mother has his future all plotted out, including internships and college. And Hallie’s parents keep her cocooned ever since she had cancer. She has a friend she desperately needs to visit before it’s too late. Jack has an estranged brother he wants to find before his future is cemented by someone else.
They both end up on a roadtrip that will change everything. 🥺💛
Some things I really liked:
- It really made me think! I loved the emphasis on being true to yourself and it was so easy to underline a ton of important quotes.
- The road trip had its serious moments but also super quirky ones 😂Like the driver they hire switches accents whenever he talks, their car gets stolen, there’s dramatic complications, phones dying at the wrong moments, and some hilarious quips. It definitely reminded me of John Green style books!
- Jack and Hallie don’t have an insta-love arc, they just BOND. It’s such a fantastic opportunity for both of them, because they have a lot of stuff to work through, and unloading on a stranger is just what they needed. Someone who won’t judge. Someone who is keen to see them without a past to cloud things.
- I loved Jack and Hallie! Jack is a walking human google and always busting out with cool facts, and Hallie is so honest in this really kind way. You easily want the best for these soft kids.
- Lots of coffee stops! And…zero sleep. However I will judge Jack for drinking just black coffee with nothing nice in it 😪 son, no. Choose joy.
- And some twist of fate coincidences!
“If you hide away what you think and feel and are just who others want you to be, it’s not the real you anyway.”
It’s a story about not just finding your truth, but having the bravery to live it as well. It’s about taking control and finding people who get you and care about you. There’s heartache, friendship, and the gentle reminder you deserve to be happy.
“A beautiful, tender and thoughtful meditation on finding your way.”—Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star
Sometimes the best path is the unexpected one.
Jack is on the verge for leaving for college, but before he does, he wants to track down his estranged brother, Alex and find some closure in the wake of their father’s death. Meanwhile, Hallie has just found out some upsetting news about a friend in Oregon, and she has a small window to go see him before it’s too late.
Jack and Hallie are practically strangers. They shared a class together years ago and haven’t seen each other since, though they have more in common than they’d ever imagine. And when fate puts them into the same rideshare to the bus terminal, it kicks off an unconventional and hilarious adventure that may lead them to their own true selves…and maybe to each other.
Amazon | B&N | Indiebound | Book Depository | Blackwell’s | Goodreads!
The author of MY KIND OF CRAZY and the forthcoming WHERE THE ROAD LEADS US, Robin Reul has been writing since she was in early elementary school, when she used to make her own book club flyers for her classmates and then pen them original stories. Though she grew up on movie sets and worked for many years in the film and television industry both as an actress and in motion picture development, she ultimately decided to focus her attention on writing young adult novels. Inspired by novelists like John Green and Sarah Dessen and screenwriters like John Hughes and Richard Linklater, she loves to write stories that straddle the line between humor and heartbreak, filled with quirky, memorable characters who stay with the reader long after the story ends. When she’s not writing, Robin can be found drinking copious amounts of iced coffee and listening to way too much 80’s music. She lives in Los Angeles suburbia. Website | Instagram | Goodreads | Twitter
I also put together a little design of a quote from the book!
For all helpful roadtrip needs, we have a travel mug and a tote bag from my Society6 Store! 😌✨
Hi Robin! Thanks so much for chatting with me today about your latest book, Where The Road Leads Us! Could you tell us two things that inspired you to write this story?
At the time I started writing WTRLU, my father passed away, my son was graduating college and my daughter was getting ready to apply. It made us all deeply examine the parts of our lives we can and cannot control. I started thinking a lot about the insane pressures of having to feel like you are expected to have your life all figured out at such an early age let alone while navigating grief and other people’s expectations or ideas of who you should be. I’d always wanted to write an all-in-one-night story (not a surprise since BEFORE SUNRISE is one of my favorite films EVER) and so the idea of two teens at their own emotional crossroads taking a road trip together to take control of their destinies evolved from there.
Definitely a life-changing night for both Jack and Hallie 🥺💛 Since this is your second published novel, did anything change in your writing process since your debut?
Not really other than the places I write. For some reason, the words for this book flowed best when I wrote sitting in the armchair in my family room. Every book is different and reveals itself in its own way. I wrote MY KIND OF CRAZY relatively quickly and WHERE THE ROAD LEADS US took several years and came a paragraph at a time. So much of it has to do with how many distractions and curve balls life is simultaneously throwing while trying to be in a creative space, or at least that was the case for me. I think that having gone through the editorial process with my first book made me much more aware going into this one of my grammar and word choices, the story beats I needed to hit and when, etc. And because I worked with two different editors on my books with two very different editorial styles, it was like taking a master class in writing and story development. I learned so much from both of them.
Can you tell us a random fact each about Jack and Hallie?
Jack once tried out for elementary school chorus by singing both parts of ABBA’s “Take A Chance On Me” and Hallie doesn’t know how to ride a bike.
I love it 😂 So what’s your favourite thing about writing contemporary?
I love things set in modern time focused on human connection, bonus points if they make me laugh. Something about being in the here and now keeps the content and characters relatable. My goal is always to leave readers feeling hopeful.
I absolutely felt the hope threaded through the pages. And speaking of pages…if you could give Jack and Hallie each a book to take on their road trip, which would you pick out for them?
I think they each need a copy of WHERE THE ROAD LEADS US! It could save them a lot of time! Ha! I think they’d both grab the same book, actually – THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY by Douglas Adams. It’s about finding your place in the universe, and it’s not only Jack’s favorite book – it’s one of Hallie’s too. Noticing her reading it is what brought her back into Jack’s orbit.
I love that a book helped bring them together 😍 And lastly! Was any chocolate harmed in the making of this novel? 😉
Lots! Let’s just say sales of Hershey Nuggets with Almonds took a HUGE jump.:)
Look those Hershey Nuggets made a valiant sacrifice so we could have this excellent book 😌👌🏻Thank you so much for stopping by, Robin!! It was a delight to meet you and get to know more about Where The Road Leads Us!
Enter the rafflecopter below to win a paperback copy of Where the Road Leads Us! This is open internationally & it ends on April 17th, 2021 at 11:59pm EST.
MTMC TOURS Schedule
April 5 – Paper Fury
April 6 – Betwixt the Sheets
April 7 – DJ Reads Books
April 8 – What a Nerd Girl Says
April 9 – Shelf Love
April 10 – Vanilla Moon Books
April 11 – Yours A-fiction-ately
April 12 – Lara Jane Reviews
April 13 – Jupiter’s Solo Bibliophile
April 14 – Books, Tea, Healthy Me
April 14 – Shelves of Starlight
A fabulous post thank you. I do love this cover.
Love your designs, that tote bag! ❤ Jack and Hallie are awesome, great author interview!!
This book sounds so cute 🥰 Definitely one I’ll one to check out!