From the author of My Kind of Crazy comes an uplifting YA contemporary about two teens on an unexpected journey to forge their own paths.
WHERE THE ROAD LEADS US
by Robin Reul
Sourcebooks, April 2021
Jack has always known what he wanted: to follow in his father’s footsteps to Columbia University and become a doctor. But when his father unexpectedly dies, Jack’s careful plans start to unravel. Then, on the eve of leaving for college, he discovers a letter his father wrote to his estranged brother, Alex, stamped and unsent. Jack sees an opportunity: if he goes to San Francisco and finds his brother, he might be able to heal the past and truly move forward.
Hallie is sitting on huge news that she isn’t ready to share with anyone. And she doesn’t want to think about it, either; she’s just learned that her closest friend from her online cancer support group has taken a turn for the worst. There’s a small window to travel to Oregon to see him and say goodbye, but she knows her protective parents would never let her go. Hallie’s life suddenly feels like it’s spinning out of control, so she does the only thing she can think of: she buys a bus ticket to Oregon, and tells her parents she’s going to a friend’s for the weekend.
Jack and Hallie had a class together years ago, but haven’t seen each other since. But fate puts them into the same rideshare to the bus terminal, setting off a whirlwind road trip that may lead them to their own true selves…and maybe to each other.
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. She lives in Los Angeles suburbia.
In 1932, Roy Chapman Andrews, president of the men-only Explorers Club, boldly stated to hundreds of female students at Barnard College that “women are not adapted to exploration,” and that women and exploration do not mix. He obviously didn’t know a thing about either… THE GIRL EXPLORERS is the inspirational and untold story of the founding of the Society of Women Geographers—an organization of adventurous female world explorers—and how key members served as early advocates for human rights and paved the way for today’s women scientists by scaling mountains, exploring the high seas, flying across the Atlantic, and recording the world through film, sculpture, and literature. Follow in the footsteps of these rebellious women as they travel the globe in search of new species, widen the understanding of hidden cultures, and break records in spades. For these women dared to go where no woman—or man—had gone before, achieving the unthinkable and breaking through barriers to allow future generations to carry on their important and inspiring work. THE GIRL EXPLORERS is an inspiring examination of forgotten women from history, perfect for fans of bestselling narrative history books like The Radium Girls, The Woman Who Smashed Codes, and Rise of the Rocket Girls.