The Other Side of Lost Book Review
The Other Side of Lost by Jessi Kirby
2018
Young Adult Fiction, Coming-of-Age, Adventure
The Other Side of Lost follows the personal growth of Mari as she hikes through Yosemite National Park on the John Muir trail. Mari at the beginning of the story is an Instagram lifestyle influencer who feels lost in her life. After she receives the already packed hiking backpack of her recently deceased adventurer cousin Bri, Mari decides she is done with the fake online persona. The 211 mile hike through California brings a series of ups and downs for Mari, but along the way she meets new friends and learns to let go of her past.
While the novel makes for a perfect quick read, The Other Side of Lost is immersive and makes you feel like you’re on Mari's journey yourself. Furthermore, this book will make you want to travel. While COVID-19 is far from being eradicated in Canada, hiking and adventuring outdoors is one of the few activities that has remained unchanged. And when things open up again, I’d love to hike Yosemite
Being a beginner hiker, I really loved how Kirby captured the exact emotion and feeling of being on a trail. While I haven’t had the chance to do any overnight trips yet, I found Mari’s journey to be believable and a lot of fun to read.
The Other Side of Lost is targeted for younger teens, but I think it makes for a fun read for anyone of any age. The prose is truly beautiful and extremely quotable. I swear every page has a quote that would 100% be an influencer’s caption (though I suppose that would be the point).
Rating 5/5: I loved reading The Other Side of Lost. While the story is straight forward, Mari’s journey of learning to love yourself and the world around you is incredibly relevant in the increasingly technology driven world.
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