The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson

Destiny Faraday has perfected her presence at boarding school. She doesn’t have friends, but she spends a little time in the company of a few people. She doesn’t refuse to speak but keeps her talking to a minimum. Des has the boarding school life of predictability and routine down pat from her endless observations of those around her and from her number-one rule: Don’t get attached. But things rarely go as one plans. When Des unexpectedly finds an abandoned running car, she realizes that although this day, October 19, is supposed to be bad, she can’t pass up this opportunity. Somehow her party grows to four with the addition of three of Des’ classmates, and they take off on an unauthorized road trip in search of one fair day where everything turns out just so. Along the way, Des finds out that someone has already broken her number-one rule for her—and that it might not be such a bad thing.

I’ll admit the first novel by Pearson I read, Scribbler of Dreams, was not one of my favorites. However, The Adoration of Jenna Fox convinced me to give this author another try, which I’m glad I did because The Miles Between was absolutely fabulous. It’s difficult to say what exactly about Pearson’s writing that makes this novel come together so magically, but perhaps it is its thoughtfulness. There’s something about the words on each page that makes each of the main characters so real and makes the reader wish he/she was on this random road trip. Both the characters and the plot are spectacularly formed, revealing the right amount of information at the right time to keep things well-paced but still interesting. I don’t really know what else to say about the presentation of this story besides that the effect is wonderful and stunning. I was so connected to this book, the story and the characters, also because of how coincidence and fate were so central to the novel. These are just some of the things about life that have always amazed and fascinated me, and their inclusion in this novel made it all the more unique and interesting. The Miles Between is not an action book; it is mostly character- and thought-driven but still with plenty of surprises hidden within its pages. It is a wonderfully endearing novel that will cheer anyone up and make them feel not alone.

Fans of Pearson’s writing, particularly in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, will enjoy The Miles Between. This sweet story will also attract fans of You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith, Crash Into Me by Albert Borris, Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern, and Sprout by Dale Peck.

Rating: 4.75

Review copy from Amazon Vine