REVIEW: Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

From the author of This Song Will Save Your Life comes a funny and relatable book about the hazards of falling for a person you haven't met yet.

Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose in her life and makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her—including her needy best friend and her absent mom.

Arden finds comfort in a blog she stumbles upon called "Tonight the Streets Are Ours," the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.

During one crazy night out in NYC filled with parties, dancing, and music—the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does—Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was, either.

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I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

MY THOUGHTS
I admit that I picked this book up just because I enjoyed the author's previous book. I didn't really know what this book was about going into it, which is precisely how I like it. I love to be surprised and I was surprised by this book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, yet I still very much liked this book and it was quite different than other contemporary book I've read!

Arden is considered to be recklessly loyal. So much so, that there was a doll named after her. She does everything for her friends and family, because she loves them, but she realizes that she nothing is ever done for her. After a spontaneous Google search, Arden finds a blog titled "Tonight the Streets Are Ours", which is a journal of a teenage boy, Peter, in New York City. Arden becomes immersed in the entries and Peter's life. After Peter posts about his girlfriend dumping him, Arden and her best friend travel to New York City, but Peter isn't what Arden expected, but this trip will change everything.

The book begins with the lines, "Like all stories, the one you are about to read is a love story." This book is a love story, but it's not like your normal love story. This book is about a girl who loves, maybe too much. Arden as a character is a different, yet very real character. Different because selfless characters are uncommon in YA, and real because her character was not the cheesy kind of selfless that you see when there are characters like this in YA novels. Arden has many flaws and her being "recklessly loyal" is one of them. That's what most of this book is about, Arden discovering that she may love too much and it's hurting her in the long-run. I think one of my favorite things about this book would be the growth that Arden had!

This book is a bit slow-paced, though, which isn't really that uncommon for contemporary books. The first half is spent with Arden questioning things and reading blog posts. It's necessary, but it's not all that interesting. Then the book picks up when they travel to New York City. There was a lot more going on here and the book was even leading up to that moment (the book began with what was going to happen in New York, in a not much detail kind of way). I also liked how this book surprised me, as things happened that I really wasn't expecting, but it all worked! 

Lastly, I have to mention that despite the line in the beginning, there isn't really any romance. There are a few relationships, Arden has a boyfriend, Peter obviously had a girlfriend, etc., but none of those were deeply involved in the plot of the book, which I really liked!

IN CONCLUSION
Overall, this is a great, new contemporary read that is a love story, but not a love story (if that makes any sense). I really do recommend this book, as well as This Song Will Save Your Life, for all fans of realistic YA novels!

I hereby give this book

4 Stars

Meaning: It was amazing!