Heather Mulgrew and her two best friends, Constance and Amy, are traveling to Europe on a "Grand Tour" after their college graduation. While riding on a train from Paris to Amsterdam, Heather meets Jack with whom she quickly falls in love. Jack, best described as a carefree artist who lives in the moment, shows Heather a different way to see Europe, something far beyond the Lonely Planet Guides she and her friends depend on. Additionally, Jack has Heather questioning her own decisions after the end of her Grand Tour. However, as things are starting to become serious between them, Jack continues to go back on his feelings towards Heather, which leads to devastating consequences...

A tale as old as time: boy meets girl and the two fall in love while spending a magical time together. Then something happens between them and it will be up to them to figure out what to do next. This story is really reminiscent of my favorite movies, Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, as well as the YA novels Eleanor and Park and The Fault in Our Stars. From the first to the last pages, my love for THE MAP THAT LEADS TO YOU grew tremendously. I am really excited to be writing a review of this wonderful book and recommending it to my family and friends.

Most of the story is focused on watching Heather and Jack interact with one another. Their witty conversations about kissing, living in New York, books, and so much more were very entertaining. I never felt rushed through this book... Instead, we get a character study that feels like meeting up with old friends. Something else that impressed me is the female characters are written so realistically from a male author's point of view. For what I hope will be the next Eleanor and Park or The Fault in Our Stars, don't walk, but run to the nearest bookstore to get THE MAP THAT LEADS TO YOU.

Book Summary

Two strangers take the road less traveled...

Heather Mulgrew’s world is already mapped out: she is going to travel abroad with her friends after college, come back to a great career in September, and head into a life where not much is left to chance. But that was before an encounter on an overnight train introduces her to Jack, a passionate adventurer who changes the course of her journey and her life.

Throwing Heather's careful itinerary to the wind, they follow Jack's grandfather's journal through post-World War II era Europe: Vienna, Budapest, Turkey―exotic places that serve only to heighten their feelings. As September looms, Jack urges Heather to stay with him, to keep traveling, to give in to the romance of their experience; Heather convinces him to return to the United States.

Jack has a secret that could change everything. And Heather’s world is about to be shaken to the core.

J.P. Monniger's The Map That Leads to You is a breathtaking novel about love, loss, and the best-laid plans that are meant to be broken.