First of all, thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC!

Here were my thoughts:

[ ] There should probably be trigger warnings for religious trauma in this one. Or at least something in the description. Nothing about the summary or TWs made me think discussions of religious themes were a major point, but this was a very centrao plot point of the romantic interest, Oakley.
[ ] I like the writing style of this one, it flows well. The switches between past and present day work and are set up nicely to avoid confusion
[ ] Zoe sort of stakes their whole life on Alden in college- I had hoped the story would have their overcoming this, and having them live more for themself. We sort of got that towards the end, but it felt pretty surface level.
[ ] I thought the epilogue was pretty cute, and I loved Zoe's interest in plants.
[ ] I like the way both she/them pronouns are used interchangeably for Autumn, who goes by both, and did really enjoy the gender expression and discovery in this one. I liked that the story ended without that being completely resolved, but with enough closure.

Overall I think this is a fun little read for someone who is looking for a read on queer themes, gender identity, religious trauma and some comfy travels

need to fall in love while discussing the complexities of religion on a cross-country train ride more than i need to live me thinks

I love that "Leaving the Station" by Jake Maia Arlow isn't just a romcom type of YA Queer Romance. This story had meaning behind the story.

Leaving the Station has a non-binary main character, which is something I've always wanted to see more of in YA novels! It also tackles some tough topics like religion as well. Being someone who has a lot of religious trauma, I appreciated this touch immensely.

Outside of the deeper meaning of this book, it was just over all a sweet tale of of finding yourself, and finding the right people to help you do that.

Please support this author and read this book!

Jake Maia Arlow’s last book, The Year My Life Went Down the Toilet (2023), which follows a kid with inflammatory bowel disease, is an all-time favorite for me, and I want every sick kid to read it. I’m a huge Arlow fan now, and though their newest isn’t the same level of revelatory, I had a lot of fun with it.

The book takes place over the course of a week, on protagonist Zoe’s cross-country train trip from New York to Seattle. They’re going home for Thanksgiving after a disastrous first term at Cornell, and flashbacks show what happened there. Zoe’s had a lot of parental pressure, so they’re feeling completely confused about their purpose in life, and especially confused about their sexuality and gender.

Zoe expects the train to give them time to think on their own. Instead, they meet a rich cast of characters also traveling across the country. There’s Aya, a high-energy nine-year-old who chatters about train facts and Percy Jackson. Edward, the incredibly enthusiastic snack vendor. Virginia and Clint, a couple who take the trip as often as they can. And most importantly, there’s Oakley, Zoe’s age, and the two quickly form a bond. Oakley was raised Mormon and recently left the church. She’s returning home to eastern Washington after a disappointing effort at exploring her queer identity in New York City.

The relationship between Zoe and Oakley is very cute, and they push each other to be more generous to themselves. Their interactions with the other passengers are super wholesome. This book really made me want to take the Empire Builder! If I was guaranteed the same community, I’d buy a ticket in a heartbeat. Oakley is a huge nerd, so she has ideas for sightseeing at all of the quick stops, and she and Zoe are always racing the clock on their little adventures. Overall, the book is a lesson in how more people are on your side than you’d think. Everything isn’t resolved by the end, but things are a little better.

"I wish I felt that way about anything. I get glimpses of it sometimes, of who I'm meant to be, but the feeling never lasts long enough for me to bottle up and store it." DAMN

4.5 rounded up to 5
This book made me want to book a train ride immediately. I need more books during train rides it is just such a wonderful setting.

I related to Zoe so much, and it made me love this book. There's a lot of flashbacks and I adore that in a story. I loved getting to know the two "versions" of Zoe, college and train.

The romance in this was good, but it was definitely more focused on a coming of age, figuring out gender story. Which made me wish it was longer, or that we would've seen a bit more at the end, after the train ride.

Thank you to Harper Kids and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC. All thoughts are my own.

This was such a wonderful read. It takes place on a train journey across the US and it really felt like I was on that journey alongside those characters.

This whole book felt so personal and raw and earnest and at times that made the main character unlikeable, but not in a way I was unsympathetic towards. Everything Zoe did, I understood even if I wanted to shake her into making better choices.

Oakley, despite not being a POV character, was just as full and fleshed out as Zoe. She shares so much of herself with Zoe and therefore the audience and I loved her so much.

Everyone Zoe connects with on this journey was so wonderful to meet and get to know. I genuinely felt like I was on this train with them, chatting to them too.

It was honestly the epilogue that tipped this into a 5 star read for me. Only two pages long and from the POV of a plant and yet it made me cry so there’s that.

3.5 stars

I'm conflicted about this book. There were some really great elements to it that I enjoyed such as the gender and religion deconstruction, the train setting, and all the interesting side characters. However, I related a little too much to Zoe making bad decisions and I hated 18-year-old me. The romance aspect was pretty cute, but this is one of the books that I think will suffer from not having the industry recognize New Adult as an age category. This is a tad too spicy for YA, but the characters act too young for adult. I finished this the day I completed a cross country drive, and it made me wish I'd taken a train instead.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was a truly gorgeous book. It's incredibly introspective and encourages the reader to think about so many things regarding identity, community, and who we are in the past, present, and future (and, of course, on the train).

Leaving the Station is a Young Adult book, but it definitely leans towards a more mature young adult audience, which I really appreciated as someone who has mostly grown out of the genre. This is a book that could be enjoyed by an audience of any age, and provides reflections that are relevant at any point in a person's life (as represented in the novel). Further, though the book is only 300 pages long and takes place over a time period of four days, the plot and character development feels complete and unrushed, and I truly believed that these characters could form such strong connections during the span of the train ride, which is a really hard thing to write and which I very often have criticisms about. Arlow however is a genius with pacing and narration, and there wasn't a second of this book that I felt needed to be longer or shorter.

Both Zoe and Oakley are incredibly strong main characters, and I really enjoyed the way their stories and lives are running parallel to each other and how they helped each other make sense with themselves and their place in the world. While the romance in this book is far from the main point, it is certainly central and emphasizes the true messages of the story. The side characters were just as engaging, and I really felt like I understood the magic of a cross-country train ride and who we are in the undefined time between where we're going and what we've left behind.

TLDR: Absolutely fabulous, and I want to take a four-day train ride.

I received a free arc of this, but the review is my own.

Wow, I requested this ARC because it's a sapphic romance set on a train and we all know how I feel about McQuinston's One Last Stop (and also trains and also women and also love), but it turns out LEAVING THE STATION resonated with me in a whole bunch of other ways, too. I grew up Mormon and though I was able to leave that environment early enough to escape a lot of the hard lesbian-exmo stuff, I still reckon every day with the way that upbringing shaped my idea of myself. I went away for school in large part to immerse myself in a queer community away from everything I'd ever known. I'm a children's librarian who believes kids are smarter and cooler than adults give them credit for. The first person I loved was deconstructing gender as we fell for each other, and it was such an important journey for them that I feel lucky to have been trusted to witness. And also, I love trains & travel & Percy Jackson & the beauty of humanity in moments like Aya's party, and it was a REALLY good read. If anything, I found Oakley's character just a little flatter than I wanted (at first, mostly), but that makes a lot of sense given that I also grew up Mormon so I've spent a LOT of time thinking on the same things Oakley's working through - I kept thinking, yeah I /did/ know that! But overall this was lovely, and in my head Zoe babysits for Aya every Wednesday when Nanami's out falling in love, and they facetime Oakley and when she's in town everyone goes for ice cream.

What a wonderful, comforting read. I'll be giving it 4.5 stars and rounding up on NetGalley and Goodreads. Thank you to HarperCollins Children's, NetGalley, and Jake Maia Arlow for the eARC in exchange for this honest review. (& Jake, lucky you - I also like transit youtube! If you haven't already, watch Jet Lag: The Game and thank me later!)

I absolutely love the setting of this book - being on a cross-country train is such a great setting, and it really contributed to the characters and the plot of the book. The book captures the transient feeling of a train extremely well, as well as the characters that you would expect to find on a train traveling across the country.
This is a very sweet story, and one that I found difficult to put down. It's a romance, but it's also about figuring out who you are and opening yourself up to new experiences and meeting new people. Definitely an enjoyable read.
4.5/5 stars
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book ended up being a lot more serious than I thought it would be. I tend to not read books like this often, but it sounded good. Especially for pride month.

The book has both present time and past time. Current is Zoe on a train going back to Seattle for Thanksgiving. The past is Zoe's freshmen year at college. We learn throughout the book that Zoe struggles with her gender. College wasn't going the way she planned. She knows she's a lesbian, but ended up with a boyfriend. While Alden is falling for Zoe, she wonders if she likes him or just wants to be like him. Zoe meets a beautiful girl on the train. Oakley is going back hope to her Mormon community even though she can't be herself there. Zoe and Oakley spend the train ride getting to know each other and quite a few people on the train. They all start to act close, even throwing a party for a little girl. Zoe and Oakley confide in each other and know that they won't ever forget the trip.

I gave this book 4 stars. It also made me want to take a train ride across the country.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my earc.

Traveling on train from east to west leaving college and an ex boyfriend behind, sounds messy right? But the messy part might be the shock of saying ex boyfriend even though you’re a lesbian. On a train ride home to Seattle Zoe meets fellow passenger Oakley who also has some stuff she is working through, but they can’t deny their unbelievable connection, even if it only has been a couple of days. This book was really good. I loved the updates of where we were on the train trip and also the flash backs to Zoe’s time in college. This book feels like a warm hug and self reflection and discovery all wrapped together.

I’ve pretty much loved every book I’ve read from Jake Maia Arlow. They have such a knack for creating complex, messy queer characters who go on interesting personal journeys. Leaving the Station is a beautiful story about two characters, Zoe and Oakley, connecting on a cross country train ride as they’re going home for Thanksgiving. They’ve both left home looking for new experiences, but haven’t exactly gotten what they were looking for.

The explorations of queerness, gender identity, and religion were all so interesting. I loved seeing all the different conversations that Zoe and Oakley had, when they would open up, and when they pushed back against one another. While it was tough to read about, getting to see all the ways that Zoe was struggling during the first year of college just felt so incredibly real.

Definitely check this out if you enjoy queer YA romances that also tackle deep subject matter!

I could hear the train whistle blowing in the distance as I read the last few pages of this one and it absolutely wrecked me.

Arlow is so good at writing love stories that absolutely fill up that small, soft, liminal space of a school break. This one is for my fellow romanticizers of travel. One of my favorite YA books as a teen was Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith, which also follows two teens falling in love on a train. It made me want to take my own train journey, and years later I read and annotated it on my first cross-country train trip. When I heard the premise of this one I was excited for a queer take on a similar set up, and I'm happy to report that Leaving the Station captures that same familiar magic of the train. I might need to take another train trip just to re-read this one someday.

Give me a train based romance and a compelling look into identity any day. Jake Maia Arlow's latest work was a resounding success for this reader. It is by no means an easy read, but one that feels like a smooth afternoon. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide and NetGalley for providing an eARC for a honest review.

YEAHHHHHHH THATS WHAT JAKE MAIA ARLOW DELIVERS ON. INTROSPECTIVE LOVE STORIES! I feel honored to have followed Zoe on this (literal) journey. Both as a sucker for trains and for the incredible way Zoe is written. The characters and story are amazing and I hope that everyone else gives it a read.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review. I am a huge fan of Jake Maia Arlow and loved the premise of this book. Their exploration of identity throughout this book was so thoughtfully done and so insightful. There were times that seemed a bit slow and very much caused me to say “OK I want to know what happens already!” in regards to the flashbacks, but ultimately it served the story well to have it revealed the way it was. This may not have been my favorite of Arlow’s books but I really enjoyed it and it definitely made me want to hop on a train!!

"Leaving the Station" by Jake Maia Arlow is a heartfelt journey through identity and friendship, embodying the essence of self-discovery amid life’s chaos. Zoe's cross-country train adventure offers a compelling backdrop as she navigates the complexities of her relationships, especially with her ex-boyfriend, Alden, and the intriguing Oakley.

While I loved the exploration of LGBTQ+ themes, the pacing and storyline felt a bit uneven at times. The side characters, especially Aya, Edward, & Virginia sparkled, but some moments between Zoe & Alden and Zoe & Oakley lacked the depth I was hoping for. Still, Zoe and Oakley’s personal struggles resonate deeply.

If you’re a fan of contemporary YA that tackles tough topics while offering a bit of hope, this book might just be your next cozy read! Thank you NetGalley and Storytide for the eARC.

On a cross country train trip home, Zoe contemplates her gender and relationships and she struggles with dropping out of college. She meets Oakley, who is also trying to figure out her life as a lesbian in a conservative religious family, and the two of them also befriend a cast of characters on the train. Digs into themes of finding yourself and the relationships we create with others, how secrets can strain those relationships, and what it means to prioritize what makes you happy in life.

4.5 Stars rounded up. I absolutely adored this YA coming of age story about Zoe, a college freshman that decided to take the longest way home for break in the hope she can figure out some big decisions before she gets there.
I absolutely adored this little book, and it even made me look up train tickets for some upcoming trips. The story would jump back and forth between Zoe on the train and her first semester of college, and while I typically am not a fan of dual timelines, this one didn't bother me.

In the college chapters, we see Zoe, who always thought she was a lesbian and is very confused by her attraction to a guy at college. Her relationship with him leads her to making some discoveries about herself.

On the train, Zoe strikes up a friendship with various other travelers, including Oakley, a girl that is also trying to find herself before she departs the train.

Most of the story develops through deep conversations between Zoe and Oakley, which makes their relationship feel deep even if they only spent a few days together.

I would say this book should probably be read by upper YA for some sexual content. It is not graphic, but there are multiple scenes of sexual interactions.