Best Selling Books by Adi Alsaid

Five strangers. Countless adventures. One epic way to get lost. Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila''s own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth--sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. And maybe the only way to find what you''re looking for is to get lost along the way.

“Utterly charming and thoughtful.” —Nicola Yoon, the New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star “A refreshing novel about friendship and romance that defies cliché, Never Always Sometimes will win readers over with its hilarious musings and universal truths.” -Adam Silvera, the New York Times bestselling author of They Both Die at the End and What If It’s Us Rule #10: Never date your best friend. Well, some rules are meant to be broken. Best friends Dave and Julia have spent their high school years living by their carefully crafted Never List — a list of rules they created to make sure they never become high school clichés. But as graduation approaches, Dave is shocked when Julia decides that they should now do everything on the list, from skinny dipping (Rule #6) to road-tripping (Rule #9). But what happens when Julia finds out that Dave has been breaking Rule #8 (never pine silently for someone for the entirety of high school) for years? Can their friendship survive the ultimate cliché and turn into something…more? From the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost and North of Happy, comes a story of what can happen in those final days of high school, when you let go of who you are and take a chance on who you might be.

From Adi Alsaid, the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost, Never Always Sometimes, and We Didn’t Ask for This What do you do when you want to run away — but you end up finding yourself? A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States, Carlos Portillo is happy to follow the well-worn path to a future of comfort and ease in Mexico City that’s been planned for him since birth. But when his older brother Felix—who defied their parents to live a life of adventure—is tragically killed, Carlos is determined to live out his own dreams for the both of them. He escapes to San Juan Island off the coast of Washington state and gets a job with a celebrity chef he’s admired from afar for years. But while things are coming together for him in the kitchen, a forbidden romance with his boss’s daughter could end his career before it even begins. Finally living for himself, Carlos learns that reality doesn’t come with a road map to an easy life — but does finding your true path mean following your head? Or your heart? “An exceptional tale of grief, ambition, love, and maturity.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adult nominee A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year A TAYSHAS Reading List Book

From Adi Alsaid, the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost, Never Sometimes Always, and North of Happy Every year, lock-in night changes lives. This year, it might just change the world. Central International School’s annual lock-in is legendary — and for six students, this year’s lock-in is the answer to their dreams. The chance to finally win the contest. Kiss the guy. Make a friend. Become the star of a story that will be passed down from student to student for years to come. But then a group of students, led by Marisa Cuevas, stage an eco-protest and chain themselves to the doors, vowing to keep everyone trapped inside until their list of demands is met. While some students rally to the cause, others are devastated as they watch their plans fall apart. And Marisa, once so certain of her goals, must now decide just how far she’ll go to attain them. “Engrossing.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A globetrotting novel that takes a determined teen from Japan to Australia and to Argentina and Mexico on a quest to prove that humanity is more good than bad from the author of Let’s Get Lost and Before Takeoff. Isabel is having an existential crisis. She’s three years into high school, and everything she’s learned has only shaken her faith in humanity. Late one night, she finds herself drawn to a niche corner of the internet—a forum whose members believe firmly in one thing: that there are indeed people out in the world quietly performing impossible acts of heroism. You might even call them supers. No, not in the comic book sense—these are real people, just like each of us, but who happen to have a power or two. If Isabel can find them, she reasons, she might be able to prove to herself that humanity is more good than bad. So, the day she turns 18, she sets off on a journey that will take her from Japan to Australia, and from Argentina to Mexico, with many stops along the way. She longs to prove one—just one—super exists to restore her hope for the future. Will she find what she’s looking for? And how will she know when—if—she does?

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by critically acclaimed and bestselling YA authors who are shaped by the journeys they and their families have taken from home—and to find home. WELCOME From some of the most exciting bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors writing today…journey from Ecuador to New York City and Argentina to Utah…from Australia to Harlem and India to New Jersey…from Fiji, America, Mexico and more… Come On In. With characters who face random traffic stops, TSA detention, customs anxiety, and the daunting and inspiring journey to new lands…who camp with their extended families, dance at weddings, keep diaries, teach ESL…who give up their rooms for displaced family, decide their own answer to the question “where are you from?” and so much more… Come On In illuminates fifteen of the myriad facets of the immigrant experience, from authors who have been shaped by the journeys they and their families have taken from home—and to find home.

From Adi Alsaid, the acclaimed author of Let’s Get Lost, North of Happy, and We Didn’t Ask for This A story about being in love with love. Dumped by her boyfriend the summer after senior year, popular love-and-dating columnist Lu Charles can’t seem to write another word. Devastated, she spends her time wondering if everything she used to believe about love was a lie. But when Lu overhears another college-bound couple breaking up—before deciding to stay together for one final summer—she is inspired. Could Cal and Iris be the key to solving her writers block? Lu starts chronicling the couple’s final weeks around New York City, ignoring her friends, her family, even her looming column deadlines as she becomes Cal and Iris’s unofficial third wheel. With her NYU scholarship hanging in the balance, will Lu be able to discover the truth about love that she’s been looking for? Or will she learn a much greater lesson?

Two teens meet and fall in love during a layover-gone-wrong at the Atlanta airport in this thrilling new novel from the author of Let''s Get Lost! James and Michelle find themselves in the Atlanta airport on a layover. They couldn''t be more different, but seemingly interminable delays draw them both to a mysterious flashing green light—and each other. Where James is passive, Michelle is anything but. And she quickly discovers that the flashing green light is actually . . . a button. Which she presses. Which may or may not unwittingly break the rules of the universe—at least as those rules apply to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Before they can figure up from down, strange, impossible things start happening: snowstorms form inside the B terminal, jungles sprout up in the C terminal, and earthquakes split the ground apart in between. And no matter how hard they try, it seems no one can find a way in or out of the airport. James and Michelle team up to find their families and either escape the airport or put an end to its chaos—before it''s too late.

“A briliant multicultual collection that reminds readers that stories about food are rarely just about the food alone.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A stunning collection of short stories about the intersection of family, culture, and food in the lives in teens, from bestselling and critically acclaimed authors, including Sandhya Menon, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Rin Chupeco. A shy teenager attempts to express how she really feels through the pastries she makes at her family’s pasteleria. A tourist from Montenegro desperately seeks a magic soup dumpling that can cure his fear of death. An aspiring chef realizes that butter and soul are the key ingredients to win a cooking competition that could win him the money to save his mother’s life. Welcome to Hungry Hearts Row, where the answers to most of life’s hard questions are kneaded, rolled, baked. Where a typical greeting is, “Have you had anything to eat?” Where magic and food and love are sometimes one in the same. Told in interconnected short stories, Hungry Hearts explores the many meanings food can take on beyond mere nourishment. It can symbolize love and despair, family and culture, belonging and home.

Dive into these three magnificent coming-of-age stories about love, loss, and adventure by Adi Alsaid! LET’S GET LOST Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila’s own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth—sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule #8: never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule #10: never date your best friend. So when Julia impetuously suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the clichés, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love. NORTH OF HAPPY Carlos Portillo has always led a privileged and sheltered life. He lives in Mexico City with his wealthy family and attends an elite international school. Always a rule follower, Carlos is happy to tread the well-worn path in front of him. He has always loved food and cooking, but his parents see it as just a hobby. When his older brother, Felix—who has dropped out of college to live a life of travel—is tragically killed, Carlos begins hearing his brother’s voice, pushing him to rebel against his father’s plan for him. Worrying about his mental health but knowing Felix is right, Carlos runs away to the United States and manages to secure a job with his favorite celebrity chef. As he works to improve his skills in the kitchen and pursue his dream, he begins to fall for his boss’s daughter. Finally living for himself, Carlos must decide what’s most important to him and where his true path really lies. Titles originally published in 2014, 2015, and 2017.

In the kingdom of Nefaria, eleven-year old Bobert struggles with feeling invisible, until an interaction with a cursed gumball machine draws him into a wicked plot by the evil wizard Matt.

Dive into these three magnificent coming-of-age stories about love, loss, and adventure by Adi Alsaid! Let’s Get Lost Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone the most. Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. And when Leila leaves them, their lives are forever changed. But it is during Leila’s own 4,268-mile journey that she discovers the most important truth — sometimes, what you need most is right where you started. Never Always Sometimes Best friends Dave and Julia were determined to never be cliché high school kids. They even wrote their own Never List of everything they vowed they’d never, ever do in high school. But Dave has a secret: he’s broken rule #8: never pine silently after someone for the entirety of high school. It’s either that or break rule #10: never date your best friend. So when Julia impetuously suggests they do every Never on the list, Dave is happy to play along. It starts as a joke, but then a funny thing happens: Dave and Julia discover that by skipping the cliches, they’ve actually been missing out on high school. And maybe even on love. North Of Happy Carlos Portillo has always led a privileged and sheltered life. He lives in Mexico City with his wealthy family and attends an elite international school. Always a rule follower, Carlos is happy to tread the well-worn path in front of him. He has always loved food and cooking, but his parents see it as just a hobby. When his older brother, Felix — who has dropped out of college to live a life of travel — is tragically killed, Carlos begins hearing his brother’s voice, pushing him to rebel against his father’s plan for him. Worrying about his mental health but knowing Felix is right, Carlos runs away to the United States and manages to secure a job with his favorite celebrity chef. As he works to improve his skills in the kitchen and pursue his dream, he begins to fall for his boss’s daughter. Finally living for himself, Carlos must decide what’s most important to him and where his true path really lies. Titles originally published in 2014, 2015, and 2017.

A girl fights to free her sister from a curse while a beautiful mountain is at risk of being turned into a theme park in this giggle-worthy yet heartfelt middle grade adventure set in the world of The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria. Having grown up in Nefaria, a land where evil schemes abound, Candelabra is thrilled to take a school trip to Joviala, a land that’s prone to natural disasters but has virtually no evil in it. All her life, she’s dreamt of a place where everyone is caring and happy and without malicious intent, and now it’s coming true for her. But Jovialan Schmebecca isn’t so sure her country’s reputation is earned. A company has just been approved to move her beloved mountain to install a theme park, and that sounds pretty evil to her. She enlists the help of veteran evil-scheme-thwarters Candelabra and Bobert, and together, they work to uncover the possible evil scheme—but when a twist pits their goals against each other, the fight against evil becomes a lot more complicated.