This was my first Jake Maia Arlow book, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I initially picked up this book because I love character driven stories and this one felt like a coming of age, introspective book and of course it takes place on a train from New York to Seattle, which being a PNW girl meant I had to pick up this book. I found the flow of the book to work pretty seamlessly. I liked being able to learn about the MC both in the moment they're in now and what led them to that moment. I also appreciated that this book was in fact messy. There were no perfect answers or endings because life just isn't that way. When it comes to identify and having to navigate labels with gender identify, religion, and having your whole life mapped out the first year of college, it's going to be overwhelming. The MC did make a lot of mistakes that others might find childish, but I truly believe as humans we need to give each other grace. All in all, I've found this to be quite a thought provoking and fun read. I loved the other characters on the train and learning their stories alongside our MC. I'm definitely intrigued to check out Arlow's other work.

I've really enjoyed Jake Maia Arlow's previous books, but for some reason, the tone of voice grated on me in this one, and I could quickly tell it wasn't going to work for me at all. The MC's inner voice and the dialogues felt so forced and stilted, and I found myself annoyed pretty quickly. Since I could tell I wasn't going to enjoy this book, I decided to dnf.

I had a terrible time with this and couldn't wait for it to be over, probably would have DNFed but persisted to review because it was an ARC. Every character was annoying and insufferable but the mc was the worst. They didn't care about anyone really and basically viewed all ppl as just NPCs in their story. The only character I liked at all was Alden because he was just being himself and didn't know what mess he had gotten into.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am always looking for cute YA books featuring college students, and this one definitely fit the bill! A cute read that felt both relatable and swoony, I would definitely recommend this to a friend!

As someone who loved How to Excavate a Heart, I had a feeling I’d enjoy Leaving the Station, and I was totally right. Jake Maia Arlow just gets how to write queer characters who feel real—messy, searching, and trying their best—even when they’re falling apart a little. Zoe’s story really hit me. Her struggle with identity, trying to figure out what being a lesbian means for her (not just some generalized idea of queerness), felt so honest and relatable. I appreciated how the book didn’t shy away from her mistakes—like the confusing ex-boyfriend situation—but instead used them as part of her growth. It’s not a perfect-coming-out story; it’s a figuring-it-out-in-pieces story, which felt way more authentic. The train trip across the country was such a great setting for self-reflection and unexpected connection. I really liked Oakley—cool, collected, and secretly struggling too. Their dynamic with Zoe had this slow-burn, soft tension that made me keep turning the pages. Watching them open up to each other as they traveled felt so natural and earned. If you’re into character-driven queer stories with road trip (or train trip!) vibes, a bit of romance, and a lot of heart, this one’s a gem. Leaving the Station reminded me that figuring out who you are doesn’t always happen on the first try—and that’s okay.

I absolutely loved this book so much! This is the second novel I’ve read from Jake Maia Arlow and felt so connected to the characters. The queer self discovery the characters go through is so so relatable. I wish I had this book when I was younger. I felt such shame being a lesbian growing up in religion and this made me feel like a part of me has been healed. The found family from the cross country train trip made this so good!! I loved the whole cast of characters.
The flashbacks to Zoe’s college experience really made you understand what she was battling and went though mentally, physically, and emotionally. I feel like this is going to be a comfort read for me going forward and I’d recommend this book to anyone. I can’t wait to read more from Jake Maia Arlow in the future.

Book comes out on August 19th, 2025.

I knew the corpse flower would blossom, but I didn't expect it to blossom like THAT.

The first part of the book was pretty introspective and slow to get into, but then it picked up just fine. Pretty sure this is the best book I've read about figuring out gender identity, though I haven't read that many. I like that it ends with thing more figured out but not all the way.

The other characters on the cross-country train trip really make this book work. There are a cast of strangers-become-friends through the four days.

The end of the trip does add a lot of tension to the relationship in a natural way. It's only four days, then you get off.

Also, props for some deep dives into the Mormon and Jewish faiths.

I got this just because it was written by Jake Maia Arlow. I'll continue to read everything she writes.

HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide was kind enough to provide me with an advanced reading copy via NetGalley for an honest review.

This was an excellent coming of age / finding yourself young adult novel that tackled some complex themes such as identity, gender exploration, finding your passions, difficult college transitions for high achieving students, religion, and so much more. Zoe is a college freshmen embarking on a 4 day train ride home over Thanksgiving break from Cornell to Seattle. She's had a rough start to college. Not only is she failing all of her classes, she's alienated the friends she made at orientation, and she, a longtime lesbian, has just broken up with her straight college boyfriend. How did this happen? The only bright spot of her short college time is the hours spent at her part-time job in the greenhouse, where she finds that she has a natural inclination for taking care of the plants there.

The train is full of wonderful characters that I came to adore. The one that stands out the most to Zoe is Oakley, a beautiful girl her same age who is struggling with her own identity as a queer person who left the Mormon church. But I also adored the side characters - Edward, the snack conductor on the train, young Aya, who Zoe and Oakley befriend, an older couple Clint and Virginia who are life long train riders, and many more memorable people.

It felt like a comfort read and I really appreciated all that Zoe went through and ultimately discovered about herself.

"Everyone here is someone, which sounds silly but feels like a revelation. They are their own worlds, with their own labels and lives and identities that I will never know and will never need to."

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the non-linear story telling that slowly unfolded the semester Zoe spent at Cornell and what led them to the train home to Seattle. I loved getting to know Zoe and Oakley. And I would die for the other train friends they made along the way.
Aya is such a special little girl. Virginia is an excellent ally to Zoe & Oakley. And I would love to get coffee from Sergeant Edward!

This book expertly shows humans' desire for connection, that Zoe can't fight, even though they started the trip wanting to be invisible.

And it just proves you can learn a helluva lot about yourself in a short amount of time. You don't need a college experience or degree to discover who you are.

Sometimes books seem so made for me that I'm astounded. How did they know that I find Mormonism and train travel so fascinating? This novel was a very quick and engaging read. I loved the religious discussion- too often I find that writers default to villianizing all faith without interrogating that instinct any further. Arlow doesn't do that here, which I admire. For that reason (and others) I think this book would be great for book clubs/reader's advisory/etc. Something I definitely look forward to recommending!

This book has a lot going for it––I'm drawn to the prose and the religious backstory––but I struggled to stay "in it" due to the slow pacing. I know so many other readers are LOVING it, so I suppose I'm just not this romance's ideal reader.

I thoroughly enjoyed being along for the ride of Leaving the Station. Even though the main characters, Zoe and Oakley, are not reflective of me I liked them and was drawn into learning about them as individuals and as they interacted with each other. The “flashbacks” to Zoe’s college days helped us see and understand how she got to “now” so they were interesting and insightful but I enjoyed the storyline as it carried out on the train ride portion of the story. I became enchanted by the makeshift community created by the coming together of a handful of varied people sharing this standard time and place. I find I am almost always drawn to those unexpected communities that are forged based on common ground. It shows that people can come together and be a positive force even if between an unlikely group such as those that met and became a friend group on the train. Further, I appreciated the slow growth of the friendship between Zoe and Oakley as they got to know each other and perhaps themselves better along the way. The pace of the interaction matched the pace of a train making its way across the country…..having days that stretch on and yet they are only a handful of days. It took on a magical quality as I went along for the ride. I would like to take other rides with our main characters as they meet new sets of fellow passengers to see where those interactions took us. Fun. I’ll be watching for other stories by Jake Maia Arlow.

Okay so that was not what I was expecting by the blurb... It was deeper and a bit depressing and really heavy in religion but it was a peek into someone's story. It wasn't the light and fluffy meet cute I was looking for but it was still a journey. The writing was really good. 4 stars because I didn't necessarily connect with the characters and ended up kinda depressed lol despite the HEA.

This book was so cute and sweet! The characters were really well fleshed out and complex for a YA book. I am very impressed by this story!

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, but I found it simply wasn't for me. There is nothing wrong with it, it's more of a matter of my personal taste!

Jake Maia Arlow is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Their books are clever, incredibly thoughtful, and so relatable. Leaving the Station was no different--I felt immediately seen in Zoe and her story with Alden and Oakley. Every character we met felt like a real person, and the train as a setting was perfectly cozy and comforting. Arlow writes Zoe and Oakley coming together and using each other as queer safe spaces is delicate and intentional, as well as incredibly powerful. Thank you HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this incredible book!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Zoe’s life has gone off the rails. She’s abandoned her friends, skipped all her classes, doesn’t know what to think about her gender identity, and somehow wound up with an ex-boyfriend despite being a lesbian. When Thanksgiving break arrives, Zoe decides to take a cross-country train home in order to give herself time to think through her messy life and put off telling her parents that she’s dropping out of college and abandoning the pre-med track they’ve always expected of her. On the train, Zoe makes unexpected friends - including Oakley, who seems to have it all but is struggling with her own issues. The two grow close - first as friends and then as something more. Will the two have their lives figured out by the time the train arrives in Seattle? Or will life be as confusing and messy as ever?

I was excited to read Leaving the Station after thoroughly enjoying Arlow’s book How to Excavate a Heart and I’m happy to report that it’s just as good - if not even better - than it. The characters feel so real, their flaws taking center stage. I related so much to Zoe as she questioned her path in life and her gender identity. I was so pleasantly surprised to read a book that tackles the concept of gender envy! Throughout the book, Zoe realizes her attraction to her ex-boyfriend Alden is really her wishing she could be like him. I also loved Oakley as a character. She’s struggling to find community and with her Mormon faith, and challenges Zoe in all the right ways. I love a complicated and flawed female character and this book delivered with Oakley.

The novel succeeds in its mission to explore gender envy, leaving the Mormon faith, and struggling with one’s path in life. The epilogue was cute but felt unnecessary and there were a scenes that were a bit too cutesy or over-the-top for me.

I recommend Leaving the Station to readers who enjoyed How to Excavate a Heart and readers who are looking for gender exploration in their YA books.

I really wanted to like this one more than I ended up. Overall the story was good, but I felt that it lacked in final execution. The relationships didn't feel fully fleshed out, and left me unsure as they didn't feel totally believable. I enjoyed Arlow's writing, I just think this needed a little more of something.

Thanks to NetGalley and Storytide for a copy of this ARC!

Feeling pretty mixed on this one.

I liked the depth packed into such a short book. Zoe and Oakley’s journeys with gender and religion were interesting, and despite not being particularly religious, I still liked the discussions about faith and identity. The train setting also worked well since I feel like it adds to the theme of ongoing discovery.

That said, a lot of the character dynamics didn’t sit right with me. Zoe’s treatment of their friends and boyfriend was brushed over too easily, and the romance with Oakley didn’t fully land for me, especially with how she overstepped at times. The side characters felt flat, and some plot moments were just odd. There are strong elements here, but the overall execution didn’t quite work for me. I’m still open to reading more from Arlow, just not this again. I would be curious to see where they grow from here.

This book feels like a warm, introspective hug wrapped in the rhythm of a train ride—a journey that’s as much about self-discovery as it is about the people we meet along the way. Zoe’s story is deeply relatable, especially for anyone who’s ever felt lost or unsure of who they are or where they’re headed. Her struggles with identity, her failed attempts at living up to expectations (both her own and others’), and her messy, imperfect decisions make her feel so real, so human. You can’t help but root for her, even when she’s running from her problems instead of facing them head-on.

The cross-country train setting is such a brilliant backdrop for Zoe’s journey. There’s something inherently romantic and freeing about train travel—the way it forces you to slow down, to sit with your thoughts, and to connect with strangers in ways you never expected. And Oakley? They’re the perfect foil to Zoe’s chaos. Their confidence and mystery draw you in, but as the layers peel back, you see they’re just as lost and searching as Zoe is. Their dynamic is electric, full of tension and tenderness, and you can’t help but hope they’ll find their way—both individually and together.

What really stands out is how the book balances heavy, emotional moments with a sense of hope and lightness. It’s about love, yes, but also about friendship, self-acceptance, and the messy, beautiful process of figuring out who you are. The writing has this quiet, lyrical quality that pulls you in, making you feel like you’re right there on the train with Zoe and Oakley, watching the world blur past the windows.

If you’ve ever felt like your life has gone off the rails (and let’s be honest, who hasn’t?), this story will resonate deeply. It’s a reminder that it’s okay to not have everything figured out, that sometimes the detours and wrong turns are exactly where you’re meant to be. By the end, you’ll feel like you’ve been on a journey too—one that leaves you a little more hopeful, a little more understanding, and maybe even a little more in love with the idea of second chances.