Leaving the Station

by Jake Maia Arlow Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky

Overview

Nina LaCour meets Alyson Derrick in this cross-country journey of identity, love, and friendships as Zoe tries to figure out her life, one train stop at a time.

Zoe's life has gone off the rails.

When she left Seattle to go to college in New York, she was determined to start fresh, to figure out what being a lesbian meant to her, to experiment with clothes and presentation away from home for the first time.

Instead, she lost touch with her freshman orientation friend group, skipped classes, and failed completely at being the studious premed student her parents wanted her to be.

But the biggest derailment of all? Her newly minted ex-boyfriend-and the fact that she had a boyfriend to begin with. When she met Alden, he made her feel wanted, he made her feel free. He made her feel . . . like she could be like him, which was exciting and confusing all at once.

So, Zoe decides a second fresh start is in order: She's going to take a cross-country train from New York to Seattle for fall break. There, no one will know who she is, and she can outrun her mistakes.

Or so she thinks until she meets Oakley, who's the opposite of Zoe in so many ways: effortlessly cool and hot, smart, self-assured. But as Zoe and Oakley make their way across the country, Zoe realizes that Oakley's life has also gone off the rails-and that they might just be able to help each other along before that train finally leaves the station.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A captivating romance that examines queer, religious, and personal identity.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Explores religion and faith, gender identity exploration, and what it means to fail (and to keep going), all wrapped up in a delightful journey. A beautiful example to queer readers that every new day is a new opportunity."  — Booklist

"Profound, romantic, and evocative, LEAVING THE STATION feels like talking to a friend about all of the big questions that cloud our adolescence. Reading this book will take readers on a deeply felt journey through love and identity that they’ll never forget." — Camryn Garrett NAACP nominee and author of Friday I'm In Love

"Jake Maia Arlow possesses the kind of authentic voice that most contemporary authors can only dream of. Organically balancing bold and nuanced discussions of sexuality, gender, religion, and purpose alongside hilarious beats of kooky but dimensional characters and campy hijinks, LEAVING THE STATION reads like a once-in-a-lifetime ride where the journey truly matters more than the destination.”  — Racquel Marie, award-winning author of OPHELIA AFTER ALL 

“Leaving the Station captures the messy, confusing, and perfectly natural complications of trying to find a way forward in a world that doesn’t always give you an easy track to take in this sweet romance layered with very believable complexities around gender, sexuality, and faith.” — Tanya Boteju, author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens and Messy Perfect.

"Filled with humor and heart, Leaving the Station is a delightful romance, a thoughtful exploration of self-discovery, and an honest, nuanced journey into the complexities of faith and identity, all rolled into one perfect package. Being a passenger on this whirlwind ride is a joy". — Katie Henry, critically acclaimed author of Heretics Anonymous and This Will be Funny Someday

PRAISE FOR HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART: "A tonic and a testament for the times. Warming as hot chocolate in a blizzard; a familiar favorite made fresh from scratch." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

PRAISE FOR HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART: "This dialogue-rich narrative, told from Shani’s simultaneously biting and sincere first-person perspective, expertly conveys two romantically unconfident girls’ hesitancy to act on their feelings despite boundless chemistry. May and Shani’s clever banter, coupled with their myriad relationship ups and downs, make for a cozy and sharply funny confection." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

PRAISE FOR HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART: "A hysterically funny book. Any romance fan will immediately be charmed by Shani and May's instant chemistry, but it's Shani's witty asides that set the novel apart from even the most swoon-worthy YA romcom. Arlow's latest is bound to become a holiday classic that readers will pick up whenever they need to be reminded of the magic of a snowy day." — Booklist

PRAISE FOR HOW TO EXCAVATE A HEART: "For any readers who love to read sharp banter as much as they love to swoon." — School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2025-05-30
After a disastrous start to her college career, an 18-year-old takes a cross-country train trip home for Thanksgiving.

Zoe Tauber hasn’t been going to classes, has fallen out with the fellow queer friends she made during orientation, and is unsure whether she wants to bewith her boyfriend or belike him. The long journey from New York to Seattle seems like the perfect chance to escape into anonymity, but as the train chugs along, Zoe finds herself feeling more known than ever when she meets Oakley. As Zoe, who’s Jewish, alternates between reminiscing about the past few months and embracing the joy Oakley suddenly brings to her life, she learns about Oakley’s struggles as a lesbian in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Shared revelations—that Zoe has a boyfriend and that Oakley is considering returning to the church—result in the pair’s veering away from each other just as they’re on the verge of creating the community they both long for. Brief discussions of queer issues and Zoe’s gender dysphoria make for compelling and sympathetic hooks, but they’re overshadowed by Oakley’s sanctimonious musings and by banter between the white-coded leads that comes off as far too argumentative to be endearing. The escalation of Zoe and Oakley’s relationship over the course of a few days feels rushed and unearned, undermining the book’s attempts to deliver a genuine emotional payload.

Intriguing in places but underdeveloped.(Fiction. 16-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940193722595
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/19/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

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