Stops Along the Way - ARC Book Review

July 28, 2026

Stops Along the Way - ARC Book Review

**Thank you to Penguin Teen Canada for providing me with an e-ARC through NetGallery in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.**

✨️ Book Title: Stops Along the Way

✨️ Author: Anna Sortino

✨️ Genre: Young Adult Romance

✨️ Tropes: Road trip, coming of age, young love, disability rep, rivals to friends, friends to lovers (but in a very pg relationship way),

⭐️ Star Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars (this a good read)

🌶 Spice Level: 1 / 5 peppers (warm & fuzzy)

📅 Release Date: May 19, 2026

“Aww, like, rivals who play Rivalry. That’s the most adorable shit I’ve ever heard.”

“This is mortifying.”

Probability plays a big “roll” in Iris’s life. She doesn't trust the odds especially when she is used to competing with dice and cards in her board game club… and when there is a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting the same vision diagnosis as Amelia, her older sister. The odds are even less in Iris’s favour when she runs into her board game rival, Declan, as they both have ventured out to drive their older sibling home from college for summer break. Will this unlikely circumstance bring the two of them closer together as they caravan home to Nebraska, or will Iris’s distrust of probability and the odds ultimately pull them apart?

I have to admit, I am a bit of a sucker for nerdy vibes when it comes to the books I read but wow this was such a sweet and refreshing YA read with a cute nerdy twist. I loved how well the disability representation was woven into the storyline in a variety of ways, and the nerdy rival vibes between our FMC, Iris, and MMC, Declan, were absolutely adorable!

I really enjoyed the emotional levels to Iris throughout Stops Along the Way. With the added layer of a 1 in 4 chance of inheriting the same vision diagnosis as her older sister, readers were able to see two emotional perspectives of the situation within the same character. One perspective being that of watching her older sister change as a result of her diagnosis, and the other perspective being that of a teen who is trying to understand the reality that she might be in the same situation as her sister in the future. The author made it easy to feel all the emotions right alongside Iris - from medical to family, to school and relationships - all of which felt appropriate to the storyline as well as her age and maturity level being a teenager about to start college.

I also need to spotlight the visual disability representation and how well Anna Sortino expressed the anxiety and gravity of the diagnosis on Iris both as the younger sister watching Amelia’s life change, but also on herself with the 1 in 4 chance of being diagnosed with the same illness down the line. While I as the reader do not have any personal experience with any genetic degenerative visual impairments, Anna Sortino made it very easy for me to follow Iris’s journey, as well as understand the impacts it has on the FMC’s life in a variety of ways and empathize with her. With that said, I also think the variety of impacts a diagnosis like this, or any chronic illness and disability, has on a person’s life is something I think a lot of readers with chronic illness or disability (or readers with close family that have a chronic illness or disability), will be able to really appreciate and relate to.

While there were many positives to this read as a whole, I felt the last part of the book between the final leg/end of the road trip and the actual end of the novel was a bit disconnected. The jump between the two really took me out of the book as I had more questions than answers which confused me. However, I am also someone who loves having lots of detail to help me visualize and really follow the characters journey when reading, so this could also just be a me thing.

Overall, Stops Along the Way is a great addition to the YA genre! For those looking for a sweet and quick read, this is the perfect novel for you (especially if you’re going on a road trip of your own)!