Runaway Train by Lee Matthew Goldberg

“This book is a love letter to grunge music,” the author Lee Matthew Goldberg said himself in the acknowledgement, and it’s so true. For us who are old enough to have experienced the 1990s ourselves this book was an amazing walk down memory lane. It was also such a poignant, heartbreaking and emotional book about a troubled teen dealing with her demons, about hitting rock bottom and finding herself along an epic road trip. Ultimately, it’s a book about healing, seeing the good in people and believing in yourself.

Nico’s older sister died of a brain aneurysm one morning just before her 17th birthday, and left Nico and her parents devastated with grief. Nico also believed that she would face the same destiny and while being neglected by her parents, she spiraled down the wrong path; drinking, smoking, skipping school and acting out. Eventually, she even took her friend’s advice and ran away, going on a road trip to check off the items on her bucket list and see the house of her idol, Kurt Curtain, before she’d face death like her sister.

I struggled a bit at first to root for Nico. I felt for her and could see the strain she was under and the demons she had to deal with, but I nevertheless couldn’t really stomach the rude way she treated people who were trying to help her, or the way she threw herself at any guy that came in her way. But after a while she found her way in to my heart somehow. And she did show some amazing character growth along the way. I’m also a sucker for all the music references and the places she visited along her road trip.

This was a truly heartbreaking book at times. Nico went through so much, and there were so many ups and downs, so much pain and grief, and the real and honest way it explored mental illness, drug abuse, self-harm, parental neglect and recklessness made it very tough and sometimes upsetting to read. I had the heart in my mouth almost all the way through, so scared for what crazy thing Nico would do next or what someone might do to her. But it was also a book that had so much joy and magical experiences, like learning to surf and ticking off some of Nico’s bucket list items (trying not to spoil anything here, so keeping it very vague…) and so many people that reached out to her out of goodness. In the end, I wouldn’t call it a sad story, but rather a raw and honest coming-of-age-story that was also full of hope.

All in all, Runaway Train was a wild and wonderful ride. I had to take breaks reading it when things got too intense, but I already know that it will become one of those stories that stays with me for a long time. The writing style had such a wonderful flow and authenticity, and the concept with the chapter titles being the songs on Nico’s mixtape was brilliant in the way each song matched the mood of the chapter. I’m so happy for this lover letter to Kurt Cobain and grunge music, and believe that this book will make a new generation discover the wonderful music I grew up listening to.

Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for the ARC and blog tour invitation for this wonderful book! All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

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