A Guide to Falling Off the Map

By Zanni L Arnot

Reviewed by Alison McCaffrey

Vinnie has life after high school all mapped out, while her best friend Roo is just trying to get through another day working his secret job. But when all sides of her map seem to crumble at once, Vinnie decides the best thing she can do is help Roo be the best he can be – even if it’s not exactly what he wants.

Vinnie is hiding a lot – her other best friend’s crush making a move on her, disappointment on missing out as Drama Captain, but most of all, the symptoms of MS that seem to be pulling at her body like puppet strings. Roo is hiding things too – working a terrible job to help his mum pay the bills when everyone thinks he’s a photographer’s intern and taking a college course. When the sheets are pulled from both of them and everything gets turned upside-down, Vinnie decides the only solution is to take off with Roo to embrace his full potential, and leave all thoughts of her own future behind. So begins their course on another, more familiar map, revisiting places they camped together as kids, rediscovering each other, and learning some new lessons along the way. And maybe creating a whole new map of their own.

A poignant and relatable Young Adult debut for Zanni L Arnot, multi-award winning author of more than 40 books for younger readers under the name Zanni Louise, A Guide to Falling Off the Map brings together grief, self-acceptance, friendship and love, and packs them all neatly into a heartwarming and heart-stopping road trip through the Granite Belt. Genuine, tender, and with just enough laughs to stop you from crying through every chapter, this is an emotional rollercoaster through the heart of teenage dreams, desires and insecurities.

Recommended reading for anyone in high school, anyone who’s ever fought with or crushed on a good friend, and anyone who’s been a bit uncertain of where the road is actually taking them, A Guide to Falling Off the Map will have you hooked right from the start. It’s hard to put down when the answer to Vinnie’s and Roo’s swirling questions of What if? and What next? could be just on the next page.

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Lothian Children’s Books 2025

Zanni Louise