The Map That Leads to You

The Map That Leads To You is sort of a coming-of-age story for new adults with romance at the center of the plot. Based on a book of the same name by J.P. Monninger, it follows a young woman on an adventure across Europe with her best friends when she crosses paths with Jack, who stirs up her entire idea of an organised and planned life. Meanwhile, Jack, older than her, is off on his own adventure following his grandfather’s post-war journal across Europe.

The newest streaming romance, The Map That Leads to You, is based on JP Monninger’s novel and feels like deja vu arriving on the heels of Netflix’s The Oxford Year. It uses the same kind of tropes - American young woman, a European excursion and a summer fling with a stranger who becomes the important part of your life. The biggest difference between the two is the direction by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström and the treatment of the feature, which feels a bit more lived in. The film’s narrative is much more optimistic and thankfully, this one has a more relatable female lead. Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline plays Heather, who, like Anna (Sofia Carson) from My Oxford Year, has a job waiting for her back in New York. Heather goes on a girls’ trip across Europe with her college besties Connie (Sofia Wylie) and Amy (Madison Thompson), when she meets a stranger named Jack (KJ Apa) from New Zealand on a train to Spain. It’s very DDLJ-esque. He becomes a part of their friends group and the usually rigid Heather finds herself following the oft-beaten path along with Jack. She finds herself opening more and more. But the summer must come to an end, and Jack is hiding a very big secret. Will their romance be able to stand the distance?