Title: You Are Here
Genre: Contemporary
Age group: Young adult
Pages: 256 (Paperback)
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: April 24, 2012
Synopsis from You Are Here's Goodreads page
Emma and her neighbor Peter are both lonely in a way that only bothers them on occasion. They both come from families they don’t quite understand. They both feel like something big is missing from their lives—and they’re both about to search for answers. When Emma makes a discovery that shakes the foundations of her identity, she convinces Peter to join her for a road trip. Each of them has something to find: For Emma, it is a grave—a grave that may be her only connection to her family. Peter is seeking something harder to define, but perhaps easier to navigate—a freedom, a sense of something more than what he has. Together, they take to the open road, engaging in a universal quest to make sense of who they are and where they come from…and learning a thing or two about love along the way.
THOUGHTS
Firstly, I want to talk about the cover. I'm honestly not a massive fan of it, because of how much I completely love Jennifer's "theme" of covers. Even though I bought this book not knowing that it came in other editions, it was a good price and the yellow spine is pretty cute.
This was the first book that I've read in months, the first book of Jennifer's that I've read in awhile, and the book I was hoping would get me out of my reading slump. Needless to say, I had some pretty high expectations for this one.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. Both of the main characters were cute and quirky, and I saw a lot of myself in them. The main female character's family is obsessed with school and knowledge, and she doesn't understand anything and can't figure out why she feels so alone and isolated. Her next door neighbour, the main male character, is the perfect son for her family, but can't find anything in common with his own father, creating a tense atmosphere and a lot of awkward family talks, especially about his "unhealthy" obsession with maps and his desire to be anywhere other than where he is.
The main characters, and all of the characters, seemed realistic to me. Jennifer has a way of creating a story that seems like it couldn't happen, but as you read it, it makes perfect sense and it feels like you're driving across the country with the characters in the story. Everyone seemed like they were real people; they all had their secrets, their problems, their own backstory that had nothing, and everything, to do with the other characters in the story.
Although I really did like this story, I felt that it was missing something. It is a very short story, only 256 pages, and I feel like something else could have been done with it.
Overall, I gave it 4/5 stars, and it definately got me out of my reading slump, and I'm ready to read again!
Overall - ★★★★☆
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