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jaxyway's review
5.0
LOVED. IT.
Please note: This title was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.
Let me back up -- I strongly disliked You Were Here at first. I hated the main character right off the bat what with her ridiculous death wish, and her shallow, shitty "friends". However, a New Year resolution of mine forced me to press on, and give it a chance without abandoning it around the 25% mark, and boy, am I glad I did.
I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Ryan Mikivikious (Mik) and his selective mutism (which, I should add, annoyed me greatly in the earlier chapters, and later consumed me with a hunger for this motherfucker to speak. When he did, my life felt complete.)
Also -- this was big for me -- the setting for the last quarter of the novel was my old stomping grounds: NE Ohio, specifically the abandoned Randall Park mall (which I've frequented), and the defunct amusement park, Geauga Lake, which I frequented a lot throughout my childhood, and well into adulthood. The rides they discuss, I've ridden. The nostalgia was strong with this novel.
Fans of emotional YA reads are going to gobble this one up; those that have been to Geauga Lake are going to love it.
For more on Geauga Lake, and its current state of neglect, click here (2:14 YouTube video, news broadcast from 2013)
For a drone flyover of Geauga Lake from 2014, click here (4:38 YouTube video)
Please note: This title was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.
Let me back up -- I strongly disliked You Were Here at first. I hated the main character right off the bat what with her ridiculous death wish, and her shallow, shitty "friends". However, a New Year resolution of mine forced me to press on, and give it a chance without abandoning it around the 25% mark, and boy, am I glad I did.
I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Ryan Mikivikious (Mik) and his selective mutism (which, I should add, annoyed me greatly in the earlier chapters, and later consumed me with a hunger for this motherfucker to speak. When he did, my life felt complete.)
Also -- this was big for me -- the setting for the last quarter of the novel was my old stomping grounds: NE Ohio, specifically the abandoned Randall Park mall (which I've frequented), and the defunct amusement park, Geauga Lake, which I frequented a lot throughout my childhood, and well into adulthood. The rides they discuss, I've ridden. The nostalgia was strong with this novel.
Fans of emotional YA reads are going to gobble this one up; those that have been to Geauga Lake are going to love it.
For more on Geauga Lake, and its current state of neglect, click here (2:14 YouTube video, news broadcast from 2013)
For a drone flyover of Geauga Lake from 2014, click here (4:38 YouTube video)
terrabme's review
4.0
4.5 Stars
I really love this book. I love how it can have five different points of view and yet each one remains so distinct, with a mix of prose and graphic novel and art. There is so much character development mixed with a teaspoon of humor and God there has to be a squele. Maybe about their road trip?
I really love this book. I love how it can have five different points of view and yet each one remains so distinct, with a mix of prose and graphic novel and art. There is so much character development mixed with a teaspoon of humor and God there has to be a squele. Maybe about their road trip?
melissadelongcox's review
I enjoyed this book and it definitely made me FEEL things, but at the same time, I didn't totally love it. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it was that made me not be totally in love with it, but while I liked it, it wasn't love.
btpbookclub's review
5.0
This is the perfect young adult story! Grief struck daredevil Jaycee is not coping well ever since her daredevil brother passed away. Jaycee discovers her brothers map detailing all of his unfinished dares and marks! Jaycee and four fellow classmates each with their own brand of dysfunction decide to go on an adventure and follow Jaycee’s brother’s map. What Jaycee does not expect is that her friends may just help Jaycee to reveal the parts of herself that she buried long ago with her brother.
Thanks to Netgalley I got to read this amazing well written story that shows the true life of teenagers today. I awarded this book five stars as I really enjoyed reading it and felt part of the gang, it also has a beautiful ending. The chapters are set out perfectly and clearly and I loved how each character had their own chapters and individual way to tell the story. You Were Here is an easy to read, fast paced story for you all to enjoy especially if you like young adult, romance, contemporary and adventure. Grief can be a funny old thing but let Jaycee take you on her adventure, you will not regret it! I highly recommend this is not a story I will be forgetting any time soon. Enjoy.
Thanks to Netgalley I got to read this amazing well written story that shows the true life of teenagers today. I awarded this book five stars as I really enjoyed reading it and felt part of the gang, it also has a beautiful ending. The chapters are set out perfectly and clearly and I loved how each character had their own chapters and individual way to tell the story. You Were Here is an easy to read, fast paced story for you all to enjoy especially if you like young adult, romance, contemporary and adventure. Grief can be a funny old thing but let Jaycee take you on her adventure, you will not regret it! I highly recommend this is not a story I will be forgetting any time soon. Enjoy.
ella_reads_a_little's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lyndajdickson's review
5.0
On the night of her high school graduation, Jaycee Stranglove reminisces about the death of her daredevil older brother Jake five years earlier. When she finds his diary and a map of the urban ruins he explored, she decides to follow in his footsteps. She is accompanied by Natalie, who is trying to rekindle their friendship; Natalie's loser boyfriend, Zach; the heart-broken artist, Bishop; and Jake's best friend Mik, a selective mute. We follow their adventures exploring The Ridges, an abandoned insane asylum on the edge of town; Moonville Tunnel, an ancient railway tunnel; The Gates of Hell, a disused open drainage pipe; Randall Park Mall, an abandoned shopping center; and Geauga Lake, a derelict amusement park. All Jaycee wants to do is feel connected to her dead brother. But when will she relinquish the past and start living?
You Were Here explores what happens in the two months a group of disparate friends have left before they leave for college. Relationships are made and destroyed, realities are confronted, and we are given a front-row view of the pain of growing up. The novel is told in alternating chapters by five characters who have five distinct voices: Jaycee's sardonic prose perfectly captures her teenage angst; Natalie portrays the high-achieving daughter always striving for perfection; Zach is the quintessential party-boy who's not ready to grow up; Bishop's contributions are in the form of drawings, graffiti, and street art; while Mik tells his story in graphic novel format. The wonderful illustrations by Sonia Liao add a whole new dimension to the story.
I really wanted to love this book. I was disappointed when I didn't feel much of an emotional connection to any of the characters at the beginning. However, as I got to know them, they became more and more real. And by the end ... yes, you guessed it ... I loved this book.
Warnings: coarse language, sexual references, alcohol abuse.
I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Full blog post: https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2016/03/you-were-here-by-cori-mccarthy.html
You Were Here explores what happens in the two months a group of disparate friends have left before they leave for college. Relationships are made and destroyed, realities are confronted, and we are given a front-row view of the pain of growing up. The novel is told in alternating chapters by five characters who have five distinct voices: Jaycee's sardonic prose perfectly captures her teenage angst; Natalie portrays the high-achieving daughter always striving for perfection; Zach is the quintessential party-boy who's not ready to grow up; Bishop's contributions are in the form of drawings, graffiti, and street art; while Mik tells his story in graphic novel format. The wonderful illustrations by Sonia Liao add a whole new dimension to the story.
I really wanted to love this book. I was disappointed when I didn't feel much of an emotional connection to any of the characters at the beginning. However, as I got to know them, they became more and more real. And by the end ... yes, you guessed it ... I loved this book.
Warnings: coarse language, sexual references, alcohol abuse.
I received this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Full blog post: https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2016/03/you-were-here-by-cori-mccarthy.html
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
"We are all his collateral damage."
What an amazing story. About sudden, violent loss and the struggle to move on. This is the story of a band of mismatched friends. Bishop, Zach, Natalie and Jaycee. And this side guy Mik that seems to stumble in and out of their lives randomly. Very few have talked to Jaycee since her brother died trying to execute another one of his dares. All of them have fallen into their own struggle to come to terms with love, loss and the realization that it's senior year and it's time for them to all grow up.
So when they all run into each other unexpectedly and take a trip down memory lane - but also glimpse at how broken they've all become, they decide to have one last bit of summer fun and retrace (and bring to life) Jake's last few dares. It's rough because they are all there for different reasons and the secrets and truths that bind them are also what has kept them apart.
When I first tried to crack this story, it was shortly after losing my own brother, very suddenly. And I just couldn't open this one - I could barely get through the synopsis. It's taken me months to get to this point. But now I'm so glad I did. This story was so full of hope and love but also tragedy and the grief, guilt and anger that comes with loss. It's such a true book, one that resonated so deep within me. I loved every chapter and I absolutely loved the underlying love story. It was sweet, and slow and burned so red hot. I loved the journey and am so glad I took a chance and read this.
What an amazing story. About sudden, violent loss and the struggle to move on. This is the story of a band of mismatched friends. Bishop, Zach, Natalie and Jaycee. And this side guy Mik that seems to stumble in and out of their lives randomly. Very few have talked to Jaycee since her brother died trying to execute another one of his dares. All of them have fallen into their own struggle to come to terms with love, loss and the realization that it's senior year and it's time for them to all grow up.
So when they all run into each other unexpectedly and take a trip down memory lane - but also glimpse at how broken they've all become, they decide to have one last bit of summer fun and retrace (and bring to life) Jake's last few dares. It's rough because they are all there for different reasons and the secrets and truths that bind them are also what has kept them apart.
When I first tried to crack this story, it was shortly after losing my own brother, very suddenly. And I just couldn't open this one - I could barely get through the synopsis. It's taken me months to get to this point. But now I'm so glad I did. This story was so full of hope and love but also tragedy and the grief, guilt and anger that comes with loss. It's such a true book, one that resonated so deep within me. I loved every chapter and I absolutely loved the underlying love story. It was sweet, and slow and burned so red hot. I loved the journey and am so glad I took a chance and read this.
booksandladders's review
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
I am ruined. This book has taken my heart and my feelings and stomped on them until they were beyond repair. In the best of ways though.
I never expected to get so attached to these characters so quickly. After the first two perspectives I was invested in their lives and relationships, especially between Natalie and Jaycee (AND JAYCEE AND MIK). I think the switching of perspectives combined with HOW the perspectives were told really added something to the story and to the personalities of the characters.
I liked that the grief of Jake's death affected all the characters in a different way, even Bishop who wasn't around when Jake was alive. I liked the exposition of Jaycee's different stages of grief, Natalie's panic attacks, and even Mik's selective muteness that were seen from outside their heads and inside them as well. It was wonderfully done and written.
The only thing I didn't necessarilly like was that at like 67% I felt like the story was close to being wrapped up but it took much longer than I thought. It wasn't that the other adventure spots weren't good, it just felt like it was getting to be a bit repetitive. Although the mall was the best because that is where everything came to the front, but it just felt like we were getting a lot of the same story just in different locations.
McCarthy is a great writer and an excellent storyteller though. She really had a grasp on how different people would handle different situations and that awkward time between high school and university where you need that one last huzzah with your friends but also need to start moving forward. I think this was best seen with Zach but I also liked Natalie's change throughout the novel.
I just had so much love for this book and it's hard to explain why. I just think you have to read it. Beware though: not only will it make you feel things, it will spoil the last Harry Potter book and movie if you haven't read/seen it yet. But yes, highly highly recommend this one!
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
I am ruined. This book has taken my heart and my feelings and stomped on them until they were beyond repair. In the best of ways though.
I never expected to get so attached to these characters so quickly. After the first two perspectives I was invested in their lives and relationships, especially between Natalie and Jaycee (AND JAYCEE AND MIK). I think the switching of perspectives combined with HOW the perspectives were told really added something to the story and to the personalities of the characters.
I liked that the grief of Jake's death affected all the characters in a different way, even Bishop who wasn't around when Jake was alive. I liked the exposition of Jaycee's different stages of grief, Natalie's panic attacks, and even Mik's selective muteness that were seen from outside their heads and inside them as well. It was wonderfully done and written.
The only thing I didn't necessarilly like was that at like 67% I felt like the story was close to being wrapped up but it took much longer than I thought. It wasn't that the other adventure spots weren't good, it just felt like it was getting to be a bit repetitive. Although the mall was the best because that is where everything came to the front, but it just felt like we were getting a lot of the same story just in different locations.
McCarthy is a great writer and an excellent storyteller though. She really had a grasp on how different people would handle different situations and that awkward time between high school and university where you need that one last huzzah with your friends but also need to start moving forward. I think this was best seen with Zach but I also liked Natalie's change throughout the novel.
I just had so much love for this book and it's hard to explain why. I just think you have to read it. Beware though: not only will it make you feel things, it will spoil the last Harry Potter book and movie if you haven't read/seen it yet. But yes, highly highly recommend this one!
Books and Ladders | Queen of the Bookshelves | Books Are My Fandom | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
kimching232's review
4.0
I don't know what it is about You Were Here, but it feels so unique, and not just because Mik is selectively mute and his chapters are in comic form. Oh, that's really entertaining too, by the way, and I really enjoyed it. Anyway, this book is about Jaycee's journey towards not letting the past define her, which group of friends take with her.
Oh man, in the romance aspect of this book, I get Jaycee so much. I understand how scared she is of anything with Mik and how she just doesn't know how to deal with it. And when she does, she manages to screw things up. I can relate about being totally clueless at times, and it's a pain in the butt.
More than that, however, I love how Jaycee's healing process went. She was destructive at first and wasn't able to let go of the past, and after a series of breakdowns and with the help of those around her, she finally began her healing process. I really liked that because that's how healing really is - it's usually so ugly at first, and then in the end it just happens. You just learn to accept and let go of things. I think this book really portrayed that well, and for that I commend the author.
You Were Here is also about friendships, both old and new. I love how Jaycee and Natalie didn't just automatically reconcile with one event, but throughout a series of talks because that's how it is in real life. I don't forgive people easily, and again this is another thing that the author had down-pat. As for the new friendship, I liked the bond that formed between Zach and Jaycee, and how big-brotherly he acts with her without being overbearing. I also love how Zach and Bishop talked things out, and how Nat and Mik started being there for each other.
The relationships and bonds formed throughout the book are just amazing, and honestly, that's what made me love this book so much. Aside from things being quite realistic, the author was able to pick a great storyline to portray all the amazing friendships formed and Jaycee's amazing process of letting go. I really enjoyed this book and I want to read more by this author!
Oh man, in the romance aspect of this book, I get Jaycee so much. I understand how scared she is of anything with Mik and how she just doesn't know how to deal with it. And when she does, she manages to screw things up. I can relate about being totally clueless at times, and it's a pain in the butt.
More than that, however, I love how Jaycee's healing process went. She was destructive at first and wasn't able to let go of the past, and after a series of breakdowns and with the help of those around her, she finally began her healing process. I really liked that because that's how healing really is - it's usually so ugly at first, and then in the end it just happens. You just learn to accept and let go of things. I think this book really portrayed that well, and for that I commend the author.
You Were Here is also about friendships, both old and new. I love how Jaycee and Natalie didn't just automatically reconcile with one event, but throughout a series of talks because that's how it is in real life. I don't forgive people easily, and again this is another thing that the author had down-pat. As for the new friendship, I liked the bond that formed between Zach and Jaycee, and how big-brotherly he acts with her without being overbearing. I also love how Zach and Bishop talked things out, and how Nat and Mik started being there for each other.
The relationships and bonds formed throughout the book are just amazing, and honestly, that's what made me love this book so much. Aside from things being quite realistic, the author was able to pick a great storyline to portray all the amazing friendships formed and Jaycee's amazing process of letting go. I really enjoyed this book and I want to read more by this author!
moira32123's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0