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jbrooxd's review
4.0
4.5 stars. I loved this. Anna is a great protagonist. And her story - of her mother's suicide attempt, her father's remarriage and instant baby with a much younger woman, abandonment by her best friend, etc. - is big. There's a lot weighing on her and I loved watching her work through it.
The downside for me is that Anna is 13 in this book. And she processes well for a 13 year old. But for a YA book, she feels young. In fact, I thought this was middle grade until I came across some swearing and Anna overhears her dad and step-mom having sex - things you don't usually find in middle grade. The weight of the topics addressed, and these little moments that play better for teenagers are in conflict for me with Anna's age when I think about who I would recommend this to. We have some great stories being told for the middle school crowd these days - older middle grade, 10-14 or so - where this might be a good fit if the reader is comfortable with some language, etc. as well as the mature situations Anna deals with with her mother.
Match this with the right reader and it will be a hit because the story is terrific and Anna is a great character to spend time with! Fantastic work here with Anna's mom's mental illness (Bipolar 2) - the descriptions are spot on. This will be a great addition to any collection of books dealing with mental health and mental illness. (Language, a couple sexual references, mental illness/mental health topics - TW: Suicide)
The downside for me is that Anna is 13 in this book. And she processes well for a 13 year old. But for a YA book, she feels young. In fact, I thought this was middle grade until I came across some swearing and Anna overhears her dad and step-mom having sex - things you don't usually find in middle grade. The weight of the topics addressed, and these little moments that play better for teenagers are in conflict for me with Anna's age when I think about who I would recommend this to. We have some great stories being told for the middle school crowd these days - older middle grade, 10-14 or so - where this might be a good fit if the reader is comfortable with some language, etc. as well as the mature situations Anna deals with with her mother.
Match this with the right reader and it will be a hit because the story is terrific and Anna is a great character to spend time with! Fantastic work here with Anna's mom's mental illness (Bipolar 2) - the descriptions are spot on. This will be a great addition to any collection of books dealing with mental health and mental illness. (Language, a couple sexual references, mental illness/mental health topics - TW: Suicide)
tbhbrooke's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kaliishacole's review
3.0
This book was a short read, very good book for anyone who loves to read about family struggles and how to overcome that. I saw this in my public library and was like "ooh, I'll take a look at this." It was alright nothing too shocking and amazing, but it wasn't bad.
teenlibrarian's review
4.0
This was a good realistic fiction book for teens in grades 7-8.
I have enjoyed Natasha Friend’s other titles and I appreciated this one as well. We meet the main character a day or so after her mother, a school counselor and recently divorced, almost overdosed on pills.
Character’s perspective at the beginning:
Now life sucks. forced to stay with her dad’s house: where his newborn baby keeps crying all night and with Marnie his 23year old second wife. Mom’s at the hospital. Dani, ex best friend and newly popular cheerleader has left the friendship behind.
This books deals with having a parent with mental illness (what turns out to be bipolar 2), the loneliness and shame family can feel when it is not shared and there is no support group or friends to help deal. Eventually the main character finds her place, finds a new friend group, makes peace with her dad’s new life and family with her as a member, and begins a new chance for her mother.
It was a lot to tackle in a fairy short book.time line is about 6 weeks, which seems a little unrealistic for resolutions and character development that happened by Thanksgiving, to give that ending.
I have enjoyed Natasha Friend’s other titles and I appreciated this one as well. We meet the main character a day or so after her mother, a school counselor and recently divorced, almost overdosed on pills.
Character’s perspective at the beginning:
Now life sucks. forced to stay with her dad’s house: where his newborn baby keeps crying all night and with Marnie his 23year old second wife. Mom’s at the hospital. Dani, ex best friend and newly popular cheerleader has left the friendship behind.
This books deals with having a parent with mental illness (what turns out to be bipolar 2), the loneliness and shame family can feel when it is not shared and there is no support group or friends to help deal. Eventually the main character finds her place, finds a new friend group, makes peace with her dad’s new life and family with her as a member, and begins a new chance for her mother.
It was a lot to tackle in a fairy short book.time line is about 6 weeks, which seems a little unrealistic for resolutions and character development that happened by Thanksgiving, to give that ending.
amber_yaindulgences's review
5.0
Review first appeared on YA Indulgences on March 13. To read my final thoughts, go to:
https://yaindulgences.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/review-where-youll-find-me-by-natalie-friend/
I am such a fan of stories that revolve around friendship and family at the forefront. Where You’ll Find Me was exactly that. It was a refreshing change from reading stories that dealt with romance in some form. That’s not to say I’m not a fan of romance in books, but it’s always nice to read such a fulfilling friendship and family dynamic book. I loved seeing Anna’s relationships change throughout Where You’ll Find Me.
To say Anna’s dealing with a lot is a complete understatement. She’s left motherless (in a way), friendless and even family-less having to live with a father she doesn’t really know and his new family.
Anna was such a strong character and despite dealing with her mother’s mental illness, which matured her, she always acts her age. Anna grew up fast given her mother’s condition and her dad always being gone prior to the book’s beginning. Sometimes, in novels, characters will act older than they are because of their experiences. This isn’t bad, but I did like that Anna seemed like a regular thirteen year old girl who didn’t randomly drop philosophical thoughts. I really felt for Anna because she would blame herself for not noticing her mother spiraling down. Anna’s feelings were really varied, she was angry, sad, upset, scared, feeling guilty and of course, worried.
After Anna’s mother attempts suicide, Anna keeps the knowledge from people like her new friends she makes. I liked seeing Anna keep her family’s situation to herself and try to cope with it alone. This is so understandable because you never know how people will react. It was sad to see her think about her old friendship with Dani. Losing friends is always hard, especially when they’re the ones to leave.
The people Anna least expected to become friends with end up being the ones that accept her and welcome her. It was great to see so many interactions between Anna and her friends. She became closest friends with Sarabeth and Shawna. Both of them had interesting quirks and problems in their own lives. Sarabeth did irish clog dancing and Shawna has her own problem, which was trichotillomania (plucking hair). I was surprised to see trichotillomania in this novel since it’s not very well known. I liked how it helped Anna sort of “bond” with Shawna. Between Sarabeth’s silliness and Shawn’s sarcasm, I grew to really appreciate these girls in Anna’s life.
I liked that not only could I relate to Anna, but I could also relate to Marnie and Anna’s father. Marnie is my age and practically freshly out of college. Her wanting to go back to college made me nostalgic for my own college experience. I liked how she still wasn’t quite sure about where she was in life. I initially had reservations about Marnie because she was so young and married to someone so much older than her. Anna also had reservations about Marnie which was understandable. In the end, that didn’t matter to me. Marnie genuinely cared for Anna’s father as well as Anna.
I could unexpectedly relate to Anna’s father because he couldn’t deal with Anna’s mother mental illness. While cold, it seemed very true to life because not everyone can deal with such a serious thing. This dug a bigger ridge between his relationship with Anna which gradually changed.
I really liked how in addition to friends, Anna also had adults she could go to. There was Regina, her mother’s best friend, the school counselor and the English teacher who all reached out to her. It was nice to see that Anna wasn’t alone when she was going through this, even though it seemed that way to her.
As for Anna’s mother, she was an interesting character as well. In the beginning, she’s just diagnosed with depression but is later diagnosed with something else. I thought the portrayal of this mental illness was really well done. It was realistic to see how differently her mother would act and Anna never knowing how her mother would be.
I loved that despite Anna’s mother having a mental illness, her and Anna got along well a lot of the time, before the suicide attempt. Having a parent attempt suicide is an unbelievably hard thing to go through, due to this Anna is more reserved with her mother, which isn’t a surprise. Anna’s mother was constantly at the forefront of Anna’s mind. So much that Anna couldn’t sleep, would wake up from nightmares and have to leave class. The effects were so well done, relatable and intense in how ‘deep she would get in with the worrying. My heart broke over her not being able to get a break from worrying.
https://yaindulgences.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/review-where-youll-find-me-by-natalie-friend/
I am such a fan of stories that revolve around friendship and family at the forefront. Where You’ll Find Me was exactly that. It was a refreshing change from reading stories that dealt with romance in some form. That’s not to say I’m not a fan of romance in books, but it’s always nice to read such a fulfilling friendship and family dynamic book. I loved seeing Anna’s relationships change throughout Where You’ll Find Me.
To say Anna’s dealing with a lot is a complete understatement. She’s left motherless (in a way), friendless and even family-less having to live with a father she doesn’t really know and his new family.
Anna was such a strong character and despite dealing with her mother’s mental illness, which matured her, she always acts her age. Anna grew up fast given her mother’s condition and her dad always being gone prior to the book’s beginning. Sometimes, in novels, characters will act older than they are because of their experiences. This isn’t bad, but I did like that Anna seemed like a regular thirteen year old girl who didn’t randomly drop philosophical thoughts. I really felt for Anna because she would blame herself for not noticing her mother spiraling down. Anna’s feelings were really varied, she was angry, sad, upset, scared, feeling guilty and of course, worried.
After Anna’s mother attempts suicide, Anna keeps the knowledge from people like her new friends she makes. I liked seeing Anna keep her family’s situation to herself and try to cope with it alone. This is so understandable because you never know how people will react. It was sad to see her think about her old friendship with Dani. Losing friends is always hard, especially when they’re the ones to leave.
The people Anna least expected to become friends with end up being the ones that accept her and welcome her. It was great to see so many interactions between Anna and her friends. She became closest friends with Sarabeth and Shawna. Both of them had interesting quirks and problems in their own lives. Sarabeth did irish clog dancing and Shawna has her own problem, which was trichotillomania (plucking hair). I was surprised to see trichotillomania in this novel since it’s not very well known. I liked how it helped Anna sort of “bond” with Shawna. Between Sarabeth’s silliness and Shawn’s sarcasm, I grew to really appreciate these girls in Anna’s life.
I liked that not only could I relate to Anna, but I could also relate to Marnie and Anna’s father. Marnie is my age and practically freshly out of college. Her wanting to go back to college made me nostalgic for my own college experience. I liked how she still wasn’t quite sure about where she was in life. I initially had reservations about Marnie because she was so young and married to someone so much older than her. Anna also had reservations about Marnie which was understandable. In the end, that didn’t matter to me. Marnie genuinely cared for Anna’s father as well as Anna.
I could unexpectedly relate to Anna’s father because he couldn’t deal with Anna’s mother mental illness. While cold, it seemed very true to life because not everyone can deal with such a serious thing. This dug a bigger ridge between his relationship with Anna which gradually changed.
I really liked how in addition to friends, Anna also had adults she could go to. There was Regina, her mother’s best friend, the school counselor and the English teacher who all reached out to her. It was nice to see that Anna wasn’t alone when she was going through this, even though it seemed that way to her.
As for Anna’s mother, she was an interesting character as well. In the beginning, she’s just diagnosed with depression but is later diagnosed with something else. I thought the portrayal of this mental illness was really well done. It was realistic to see how differently her mother would act and Anna never knowing how her mother would be.
I loved that despite Anna’s mother having a mental illness, her and Anna got along well a lot of the time, before the suicide attempt. Having a parent attempt suicide is an unbelievably hard thing to go through, due to this Anna is more reserved with her mother, which isn’t a surprise. Anna’s mother was constantly at the forefront of Anna’s mind. So much that Anna couldn’t sleep, would wake up from nightmares and have to leave class. The effects were so well done, relatable and intense in how ‘deep she would get in with the worrying. My heart broke over her not being able to get a break from worrying.
shay23's review against another edition
4.0
To be honest, I've never read a lot of middle-grade contemporary. When it comes to contemporary I usually stay in the YA age range so I wasn't really sure what to expect of this one but I ended up really enjoying it!
Anna's thirteen, just starting eighth grade and her life is kind of falling apart. As girls will do, Anna's best friend decided they should spend this year hanging out with new people. On top of that, Anna's mom hasn't been right since long before her dad left her for a younger woman and now she's in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt. Leaving Anna to live with her dad, stepmom, and new baby sister. Things aren't looking very hopeful to Anna and she's just waiting for everything to go back to normal. Unfourtantly for her, it's not that simple.
The author did such an amazing job with this book. Handling the issue of suicide along with so much else for a young audience in such a great way. It was never glossed over, while it was very much seen from a 13-year-olds perspective; where Anna didn't really understand it fully, how messed up her mom was and how much work it was going to take her to be better again.
There was so much I loved about this book, first and foremost being the girl power feel to it all. It takes Anna a little while to make new friends after being abandoned by her lifelong best friend. But when she does, it's with a bunch of amazing misfits who Anna judged at one point but quickly came to realize they were fine with who they were and having more fun than everyone else in the eighth grade combined. I loved the friendships between the girls, I loved when they signed up for a talent show together. It just gave off this amazing girl power feeling that I'm so happy to see in a middle-grade book.
Besides that, I was really happy with how Anna's relationship developed with her stepmom. Anna starts out hating her and her dad and blaming them for everything like any normal teenage girl. But there was some amazing development and some of my favorite parts were seeing her and her stepmom start to get close. They have a girls weekend away and everything. Again with the girl power!
The writing was great and fast paced. The whole story kind of reminded me of a Mary Amato book, she's one of my favorite authors who writes kind of lower YA contemporary and so that's a big plus in my mind. The downside came for me where the book felt a little bare-boned...it was more dialogue than anything and I would've liked a little more plot and story. Having said that, it is middle grade, not YA, so it didn't ruin the book for me or anything. Plus, isn't it always a good thing to walk away from a book wanting more?
I highly recommend this, especially to younger readers. This is something I definitely would've completely loved when I was 13. I loved it now when I'm almost 20!
Anna's thirteen, just starting eighth grade and her life is kind of falling apart. As girls will do, Anna's best friend decided they should spend this year hanging out with new people. On top of that, Anna's mom hasn't been right since long before her dad left her for a younger woman and now she's in the hospital recovering from a suicide attempt. Leaving Anna to live with her dad, stepmom, and new baby sister. Things aren't looking very hopeful to Anna and she's just waiting for everything to go back to normal. Unfourtantly for her, it's not that simple.
The author did such an amazing job with this book. Handling the issue of suicide along with so much else for a young audience in such a great way. It was never glossed over, while it was very much seen from a 13-year-olds perspective; where Anna didn't really understand it fully, how messed up her mom was and how much work it was going to take her to be better again.
There was so much I loved about this book, first and foremost being the girl power feel to it all. It takes Anna a little while to make new friends after being abandoned by her lifelong best friend. But when she does, it's with a bunch of amazing misfits who Anna judged at one point but quickly came to realize they were fine with who they were and having more fun than everyone else in the eighth grade combined. I loved the friendships between the girls, I loved when they signed up for a talent show together. It just gave off this amazing girl power feeling that I'm so happy to see in a middle-grade book.
Besides that, I was really happy with how Anna's relationship developed with her stepmom. Anna starts out hating her and her dad and blaming them for everything like any normal teenage girl. But there was some amazing development and some of my favorite parts were seeing her and her stepmom start to get close. They have a girls weekend away and everything. Again with the girl power!
The writing was great and fast paced. The whole story kind of reminded me of a Mary Amato book, she's one of my favorite authors who writes kind of lower YA contemporary and so that's a big plus in my mind. The downside came for me where the book felt a little bare-boned...it was more dialogue than anything and I would've liked a little more plot and story. Having said that, it is middle grade, not YA, so it didn't ruin the book for me or anything. Plus, isn't it always a good thing to walk away from a book wanting more?
I highly recommend this, especially to younger readers. This is something I definitely would've completely loved when I was 13. I loved it now when I'm almost 20!
victoriajaynes's review against another edition
4.0
Don't ever say you're too old to read middle grade books - this was adorable, and great no matter what age you are when you're reading it.
Anna was so relatable, even though she was going things that I've never experienced. Her mum has tried to kill herself, so she's stuck with her dad and step mum. As you'd expect, she hates it. Oh, and on top of that, her best friend has ditched her to become one of the 'cool kids'. Haven't we all been through that? Maybe not those exact circumstances, but everyone has fallen out with their friend over something, and been stuck with no one, or at least one person less. We got inside Anna's head, and it broke my heart. This girl had nothing going for her, and she was really struggling trying to cope with it all. The book was told with that honesty only a middle grade girl can have, and it had me nearly in tears countless times. She didn't dodge around subjects, discussing everything that needed to be discussed. It was sad, like I said, but it needed to be.
The one flaw was that it was a bit predictable. She thought the people she was forced to hang out with were losers, and hated her family. Hmm, I wonder where that's going? I've read a hundred books like that, where we get taken through the journey of someone trying to accept and love themselves, and other people. But I guess it's popular for a reason. It does work! Especially with the book being from Anna's point of view, we got to learn to love the other characters at the same time as her. I did hate Dani while Anna was still trying to cling to their friendship, but how can you not? By writing it like this, it made the supporting cast really lovable. They were all screwed up, but that's what made them close. It was so good for Anna to have people to turn to when she so needed to.
Despite the main point of this book being that Anna's mother has tried to kill herself, it didn't focus on that as much as I expected it to. Instead, it was more about Anna. As terrible as it sounds, I think it was really good for her to get away from her mum. Her mum was always a little crazy, and Anna being away from that crazy made her more normal. With being normal, she got to be happy as well, which she so deserved.
There's not too much more I can say on this book without spoiling it for you. But go and read it! Yes, it's predictable, but sometimes we all need that in our lives, right?
Anna was so relatable, even though she was going things that I've never experienced. Her mum has tried to kill herself, so she's stuck with her dad and step mum. As you'd expect, she hates it. Oh, and on top of that, her best friend has ditched her to become one of the 'cool kids'. Haven't we all been through that? Maybe not those exact circumstances, but everyone has fallen out with their friend over something, and been stuck with no one, or at least one person less. We got inside Anna's head, and it broke my heart. This girl had nothing going for her, and she was really struggling trying to cope with it all. The book was told with that honesty only a middle grade girl can have, and it had me nearly in tears countless times. She didn't dodge around subjects, discussing everything that needed to be discussed. It was sad, like I said, but it needed to be.
The one flaw was that it was a bit predictable. She thought the people she was forced to hang out with were losers, and hated her family. Hmm, I wonder where that's going? I've read a hundred books like that, where we get taken through the journey of someone trying to accept and love themselves, and other people. But I guess it's popular for a reason. It does work! Especially with the book being from Anna's point of view, we got to learn to love the other characters at the same time as her. I did hate Dani while Anna was still trying to cling to their friendship, but how can you not? By writing it like this, it made the supporting cast really lovable. They were all screwed up, but that's what made them close. It was so good for Anna to have people to turn to when she so needed to.
Despite the main point of this book being that Anna's mother has tried to kill herself, it didn't focus on that as much as I expected it to. Instead, it was more about Anna. As terrible as it sounds, I think it was really good for her to get away from her mum. Her mum was always a little crazy, and Anna being away from that crazy made her more normal. With being normal, she got to be happy as well, which she so deserved.
There's not too much more I can say on this book without spoiling it for you. But go and read it! Yes, it's predictable, but sometimes we all need that in our lives, right?
yoongoongi's review against another edition
4.0
This was good. The writing style reminded me a lot of Judy Blume and Laurie Halse Anderson. This was a sweet little contemporary that went a lot deeper than the cover would have you believe. I can really see this book being a big comfort to a kid who is dealing with a parent who has bipolar or depression. I would recommend this if you're looking for a short contemporary with some substance.
emilyjmead's review against another edition
If I was rating this for myself I'd rate it 3 stars, but I feel like I'm not the target bracket so I'm not going to rate it.
AND THIS HAS SO MANY POSITIVE THINGS. I looooove love love that it's an MG about mental illness - not the MC, but her mother, who has Bipolar II. It shows that it's not the kid's job to take care of their parents.
Honestly, reading a lot of contemporary YA I see a lot of TERRIBLE parents who should barely be considered adults, and this was so refreshing.
Also, positive step-mother rep (once Anna gets over herself a little bit).
And female friendship + a capella singing.
Totally recommend for a sweet MG book with some really great mental illness rep.
AND THIS HAS SO MANY POSITIVE THINGS. I looooove love love that it's an MG about mental illness - not the MC, but her mother, who has Bipolar II. It shows that it's not the kid's job to take care of their parents.
Honestly, reading a lot of contemporary YA I see a lot of TERRIBLE parents who should barely be considered adults, and this was so refreshing.
Also, positive step-mother rep (once Anna gets over herself a little bit).
And female friendship + a capella singing.
Totally recommend for a sweet MG book with some really great mental illness rep.