booklover143's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting
Emotional
Fun
Makes you angry
Real problems
In a small town Skylar dreams about going to college in San Francisco but stuff happens and she has to stay. She deals with those emotions while reconnecting with Josh. Josh is an old friend who just got back from Afghanistan.
Emotional
Fun
Makes you angry
Real problems
In a small town Skylar dreams about going to college in San Francisco but stuff happens and she has to stay. She deals with those emotions while reconnecting with Josh. Josh is an old friend who just got back from Afghanistan.
hazelstaybookish's review against another edition
4.0
With the row of five stars this one received from like 99% of my GR friends who've read it, I feel kind of weird that I didn't love it that much. I really liked it and thought it was a lovely contemporary novel- very realistic and honest and the characters and writing are great- but I didn't feel a 'kapow'. Still, it was worth the read!
annag77's review against another edition
5.0
Wow! This book has just pushed its way into my heart. I was so touched, and so moved by everything. Not just by Josh's story, but by Skylar's, as well.
I know this is technically classified as a Young Adult novel, but I would dare also say that it is New Adult too. The characters experienced so much growth and change in this story. Sky and Josh were both on the verge of starting a new life and a beginning. They weren't sure which direction to go and/or what do. At times, it seemed like they were torn.
Skylar. There were a few times while reading, when I was transported back to when I was a teenager, twenty-something years ago, and had just experienced what she did. Having my mom choose someone else over me. Taking care of my mom, who had seemed to revert back to her youth. Working full time to help make ends meet. I hurt for Skylar, and it brought me some relief to know that someone else had experienced what I did and knew my pain, even if it was simply a character from a story. It just felt so real. I often wondered what would have happened to me if I had made the same choices that Skylar did.
I loved Josh. I loved reading from his point of view, even if it did make me cry. Again. (You probably wouldn't have guessed this- but I am not normally a crier. But, man, I sobbed). I was so grateful to Heather Demetrios for allowing us inside of his head and into his thoughts. He went through so much, and had so many demons. After I read the last page of I'll Meet You There, I couldn't help but wonder what he decided to do with his life, and what became of him. I can only imagine the struggles he would always battle.
I also adored the side characters- Marge, Dylan, Chris, and even Blake. They all had their quirks, but they all brought so much to the story, and spoke to me in some special way.
I would definitely recommend I'll Meet You There to anyone, no matter what genre you read. I know I want to read everything that Heather Demetrios writes now.
Annaberry Reads http://annaberryreads.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-ill-meet-you-there-by-heather.html
I know this is technically classified as a Young Adult novel, but I would dare also say that it is New Adult too. The characters experienced so much growth and change in this story. Sky and Josh were both on the verge of starting a new life and a beginning. They weren't sure which direction to go and/or what do. At times, it seemed like they were torn.
Skylar. There were a few times while reading, when I was transported back to when I was a teenager, twenty-something years ago, and had just experienced what she did. Having my mom choose someone else over me. Taking care of my mom, who had seemed to revert back to her youth. Working full time to help make ends meet. I hurt for Skylar, and it brought me some relief to know that someone else had experienced what I did and knew my pain, even if it was simply a character from a story. It just felt so real. I often wondered what would have happened to me if I had made the same choices that Skylar did.
I loved Josh. I loved reading from his point of view, even if it did make me cry. Again. (You probably wouldn't have guessed this- but I am not normally a crier. But, man, I sobbed). I was so grateful to Heather Demetrios for allowing us inside of his head and into his thoughts. He went through so much, and had so many demons. After I read the last page of I'll Meet You There, I couldn't help but wonder what he decided to do with his life, and what became of him. I can only imagine the struggles he would always battle.
I also adored the side characters- Marge, Dylan, Chris, and even Blake. They all had their quirks, but they all brought so much to the story, and spoke to me in some special way.
I would definitely recommend I'll Meet You There to anyone, no matter what genre you read. I know I want to read everything that Heather Demetrios writes now.
Annaberry Reads http://annaberryreads.blogspot.com/2015/02/review-ill-meet-you-there-by-heather.html
cassellwrites's review against another edition
5.0
Best novel Demetrios has written to date. Her characters are so real I could feel them leaping off the page and straight into my heart.
mgierosky's review against another edition
4.0
This contained so many more topics than I was expecting, and it was great to read about the realities of PTSD, depression, struggling families and challenging family dynamics. It is so much more than just a love story.
nicoleileen's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! The characters were amazing, the banter and conversation, the setting was unique, honestly all of this alone made the story the most enjoyable. I rooted for the characters. All of them. & Josh? ugh just loved him, flaws and all. Great contemporary read. Loved the writing in this one. poetic. I don't know how to even review this one. It was just lovely.
zoesnicholson's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely adored Heather Demetrios' debut [b: Something Real|15789443|Something Real|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385144446s/15789443.jpg|21510353] and was a bit ambivalent about her second book [b: Exquisite Captive|18106985|Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle, #1)|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399313472s/18106985.jpg|25427953], so I picked up I'll Meet You There, curious to see how it compared to her other two novels. And, ultimitely, while I can't say I liked it quite as much as [b: Something Real|15789443|Something Real|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1385144446s/15789443.jpg|21510353], I did like it much more than [b: Exquisite Captive|18106985|Exquisite Captive (Dark Caravan Cycle, #1)|Heather Demetrios|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399313472s/18106985.jpg|25427953]. It's a simple tale, really; but one that needs to be told and will turn your hearstrings inside out and back again.3.5 stars
In the small, isolated Californian town of Creek View, there is no way to escape the monochromy of everyday life. Every day is the same thing, over and over again. 17-year-old Skylar Evans knows there must be more to life than this, and she counts down the days until she can leave her hometown and go to college. She has one foot out the door when her mother loses her job, and she soon realizes that some dreams just aren't meant to be.
Skylar is a character that you just can't help but like. She's intelligent, artistic and determined. Sure, she has her flaws (don't we all?), but, oddly enough, those flaws are what makes you connect to her and helps her feel more realistic. Heather Demetrios crafts her in a way that there are times when you almost struggle to remember that she is, in fact, fictional.
19-year-old Josh Mitchell, on the other hand, had a different escape from Creek View: the Marines. But now he's back where he started; one leg less. The occasional chapters from Josh's point of view are absolutely heartbreaking. We witness, through his eyes, the horrors and the tragedies of the military, and it's as horrifyingly real as it is devastating.
The relationship between Josh and Skylar is slow-burning but filled with emotion. It starts slowly at first as they work together at a motel, and soon blossoms into something more as they realize that they're exactly the kind of person the other individual needs.
In the end, though, despite the wonderful characterization and romance, I couldn't strike the feeling that something was missing, but I suppose it's more of a "it's me, not you" situation than anything else. I'll Meet You There is a simplistic and powerful story, and Heather Demetrios has proven her knack for contemporary yet again.
gertak's review against another edition
5.0
OMG! I cried so much reading this, I don’t know why but for some reason this book struck a cord and the tears kept coming. Good thing I read this when everyone else was sleeping. I literally started with it yesterday and stayed up until 5 o’clock reading it. So I am still pretty tired.
This book was beautiful and I loved every single page and word. I added this to my favourites list because that is what this book is now- a favourite.
“It gave me hope: if you could make a beautiful piece of art from discarded newspapers and old matchbooks, then it meant that everything had potential. And maybe people were like collages–no matter how broken or useless we felt, we were an essential part of the whole. We mattered.”
I love how the story was focused on underprivileged teens who struggled with everything. A small town with nothing to do, everyone had a job somewhere to get extra money. I think the setting for the book was really good. It painted a really nice picture of this life which I had never thought about too much. I always pictured these nice houses and families with just enough money for everything while reading books, for some reason that has always been the way the families are in them. But I saw a side of America that I understood better.
It was sad how Sky saw discarding her dreams as the only way to keep her mom and her going. She took everything onto her shoulders and it is crushing that there are young people out there that actually do have to earn a living just to keep their family floating. She saw herself as the only way her mom would be okay and she was ready to throw all of her dreams away just to prove it.
“The moon’s not big enough to wish on. Nothing is.”
When it comes to the characters then I liked them all for the way they were imperfect and flawed. The main character was a really strong no BS kind of girl and called people out for being racist, homophobic. Josh was a really great character. He was very well written and I loved the chapters that he ”wrote” , I guess they were passages from his journal. The pain of his time in Afganistan but also his joy came across really well and made him seem that much more realistic.
“I don’t really know what it means to move on, but lately, with Sky, I’m starting to feel like I want to because when I look at her, I don’t see you or the war or any of the shit in my head. I just see her, and it’s like suddenly I can breathe again after holding my breath for so long.”
The friendship between Josh and Sky was super. So was the romance, but I still liked the friendship aspect a lot more. The way they had each other’s backs and helped the other through whatever low point they had reached. They kept each other grounded and got the hope for a better life.
“I had to tell him we were like a collage. Pieces that could be put back together in a new way, a better way. If I didn’t say it now, I never would.”
Chris and Dylan were amazing friends. Both with their own ambitions and strong personalities. Dylan was a girl who actually loved living in a trailer park with her baby. She had no regrets because she felt absolutely happy with everything she had and I feel like that was really important, to show that while there were people like Sky and Chris who wanted to get out, there were also people who had nothing to feel angry or sad about.
“Might as well,” she spit. “You know what it feels like, being friends with you guys? Do you have any idea how it sounds when you talk about how crappy this town is and how you’d rather die than end up saddled with a baby, living in a trailer park, broke as hell? Every time you say that, you’re describing my life. A life I’m actually okay with—I’m sure as hell a lot happier than either of you.”
I honestly have no idea what else I am supposed to say besides the fact that this has to be hands down the best contemporary I have read in a long time. Definitely puts a lot of old ratings for books into perspective and makes me want to change some of them. Because this is a 5 star book. It is moving and just the perfect book to give you a really nice book rush.
It is always so much easier to criticize and bring out the bad things but I don’t know what to say. This was perfection. I loved it.
This book was beautiful and I loved every single page and word. I added this to my favourites list because that is what this book is now- a favourite.
“It gave me hope: if you could make a beautiful piece of art from discarded newspapers and old matchbooks, then it meant that everything had potential. And maybe people were like collages–no matter how broken or useless we felt, we were an essential part of the whole. We mattered.”
I love how the story was focused on underprivileged teens who struggled with everything. A small town with nothing to do, everyone had a job somewhere to get extra money. I think the setting for the book was really good. It painted a really nice picture of this life which I had never thought about too much. I always pictured these nice houses and families with just enough money for everything while reading books, for some reason that has always been the way the families are in them. But I saw a side of America that I understood better.
It was sad how Sky saw discarding her dreams as the only way to keep her mom and her going. She took everything onto her shoulders and it is crushing that there are young people out there that actually do have to earn a living just to keep their family floating. She saw herself as the only way her mom would be okay and she was ready to throw all of her dreams away just to prove it.
“The moon’s not big enough to wish on. Nothing is.”
When it comes to the characters then I liked them all for the way they were imperfect and flawed. The main character was a really strong no BS kind of girl and called people out for being racist, homophobic. Josh was a really great character. He was very well written and I loved the chapters that he ”wrote” , I guess they were passages from his journal. The pain of his time in Afganistan but also his joy came across really well and made him seem that much more realistic.
“I don’t really know what it means to move on, but lately, with Sky, I’m starting to feel like I want to because when I look at her, I don’t see you or the war or any of the shit in my head. I just see her, and it’s like suddenly I can breathe again after holding my breath for so long.”
The friendship between Josh and Sky was super. So was the romance, but I still liked the friendship aspect a lot more. The way they had each other’s backs and helped the other through whatever low point they had reached. They kept each other grounded and got the hope for a better life.
“I had to tell him we were like a collage. Pieces that could be put back together in a new way, a better way. If I didn’t say it now, I never would.”
Chris and Dylan were amazing friends. Both with their own ambitions and strong personalities. Dylan was a girl who actually loved living in a trailer park with her baby. She had no regrets because she felt absolutely happy with everything she had and I feel like that was really important, to show that while there were people like Sky and Chris who wanted to get out, there were also people who had nothing to feel angry or sad about.
“Might as well,” she spit. “You know what it feels like, being friends with you guys? Do you have any idea how it sounds when you talk about how crappy this town is and how you’d rather die than end up saddled with a baby, living in a trailer park, broke as hell? Every time you say that, you’re describing my life. A life I’m actually okay with—I’m sure as hell a lot happier than either of you.”
I honestly have no idea what else I am supposed to say besides the fact that this has to be hands down the best contemporary I have read in a long time. Definitely puts a lot of old ratings for books into perspective and makes me want to change some of them. Because this is a 5 star book. It is moving and just the perfect book to give you a really nice book rush.
It is always so much easier to criticize and bring out the bad things but I don’t know what to say. This was perfection. I loved it.
blevisky's review against another edition
5.0
(first read in july/2015, reread in semptember/2016)
loved it even more the second time around
loved it even more the second time around
juliaflorence15's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my god. I LOVED this book SO much. I mean it. This book was so well written. The characters had to deal with real issues and you could really feel the isolation of the little town while reading it. I couldn't put it down, even tough it is a contemporary. I liked the characters, Josh and Skylar. They made each other better.
One of my favorites this year!
One of my favorites this year!