Mundie Moms

Monday, November 7, 2011

Book Review: Wherever You Go by Heather Davis


Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's
To Be Released on: November 14th, 2011
Source: won a copy of the ARC
4 stars: I Liked It
Pre-Order from: Amazon

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light. -quoted from Goodreads

Wherever You Go is a heartfelt story about love, loss, healing, moving on and finding yourself. The story is told from three alternating points of views, which at times was a little confusing, but it didn't take away from my ability to connect with this story. The story begins with seventeen year old Holly, one of the main characters, who's still coping with the death of her teenage boyfriend Rob, who died a few months before then. Holly is one of those characters that my heart totally broke for. Not only does she have the demands of school on her, coping with her loss, but her single mom gives her the responsibility to deal with everything, ranging from taking care of their small apartment, to caring for her younger sister, to cooking and now caring for their Grandfather who's come to stay with them and has Alzheimer's. Her Grandfather really made the story for me. What a great character he is and I loved the way in which Heather allowed me to get to know him and get a peek inside his mind.

The other two main characters in this story are Rob, the dead boyfriend who's now a ghost, and Jason, his best friend and love interest to Holly. Rob is not your normal YA ghost. He's not hanging out around to scare Holly or Jason, or anyone for that matter. He simply has to learn to let go before he can move on. He's not only watching over Holly, but he's also trying to come to terms with the life he left behind, and in the process he's formed a unique friendship with Holly's Grandfather. This was one of the best written relationships in the story. I won't give spoilers, but I really liked how the story developed with the two of them. Jason is another character I enjoyed getting to know. I liked the way in which Jason and Holly's relationship developed. Jason is one of those all around nice guys who will do anything for those he knows. To me, it seems natural for Jason and Holly grow as close as they did.

The hardest part of the story was with Holly and her mother. I spent most of the time completely frustrated at Holly's mom for the way she treated her daughter, and all she expected her daughter to do. Holly was forced to grow up, take responsibility for someone else's actions, and be caretaker, as well as do well in school, and possibly for go going to college. As a mom, that got to me. My heart softened towards Holly's mom once I was able to see both sides of what was going on and sympathized with both of them. What made this situation the hardest to read is the fact that it's the norm for a lot of people in today's society, which is heartbreaking. Heather does a fantastic job at bringing so many realistic elements to light and she does it in a very realistic way. I liked seeing Jason's family life, Rob's family that he left behind and Holly's family. I liked how she showed so many sides to the story, and the ripple effect one person's actions have on others.

Heather Davis does a great job at bringing to light teen depression, teen suicide, Alzheimer's, love, family dynamics and high school friendships/relationships. I liked the way in which she centers her ghost story around these issues, and how she was able to blend together a variety of real life situations and elements, and tied them around a heart warming story that had a touch of paranormal activity. This is a story that at times had me feeling a variety of emotions as I read it, and it's one that I think will connect with readers on various emotional levels as well. Wherever You Go has some very mild language, and underage drinking in the story, making it a story I'd recommend to readers 14 yrs & older.

4 comments:

  1. As someone who has family members with Alzheimer's this sounds like an interesting read. Enjoyed your review

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  2. SJune- Thank you! I thought Heather did a wonderful job with all the brought to light in her story and the Grandfather with Alzheimer's was the most memorable character for me.

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  3. So glad to hear you enjoyed this one because I've been looking forward to reading it. The cover is gorgeous and the plot sounds very emotional and beautiful. Thanks for the review!

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  4. This sounds like a wonderful read, although I'm hoping the alternating POV won't get too confusing. Thanks for the great review!

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