No Place Like Here by: Christina June
Published by:Blink
Genres:Young Adult, Contemporary
Setting: Virginia, Pennsylvania
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Pages:288
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Rating:
Life leads you to unexpected places. Love brings you home.
Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She's just spent a year at boarding school and can't wait to get home. But when Ashlyn's father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for "exhaustion," a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.
The cherry on top? Ashlyn's father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn't even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed "indoor girl," not even Ash's habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes—inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere—can help her cope.
With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad's marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.
From Christina June, author of It Started with Goodbye and Everywhere You Want to Be, comes No Place Like Here, a modern twist on Hansel and Gretel.
When Ashlyn’s father goes to prison and her mother goes to rehab for depression, her world falls apart. Ashlyn’s father decides she needs to work at a retreat for the summer with a cousin she barely knows.
This story is a companion book to ‘It Started With Goodbye’, and ‘Everywhere You Want to Be’. Although they have crossover characters, each can be read separately.
I was really excited to read, ‘No Place Like Here,’ when I found out it took place at a wilderness retreat. This is such a unique premise and setting.
It is a ‘Hansel and Gretal’ retelling, although this is very subtle. Deb as the witch definitely took a while to catch onto even with the candy and gingerbread house references. Ashlyn’s quote journal and her leaving ‘breadcrumbs’ of quotes everywhere was wonderful and something I would love to do.
I did feel sorry for Deb. In some ways, I felt she was a very misunderstood character. I also liked Ashlyn, she was very flawed and I loved that. I liked Hannah and that she was Ashlyn’s cousin. I would love to see more cousin relationships in YA.
Of course, the elephant in the room is what a big jerk Ashyln’s father was. He was so terrible to his family. He was such an unsympathetic character. Her father going to jail really seemed justified and really added to Ashlyn’s story.
The story did drag a little in the middle and I felt like there were a lot of little things going on. This did give the story a slice of life feel, though, and I enjoyed reading about the activities going on at the retreat.
I liked seeing Ashlyn grow as a person throughout the story and thought the ending was great. I loved the book and I really hope to hear more of Ashlyn’s story in Christina June’s future books. A perfect YA summer read.
Great New YA from Christina June @blinkyabooks @christinajuneYA #BlinkYA #YAlit #teenreads #YAcontemporary #HanselandGretel #modernretellings #mustread #tlcbooktours Click To Tweet
About Christina June
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter. Christina is the author of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE and EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I’d love to see more cousin stories, too. Cousins were my kids’ first friends and have been such important influences on their lives. Thanks for a great review!
Thank you.Glad you loved the review.
This sounds really great, I think my daughter would really enjoy this one. Thank you for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours
Your welcome. Awesome book!