Pages: 400
Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary
Published: Feb 3rd 2015 | Henry Holt & Co
Source: Purchased
Rating:
If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.
Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.
I had so much I wanted to say for this book, so instead of including it in the "fANGIRL Remix " post, I decided to give it the review it deserves. First of all, saying I loved I'll Meet You There would truly be an understatement. It surpassed alot of my favorites that I've read in previous years, and I know it's really early to say, especially because it's only February, but I'll Meet You There will be one of my favorites, if not thee favorite book of this year . . .
Decisions, Decisions
In I'll Meet You There, we follow two of my favorite fictional characters. Seventeen year old, Skylar Evans and nineteen year old Josh Mitchell. Both are from Creek View, a small isolated town, located on the outskirts of California. Now this town literally consisted of only trailer parks, one Walmart that I believe was like an hour away, a gas station, and a motel, so yeah this setting was the epitome of country living. Skylar is a recent high school graduate, who at the end of the summer, has plans to attend school for art in San Francisco. After her mother drops the ball and loses her job, Sky is forced to do overtime at The Paradise, the local motel where she works. Throughout the entire story, you basically witness Sky struggle with two big decisions:
A.) Stay home in Creek View to help her mother get back on her feet.
or
B.) Kick up dust as she runs to a new life in a new city.
Josh's situation is slightly different from Skylar's. After enrolling in the military as a Marine, he finds himself back in their hometown. He's a wounded solider suffering from PTSD, and like Skylar, he also struggles with the decision to either stay in town, or go back into the danger zone that turned his life upside down.
So as you can tell, life wasn't just a walk in the park for these two characters, which made them my favorite aspect of the story. Skylar is the perfect example of what I want my female protagonist to be like in YA. She was such a mature and compassionate person, especially when it came to Josh's situation. From out the gate my girl was a go-getter. Given her own situation with her mom, she was basically a child trying to raise . . . an adult. Sky pretty much had all odds against her, but she remained strong. She kept her head above water, and rolled with whatever punches were thrown in her direction. To balance out her determination and strength, I really liked how Demetrios allowed her to be vulnerable. There were times where she completely broke down with emotion, but you know what, we needed that emotion, especially since it resulted in the characters being not only realistic but admirable.
In my humble opinion Josh MADE THIS BOOK! I cannot stress this enough guys. I cried soooo freaking much during his chapters because they were just so . . . raw. Okay get this, he's not only a wounded solider, but he's suffering from PTSD, AND ontop of all that, he's grieving the lost of someone close to him. His perspective was packed with pain and depression as he tried to deal with the Josh he is now. It was really weird to see people treat him a bit differently than they had before. You know with him coming home wounded, they automatically put him on this pedestal of a war hero, but he felt as if he didn't deserve that recognition, especially since he felt responsible for the death of the person he lost. It was just hard to read his point of view without crying, and I think this was because I easily related to him. Well I related to all the characters really, but I felt a stronger connection to Josh because I understood the feeling of losing someone super close to you. You know the feeling of dreaming about them, or just reminiscing about the times they were alive knowing that they'll never return is definitely a tough pill to swallow, so I UNDERSTAND YOU BAE!
I was also able to sympathize with the Marine aspect of his character. I have a handful of friends who have served, and are currently serving in the military, and it's true, most of them aren't the same people they were before enrolling. Half of my friends don't even like the sound of firecrackers anymore, or when people move suddenly around them, so I understood Skylar's position and how as a friend, she had to constantly walk on eggshells around Josh. It's really tough having a friend, who after just a couple of months, or even a year, is someone completely different from the person that YOU know . . . it definitely takes some getting used to.
Even though we don't read too much about the " before " Josh, we do receive the idea that he was this super outgoing guy which made him popular, that he had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, and that he was a little immature, going around town doing reckless shit. But I loved the " after " Josh, mainly because he was real. Given his situation he didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself like most would've, I mean there were scenes where he would cry out of frustration, or have certain thoughts, but with all these issues he was dealing with, he really pushed through and that's what I liked about him the most. I also appreciated how Demetrios pushed these tough topics to the forefront of the story. The romance wasn't just the foundation of this book. IMYT would have been just as successful even if no relationship was ever formed between these two characters, so you know what Ms.Demetrios, you've just gained a fan.
So if you guys are looking for a solid and well-written YA book, I would highly recommend I'll Meet You There. All of the characters and their situations were super relatable, and I was able to pretty much connect with most of them. The writing had such a simplicity to it, but it was still very beautiful to me. Oh and the pacing was another thing I truly enjoyed. For example, in chapter 1, Skylar and her two friends Chris and Dylan attend a welcome home party for Josh, so they were both pretty much friends before the story even kicks off. So there's no insta-like, insta-attraction, insta-love, insta-nothing yall, the pacing was spot on, and everything was smooth freaking sailing! If you do happen to pick this book up, let me know! I love to fangirl about books I love with other readers and bloggers!
I'll take a small town boy for 500 please
In my humble opinion Josh MADE THIS BOOK! I cannot stress this enough guys. I cried soooo freaking much during his chapters because they were just so . . . raw. Okay get this, he's not only a wounded solider, but he's suffering from PTSD, AND ontop of all that, he's grieving the lost of someone close to him. His perspective was packed with pain and depression as he tried to deal with the Josh he is now. It was really weird to see people treat him a bit differently than they had before. You know with him coming home wounded, they automatically put him on this pedestal of a war hero, but he felt as if he didn't deserve that recognition, especially since he felt responsible for the death of the person he lost. It was just hard to read his point of view without crying, and I think this was because I easily related to him. Well I related to all the characters really, but I felt a stronger connection to Josh because I understood the feeling of losing someone super close to you. You know the feeling of dreaming about them, or just reminiscing about the times they were alive knowing that they'll never return is definitely a tough pill to swallow, so I UNDERSTAND YOU BAE!
I was also able to sympathize with the Marine aspect of his character. I have a handful of friends who have served, and are currently serving in the military, and it's true, most of them aren't the same people they were before enrolling. Half of my friends don't even like the sound of firecrackers anymore, or when people move suddenly around them, so I understood Skylar's position and how as a friend, she had to constantly walk on eggshells around Josh. It's really tough having a friend, who after just a couple of months, or even a year, is someone completely different from the person that YOU know . . . it definitely takes some getting used to.
Even though we don't read too much about the " before " Josh, we do receive the idea that he was this super outgoing guy which made him popular, that he had a bit of a reputation with the ladies, and that he was a little immature, going around town doing reckless shit. But I loved the " after " Josh, mainly because he was real. Given his situation he didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself like most would've, I mean there were scenes where he would cry out of frustration, or have certain thoughts, but with all these issues he was dealing with, he really pushed through and that's what I liked about him the most. I also appreciated how Demetrios pushed these tough topics to the forefront of the story. The romance wasn't just the foundation of this book. IMYT would have been just as successful even if no relationship was ever formed between these two characters, so you know what Ms.Demetrios, you've just gained a fan.
I'll meet you in line while you buy this book
So if you guys are looking for a solid and well-written YA book, I would highly recommend I'll Meet You There. All of the characters and their situations were super relatable, and I was able to pretty much connect with most of them. The writing had such a simplicity to it, but it was still very beautiful to me. Oh and the pacing was another thing I truly enjoyed. For example, in chapter 1, Skylar and her two friends Chris and Dylan attend a welcome home party for Josh, so they were both pretty much friends before the story even kicks off. So there's no insta-like, insta-attraction, insta-love, insta-nothing yall, the pacing was spot on, and everything was smooth freaking sailing! If you do happen to pick this book up, let me know! I love to fangirl about books I love with other readers and bloggers!
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