Review: No Place Like Here by Christina June

NO PLACE LIKE HERE

by Christina June

Blink

Young Adult Contemporary

272 pages

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. 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,” 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.

Fans looking for clean teen fiction, with elements of drama, romance, friendship, and an unflinching look into navigating and improving even the most difficult parent-teen relationships need look no further.

 MY TIDBITS

This is the Summer read for teen girls, who love a bit of romance, drama, friendship, learning to know oneself and mending family difficulties...and all of that with tons of warmth.

Ashlyn is looking forward to spending her Senior year back at school with her best friend and family, but when she stumbles across news in the internet that her father is going to prison for tax fraud, her life flips upside down. Her father, always controlling, and her mother, under care for depression, send her to spend the summer with a cousin she doesn't even know in a nature camp. Ashlyn is not an outdoorsy type of girl. Mix that with a camp leader who is impossible, tons of outside work and a guy she might like, and it's quite the summer.

I've read Christina June's book before and have enjoyed every single one. This one was as good as the others. Ashlyn discovers herself, friendship and the true love behind family, while trying to overcome camp drama. It's a book made for teen girls in every way. The stories rolls along at a nice pace, making it hard to put the book down, but allows the needed depth to love each and every character. It's the type of book girls will cuddle up with under the blankets and get lost in.

While there is romance, it stays more on the sidelines. The story rotates around Ashlyn and her search to find herself and her life. The wonders of friendship and family are the main focus in these pages. And that makes for a satisfying read.



And here she is...

Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become—whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal—the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington, D.C., with her husband and daughter.

Connect with Christina

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Review: EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE by Christina June

EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE

by Christina June

Blink

YA Contemporary

288 pages

COMING. . .

MAY 1st, 2018!!!

From author Christina June comes Everywhere You Want to Be, a modern tale inspired by the classic Red Riding Hood.

Matilda Castillo has always done what she was told, but when she gets injured senior years, she watches her dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer slip away. So when Tilly gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the summer with a New York dance troupe, nothing can stop her from saying yes--not her mother, not her fears of the big city, and not the commitment she made to Georgetown. Tilly's mother allows her to go on two conditions: one, Tilly will regularly visit her abuela in New Jersey, and two, after the summer, she'll give up dancing and go off to college.

Armed with her red vintage sunglasses and her pros and cons lists, Tilly strikes out, determined to turn a summer job into a career. Along the way she meets new friends ... and new enemies. Tilly isn't the only one desperate to dance, and fellow troupe member Sabrina Wolfrik intends to succeed at any cost. But despite dodging sabotage and blackmail attempts from Sabrina, Tilly can't help but fall in love with the city, especially since Paolo, a handsome musician from her past, is also calling New York home for the summer.

As the weeks wind down and the competition with Sabrina heats up, Tilly's future is on the line. She must decide whether to follow her mother's path to Georgetown or leap into the unknown to pursue her own dreams.

MY TIDBITS

Taking a nod at Red Riding Hood, this tale follows a girl's decision between dancing dreams or a path her mother laid out for her.

Tilly is all set to go to Georgetown as soon as summer ends, but until then, she has the chance to dance with a temporary troupe in a show in New York. Little does her mother know she's actually already informed the college that she'll be enrolling first a year later. She's determined to use the troupe as a stepping stone into a dancing career. If she can. There aren't many spots available, she's still coming to terms with an injury and not all of her troupe members are willing to work together. In other words, there's more stumbling blocks on her journey than she could have ever expected.

Although this is a retelling of Red Riding Hood, it is a distant one. The main character is on her own in New York with plans to take a different path than her mother expects her to take. She's determined but not always sure of her decision or, at least, how it will affect those she loves. Her vulnerability makes her a character to cheer for and one that touches the heart. Her intentions are good, and she has tons of support from all sides. Not only does she meet great friends, who offer tons of wise words, but the grandmother, her abuela, is one anyone would love to call their own. There's a bit of romance too, which adds a sweet twist but never overpowers the main plot.

This is a heart and soul read, which follows Tilly on her personal journey of discovering who she is and what she wants. The author does a fantastic job at capturing a girl just leaving high school and ready to embark on what her life might be. There are some tough decisions to be made, ones with several possible solutions or outcomes. And it's exactly this which makes it flow so naturally and stay true to life.

The pacing holds steady the whole way through as Tilly turns from one situation to the next and tries to work her way through. It's not an action read but a deep exploration of decisions, possibilities and learning to remain true to oneself. Drama is key in this book, the kind which makes the reader sigh, cheer or even grab a cookie and snack along the way. It's perfect for readers who love to dive into a character, feel her emotions and be enveloped with a caring warmth with the end of the last page.


All about. . .

Christina June is a debut author who writes young adult contemporary fiction when she's not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a high 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. Christina lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and the world's most rambunctious four-year-old. Visit www.christinajune.com to learn more about Christina. Follow her on Twitter: @ChristinaJuneYA and on Instagram: christinajuneya.

Review: It Started With Goodbye by Christina June

IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE

by Christina June

Blink

YA Romance

272 pages

COMING. . .

MAY 2017!!!

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.

A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June’s IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE shows us that sometimes going after what you want means breaking the rules.

 MY TIDBITS

This is a sweet coming of age story with characters you want to hug and never let go of again.

Tatum is a sixteen-year-old girl, who thanks to her strong sense of loyalty and desire to watch over her friends, gets herself wrapped up in a criminally sticky situation. Now, she has to pay the consequences no matter how unfair they might seem. Life as she knew it ends when her stepmother places her under summer long house arrest. 

According to the blurb, this is a Cinderella retelling of sorts, and although there are perhaps a couple of similarities between the two, they are far and few between. In other words, if it really can be considered a play on the fairy tale, it is a very light one.

That said, the book is wonderfully sweet and well done. Tatum is a normal teenager in every way and could be the girl next door. Her problems are very realistic--friends, parents, being misunderstood. It's something readers of the intended audience will relate to without any problem. Nothing goes smoothly in Tatum's life, but then she does have a slightly rebellious side. Her decisions aren't always the best ones, but coming of age and learning to prove yourself isn't an easy process.

The story line is one full of feelings and emotions, nothing over the top but just enough to grab and not let go. It's all familiar, which makes it that much more engaging. This isn't a 'packed full of adventure' kind of book, but the pace still keeps up nicely, and it's easy to get lost in the pages. There's a perfect amount of descriptions, bringing the world and characters to life. It's not dull. . .and I'm saying that as an action fan who steers clear of heart-filled novels. . .but simply grabs with a wonderfully, warming story.

There's a little romance, a light sort of thing which glides as gently as snowflakes. There's tons of friendship--new ones, old ones and ones which are in need of repair. There's family, forgiveness, learning to give, understanding and tons of other messages all rolled into a lovely, woven flow. It's the type of book to be read and thought of long after the last page is done.