Review: Wherever You Go

Title: Wherever You Go

Author: Heather Davis

Series: None

Release Date: November 14^th, 2011

Number of Pages: 320

Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Book

Source: NetGalley

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 Go is 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.

Wow. I have to say I was nicely surprised by this book. Why was I surprised? Well, at first, there were a couple of thing that really bugged me, but I quickly forgot about them once I got into the story. It is a beautiful and emotional story that will probably get you after a couple of chapters.

Now, I just said that there were a couple of things that annoyed me, and you probably wonder what it is. One of the thing that I didn’t really like is the way the narration is made. We have three type of narration: the first person (“I”-Holly) the second person (“you” –Rob) and the third person narration (“He” Jason). It may have made it easier to know who was talking, but it took me a while to get over all those pronouns. I don’t really like when you are the narrator. I can’t explain why, but it always takes me out of the story.

Once I got over that, the characters and their story really captivated me. This book is about love, grief, and depression. I always find it hard to criticize the story and the characters when it comes to a story that emotional, especially when I really get into the story. Why? I simply think that if the emotions and the message is well written, the rest won’t matter as much. If I stopped while reading the book to really analyse the characters, the story or the plot, maybe I would find some things that would have bothered me. Right now, I don’t think they matter, because Heather Davis did her job beautifully when it came down to making us feel.

A beautiful soty that makes you realized that everything may not be as it seems. If you like emotional books, this one is for you.