Grade C-
Synopsis
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.
My Review
The first 3/4 of the book was so dull. Reading about people being frustrated, confused and bored is frustrating, confusing and boring. I also hated the way it was written in the way that the point of view changed so often and without warning and you never knew from who's point of view you were reading when it changed because everything is written like "You wake up to a loud noise, or You find yourself in a room full of people.". I am all for trying to pull the reader into the story and making them feel involved but when it switched from a teenage girl to a teenage boy to a ghost of a teenage boy and the characters are always refered to as "you" it gets confusing and pull me as a reader out of the story. I got so sick of thinking -What the heck, who is the story being told by now? Tthen as soon as I figured out who it was it would switch again. Other people might like this style of writing but it wasn't for me at all. The last 90 or so pages things got pretty good, the story finally started moving and things started actually happening.
I think you are supposed to feel sad for the main character in the story because her mom is always gone and she has to take care of her sister who is about 9 years old and her grandpa with Alzheimer disease. I imagine that would be so hard, but honestly nothing in the story ever conveyed hard. Her sister was very well behaved and her grandpa although forgetful was docile and cooperative. The worst thing that happened was her sister cut her finger, there was no Dr visit or stitches or anything just a cut and that was as bad as it got. At the end of the story the main character (I cannot remember her name, I just finished this book that was over 300 pages long but I guess I just didn't care about the story enough to remember) was so frustrated and overwhelmed that she had to leave a note for her mom saying she just couldn't do it anymore and she needed help. I am 100% sure it would be too hard for any teenager to handle I just wish the story would have showed more of the struggles of her life because honestly most everything went very smoothly the whole story. I found the new boyfriend in the story to be too kind, perfect, thoughtful and involved. The kid was a rich boy from a broken home with a selfish mom, I just wasn't buying the perfect boyfriend thing. Rob the dead boyfriend was one of the the best characters in the story but even he wasn't great, at least I remembered his name right. Anyways I disliked the whole book except the last 90 pages when things got okay. The message of the book was nice, get help when you need it kind of a message. My very favorite part of the story, probably the part that kept me from quitting was Aldo (the grandpa with Alzheimer's). I love that he was clear thinking when he talked to Rob (the ghost boyfriend), I loved that he was still "there" and that he knew what was going on and that his granddaughter was taking care of him. I don't know anyone personally with Alzheimer's but I imagine that this part of the book would give them hope and some comfort that even though it seemed like their loved one was lost that they were still inside somewhere and that they know and appreciate what you are doing for them. I just thought it was so sweet to see things from Aldo's perspective. I found his character to be kind and deep and just overall a lovely man.
If you liked the book Hereafter you will probably like this book as well or vice versa.
Overall Grade C-
Bad-
-Book was too long
-Nothing really emotional, exciting or scary ever happens which made it dull.
-Too many of the characters were unrealistic or hard to relate to.
-Switched characters point of view too often and was always refered to as "you"
Good-
-Aldo's character
-The take on what Alzheimer's is like for the person suffering.
-The message at the end of the book about seeking help and taking care of yourself and your loved ones.
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