ARC Review: You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

Release Date: March 1, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Format: ebook
Pages: 400 pages
Genre: Teens/YA
Buy: Kindle | Hardcover

Synopsis: 

Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn't: live past graduation.

Jaycee is dealing with her brother's death the only way she can – by re-creating Jake's daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. She's not crazy, okay? She just doesn't have a whole lot of respect for staying alive.

Jaycee doesn't expect to have help on her insane quest to remember Jake. But she's joined by a group of unlikely friends – all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: the uptight, ex-best friend, the heartbroken poet, the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and... Mik. He doesn't talk, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

Review:

I couldn't put this book down.  I was sucked in from the first page and it just kept moving me forward.  The characters are all very realistic.  Each chapter is from a different characters point of view.  I loved Mik's chapters, since he doesn't talk they are done in cartoon which totally conveyed the emotion and what happened in the situation.  Bishop's chapters all started with a glimpse of his latest artwork which is as beautiful as it is thought provoking.  Jaycee is struggling to move beyond her brothers death and her ex-best friend Natalie is trying to come to terms with her lies and living a more authentic life.  Zach is trying to figure himself out as well, not really sure of what direction he is going to go.

As a parent of 3 kids who have all graduated from high school and had that Oh Shit moment of what comes next and how do I figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life this book speaks volumes, about death, life, that coming of age point in time right after graduation from high school, relationships, and living an authentic life.  Beautifully and painfully written its a story that will stay with me. Loved it.

Disclaimer: This title was received from the publisher through netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review