ARC Review: You Were Here

Author: Cori McCarthy

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Edition: eGalley courtesy of Netgalley

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Release Date: March 1st, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

I received a copy of You Were Here from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you!

This is a contemporary novel about a girl who lost her brother a few years ago and is still coming to terms with it.  On the anniversary of his death, she always returns to his favorite haunt with his childhood friend, Mik.  This time, though, an old friend of hers, her friend's boyfriend, and another student, all end up in the same place and discover they need each other to heal from and deal with their individual problems.

The thing that drew me to this book was the fact that it was told, not just with words, but with pictures as well.  Having read Illuminae only a month ago, I was all for another book that played with the idea of multimedia storytelling.  There were a few spreads of graphic novel-esque storytelling, and a few pages of just images, but most of it was told in regular words, and that was all right.  The art was just a nice addition to the whole piece.

At the beginning of the novel I wasn't really taken by the story and was even considering giving it up.  But the main character, Jaycee, and another character, Mik, really intrigued me.  I was curious to see where their story would go, even if the other characters just didn't hit it off with me.  I am so glad I didn't give up on it, though, because after the slow start, everything was amazing!

The characters developed and were all intriguing and the plot, too, went in a direction I was not expecting.  As at the beginning, Jaycee and Mik remained the most important to me, but I did become indebted to all the character's stories by the end.  My heart was torn out, patched together, torn out again, and finally laid to rest by the end of the novel, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

My favorite thing, though, is that, central to the plot, was Urban Exploration (aka Urbex).  I love, love, love Urbex!  I don't do it myself (no one to do it with me) but I love to watch the videos on YouTube and I dream to do it someday when I have the time and company.  It was so great to see it on the pages of this novel, too, since I've never seen it in a story before.

Overall, I rather recommend this one.  I would give it five stars if not for the slow start, too.

January Wrap Up

I got a ton of reading done this month I can barely believe it!  Part of the reason I got so much done is kinda sad (my depression reared it's ugly head again, ugh) but there is the upside of the amount of pages I poured through this month- and loved!  I mean, I did have a pretty high goal for myself this month and I (pretty much) managed to reach it.  If you remember my January TBR I planned to read eight books, and I finished six of those and then one I didn't plan to get to.  The only ones I didn't manage to finish were Bentwhistle the Dragon in a Chilling Revelation, though I'm currently a few chapters in, and Sword and Verse, which I just didn't feel like reading when the preorder finally came in.

1. Red Queen

I loved this book so much!  I couldn't have imagined that I would adore it so, and I'm desperately waiting for Glass Sword at this point.  I actually find myself thinking about this book pretty regularly, which really surprises me.  It was a great way to start off the month, even though it took me two weeks to read it.

2. Illuminae

I buddy read this book with Maryam Dinzly and it was so fun to do that!  On top of that, this book was amazingly fantastic and if you haven't read it you really, really should.  It took me about a day and a half to get through completely and I both savored every second and couldn't stop racing through it.

3. The Night Parade

This was such a surprisingly good read!  It's a cute little middle grade steeped in Japanese mythology, and I really, really recommend it.  Particularly, if you know a young reader; it's the perfect story to share among many generations.

4. A Thousand Pieces of You

I have some really conflicted feelings about this book.  On one hand it was super addicting, and on the other, it wasn't that deep and the romance was weak.  I do plan to continue this series, though, and I'm excited to do so.

5. Fairest

This one took me no time at all to read and I rather enjoyed it!  It's not super important to reading the rest of the series, but I think if you're a fan you'll enjoy it.  I do recommend reading it between Cress and Winter, if you're curious.

6. Beyond the Shadows

Oh goodness this book swept me away and gave me massive book hangover!  It's the final book in the Night Angel trilogy and things only got better.  I heard that Brent Weeks said he'd be writing another trilogy set in this world, and I really, really can't wait.

7. You Were Here

I'm actually writing this post before I've finished this book, but I'm not worried about finishing it.  So far it's been a really quick read and, while it's not as angsty as I think it's trying to be, I'm really enjoying it. The art really adds a level to the story that I'm enjoying.

I also managed to read several volumes of manga, and a couple graphic novels, too.  TV-wise I haven't watched very much, and hopefully next month I'll fix that problem.  I just haven't been motivated to do much more than read, and, honestly, I'm okay with that.

What books did you read last month?  Any you absolutely loved?  Let me know!