Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There

Skylar Evans, seventeen, yearns to escape Creek View by attending art school, but after her mother's job loss puts her dream at risk, a rekindled friendship with Josh, who joined the Marines to get away then lost a leg in Afghanistan, and her job at the Paradise motel lead her to appreciate her home town.

I'll meet you there

Sarah Sammis

Jen Estrella

Actual rating: 4.5/5

  “If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?” 
I opened my mouth to say San Francisco or maybe Madrid—somewhere exotic. But what came out was, “Here. Right here."

Realistic fiction is a genre that’ll always be close to my heart especially if it’s a story that deals with mental illness, physical disability, or life struggles in general. From the blurb, you’ll probably assume that this one deals exclusively on the second, but no, it does not (fortunately).

The story sounds simple enough. Skylar, who refuses to be leveled with the typical creek view girl, is on the verge of pursuing her dreams, until her mother loses her job and everything starts to go wrong. Josh, creek view playboy and hottie, goes to war and months later loses his leg. Nothing’s the same. Again, the story sounds like your simple boy meets girl and girl meets boy and both find peace in their brokenness, but that’s not what this story is about; at least, not entirely.

What I loved the most about this book is its realistic portrayal of an individual’s struggles – the aftermaths of war, the loss of a loved one, and dreams forfeited for a family gone wrong. Skylar and Josh struggle with very different things, and it is wonderful to read and experience the tediousness of it all.

It’s great that the author highlighted the complexity of having a disability – that it is not and will never be the same for anybody; that it is never true that having a physical disability is less distressing than dealing with a mental illness (or vice versa.) You’ll be surprised to know through this story that there are instances when people are bound to experience both (or at least develop the latter because of the former, if that makes any sense.)

This description brings us to Josh’s character. I loved all the characters in general, but I was really pleased at how the author had made it so easy to sympathize with Josh’s situation. It really got me thinking that if I were in the same situation, I would have felt the way, done the same thing, been truly ashamed and unaccepting of my own circumstance.


  I needed to hear her voice because everything was getting dark in me and she’s the only light I’ve found since all this shit happened. I just thought, if she would answer, if she would answer, maybe I could, I don’t know, just tell her in the right way why I was so messed up.


It was also so easy to love Skylar. She was strong, but she was also trying her hardest not to fall apart. Really, everyone in this story is struggling, but if there’s any consolation I could offer, it’s that everything turns out hopeful in the end.


  Why is it that some people in the world get to wake up in beautiful houses with fairly normal parents and enough food in the fridge while the rest of us have to get by on the scraps the universe throws at us? And we gobble them up, so grateful. What the hell are we grateful for?


There is no instalove, thank goodness, but there is the opposite – a romance that is undoubtedly sincere and well-developed. I loved Josh, and I loved Skylar, and I loved the idea of the two of them together since the first chapter. Yes, the chemistry is insane. Oh, and did I mention that it’s the kind of slow-burn romance which I love so very much? It was awesome.


  I didn’t want to go there, to those places he was describing, but I didn’t want to be where he wasn’t.



  What am I supposed to do when I’m bad for the one good thing in my life?




 I think I may have written too much, but here are some leftover thoughts. Despite my love for the characters, I thought Josh’s family got the short end of the stick. Surely, I’m not the only one who remains curious about Josh’s parents? Also, I kind of wanted Chris back in the picture as the chapters came to a close. I felt like he had the least development out of everyone else. On a totally unrelated note, he reminds me of one of Emmy’s friends from Emmy and Oliver, so I keep thinking that he’s gay when he’s not. Huh. Oh well.

All in all, that was a wonderful first read after months of staring at my stagnant book pile. I’ll Meet You There starts really emotional, continues on with struggle after struggle, and ends with so much possibility and hope. It’s the kind of book that will grip your heart and release it gently at the very end.

María Belén

I'm surprised, didn't expect much from this but it's actually a great book.
The characters are real and believable and the writing is very good, it feels like you're there watching everything unfold. 
I think this could have easily been the typical story of the girl who lives in a small town and desperately wants to leave because she deserves better and isn't like the other girls and blablabla. But this book is nothing like that. There's character development and the story is well paced. 
It's a touching, funny, lovely story. I really liked it.

Alexis 

there are a lot of thing's to say about this book, the first would be read it. I really enjoyed this book. The characters felt very real to me as the situations.i really enjoyed the main character sky, i felt in certain ways we were similar. i loved the way the author dealt with josh and his injury and being home from the marines. just go read it and you will. get it

b.andherbooks

I devoured Heather Demetrios' latest in one session. This book is really on the cusp between YA and New Adult for me, but without the high angst emotional horror ride that is usually the hallmark of New Adult. Instead this a splendid tale of a summer of growing up, healing, and discovery between two tough cookie characters that I adored. 

Skylar is recently graduated, counting the minutes before she can leave for art school in San Francisco. She has one more summer working at the quirky Paradise Motel and she is outta there. But rough circumstances for her mother (alcoholism, crappy new boyfriend, loss of her Taco Bell job) make Skylar doubt she'll ever really escape after all.

Josh is back, sans a leg, from his tour of duty in Afghanistan. He lost a lot more than his leg - many of his squad mates, his job as a Marine, and any hope he had of leaving Creek View. He returns to his job as maintenance man at the Paradise, and realizes his former coworker Skylar may be the hope he is looking for, even if she once made out with his brother.


I know, sounds pretty standard, but I cheered Skylar and Josh on at every step. This was not a story who's drama rested on lies between the characters (so often in NA) but instead focused on real word problems that a lot of teens and young adults face. Josh and Skylar are both hard working and willing to accept consequences for their actions. Their attraction to each other felt real, un-rushed (no insta-love here), and when it went through crisis it was handled amazingly. Skylar wasn't presented as an innocent angel, but instead as a real young lady who has had some experience with the physical and knows what she is and isn't looking for. 

There were also great sub-characters who felt as fleshed out as the mains.

Anyway, I loved this, and I'll recommending this to many friends.

Seeing as I devoured this book in one session and am currently up at 3am, I'd say yeah, I loved it.
Realistic, mature, and fantastic. A better review to come.

Aly Valenz

** spoiler alert **
           It took awhile to read this book … I don’t know if it was because I didn’t like it … in fact the way I rate … well I haven’t found the right way for me . I thought it was cute . But I am still completely at a loss on how I feel because I totally was leaning towards the dreaded D. N. F…

But the last 100 pages or so when they actually started their relationship was good. I wasn’t there just saying “ get together already “ cause I didn’t sense anything going in that direction though I was thinking “ wow people would be going out by now … so in a way I guess I enjoyed the realism … though I was sad it was just a end of summer love . Not saying it was fake. 

I just wish they had more time … so my thoughts are on this review .. this story is that it’s real in ways that they didn’t jump into a relationship in a way . But yet I was sad they didn’t … cause I love the relationship part of the story . 

In conclusion I thought it drowned on a lot and the story didn’t feel like it was flowing into deep into the book and by page 100 I was thinking of putting it down . But I loved them together And the last 200 pages were a lot of fun. Not sure about a reread though .

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads
.

You know that feeling when you begin a book and you connect with it immediately? When you’re certain it will remind you why you love reading as much as you do? That was I’ll Meet You There, for me. I’m fully aware that I won’t be able to say anything new about it, nor will my review do it justice, but I will try. 

I’ll Meet You There is nothing short of glorious. It was real and raw and emotional. It was funny and sweet. The characters were absolutely amazing. The writing was flawless. This is one of those books I know I won’t let go of for a very, very long time. If ever. I didn’t want to sleep or work or do anything that meant I had to sit the book down. It was heartbreaking and hopeful and full of feels. 

Skylar was a regular girl, desperate to get out of her small town. She doesn’t want to wind up like the people who have been sucked in and never gotten free. She has a plan for her life and it involves leaving Creek View as soon as she can. She’s going to go to art school and build the life she wants for herself. Then, her mother loses her job and Skylar finds herself acting more like the parent as her mom struggles with depression. Her dreams are on the line and my heart ached for her, coming so close to achieving her dreams, only to have them snatched back so suddenly. 

Josh understood the desire to leave Creek View. He enlisted in the Marines and left, only to be brought back after losing his leg in Afghanistan. Now he’s stuck. He’s dealing with not only the loss of a limb and the life changes that come with it, but all he saw and lost while he was overseas. Josh is in a bad place. He doesn’t know where he fits in any longer, or even if he wants to fit in. The friendship he’s building with Skylar is one of the only things holding him together. But, even she doesn’t know just how hurt he is. 

I loved Skylar and Josh. Their relationship is full of slow burn goodness. I was completely hooked as they moved from acquaintances to friends to something more. There were times what was happening between them broke my heart and times it made me feel so full I thought I would burst. I wasn’t sure how things would go for these two characters. There was too much uncertainty to feel confident they would pull things together and wind up acting on their feelings. And there was more than just romance at stake here. 

I’ll Meet You There was a lot of things. And there was a lot to love about it. I won’t say that it made a “statement” about war and young adults going off to it, because that makes it sound like it’s something political. But what it did was bring this issue to the forefront. Josh’s pain – both physical and mental – is palpable and raw. It’s something so many face and so few talk about. I hope this book can start some conversations that make young (and old) wounded soldiers realize they’re not alone. 

I want to shout my love for this book from the tallest building in Washington, DC. I want everyone to read it. It was beautiful and powerful. It definitely left a mark on me. I’ll Meet You There is a book I’ll continue to reread for years to come. It’ll never get old. Not with the incredible and complex characters, memorable story and the hope it inspires. I just can’t say enough about it. 

As a lady who is more than 30 years old, sometimes I feel silly reading YA books. Lately I’ve found them to be incredibly hit or miss and because of that, I don’t read as many of them as I used to. I’ve actually thought about giving them up entirely. Books like I’ll Meet You There are why I can’t stop reading them. Because no matter how many “meh” YA titles I read, I inevitably come across a book like this and realize there’s just no way I can give them up. Not when there are books like this out there just waiting to be discovered.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Nia C

4.5 Stars and an A for all the feels this novel brought about.

This was a great novel, I really connected with Skylar and Josh and the entire novel has a beautiful ring of honesty to it. I wanted Illuminae to be my first 2016 read but I was getting antsy not finishing this book - that's how captivating it is. 

It's nothing new, but I loved the way the book was written and the complexity of Josh's character. 

There was a little bit about how we Indians wiggle our heads in a funny manner that I took a small bit of offense to before I realized it was true. But yeah, there is diversity in this novel. You should read it, it's a breathtaking one.

Elad Schulman

I pretty much devoured this book when I should have been doing homework. And all in one day.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

I’ll Meet You There was exactly what I needed to read at the exact time I read it. I was in a bit of a reading slump, and I turned to a book that I KNEW would help me over the hill. I kept telling Nick (who was encouraging me to read it) that I was waiting until closer to the release date, and as I saw it nearing I knew NOW was the right time to read it. 

Skyler is counting down the days until she can leave Creek View for good. She has bigger dreams of becoming so much more. All she has to do is graduate. But what’s standing in her way? Her mother, who’s a complete mess. After losing her job at Taco Bell and feeling no incentive to better herself, Skyler is left worrying that if she leaves to pursue the life she desires, will her mother be okay without her?

Josh is home from the Marines, but he’s missing a big part of him: his leg. After a bomb went off, he lost his leg and is now learning to walk with a prosthesis. Aside from his limp, he looks basically the same… though his personality is completely different. Josh has seen some pretty horrific things happen, especially to his friends, and he’s having a difficult time dealing with the emotional side of things. Stuff like that can really change a person, and Josh is proof of that.

These two, who happen to work at the Paradise Motel together, are nothing more than coworkers when Josh arrives home from the Marines. Skyler’s BFF isn’t a big fan of Josh’s, so he tends to bash him and encourage Skyler to keep her distance. Skyler, however, sees something in Josh that others are missing. The friendship between Skyler and Josh is one of my favorites to read about. Starting off as almost strangers, learning to trust each other and even lean on each other for support through the tough times, and in the end, forming such a strong, unbreakable bond together. 

My favorite part of this story though? Honestly, the motel. This motel had a boatload of character. From its cat-pee couch in the lobby, to its unique rooms (including one with a Gilligan’s Island theme), the references to the motel were sure to put a smile on my face. And we can’t forget the not-so-favorable clientele either. ;) I can’t imagine working there myself, yet I wouldn’t be opposed to it. It would definitely keep me entertained!

This book had so much going for it. The chapters were told from Skyler’s POV, yet we got glimpses into Josh’s thoughts as well. I loved Skyler’s incredible hobby, and could almost picture the artwork for myself. Also watching Skyler’s mother go through her struggles was an addition that really impacted the story. With so many ups and downs, this story was a rollercoaster on my emotions. But one I absolutely loved. This is a book that you don’t want to miss. 


(Thanks to Henry Holt and Company for the review copy!)


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I'll Meet You There

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