Want an “at a glance” look at what I thought? Check out my Review On A Post-It or my “Final Thought”
Skylar has been planning her way out of her small town and the future that would await her if she stayed. She’s gotten into art school and has been working her minimum wage job as summer starts to ensure she gets there — until her mother loses her job and starts slipping back into some bad habits making her wonder if she’ll ever be able to leave her and head off to art school at all. At the beginning of her summer she’s reunited with Josh, a boy she used to work with who is back from Afghanistan after his leg gets blown off, and she encounters a different Josh than the one who has left and they find an unexpected friendship despite their differences.
I WANT TO TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS BOOK!!!
Here’s the thing, my little bookworms. When I like books, I have a varying degree of liking them. I can really like them and I can really love them but it is RARE that I add a new book to my favorites. I’ll Meet You There? When I finished it in November, I felt like it shook me to the core like that of a colossal earthquake to the heart — just rearranging and shifting my heart in the way a truly powerful book will. And as I sit here putting the final touches on this review in January, I feel like I’m still feeling the emotional aftershocks of I’ll Meet You There. I’m making room for this book on my FAVORITES shelf. (I feel like there should be a ceremony for this because I REALLY don’t do this often — no matter how many books I can REALLY love).
So let’s get down to it:
1. The whole book reading experience is what I hope for when I start a book: It was just that perfect storm of a great plot, dynamic & flawed characters (even the secondaries!!) whose pulses I could practically feel as I held the pages, an intense emotional connection, writing that makes me dog-ear a lot and this immediate “I need to read this book again real soon.” I’ll Meet You There just had it all. It’s as simple as that. Everything that I need to make a favorite book was in this. That formula might be different for everyone but I truly believe this is going to be a winner for a lot of people because it objectively has the makings of a great book. Everything Heather Demetrios DID she did it SO WELL.
2. I loved the diversity of the characters: I really loved that Skylar and Josh were just a different POV from what I typically read. Socioeconomically they come from a really poor background which is rare in the YA I’ve encountered. The town feels bleak and dead end and I believed it and their struggles just seemed so real. Before I moved in middle school I grew up in a town sort of like that and Heather just NAILED what it felt like in all its complexities from the charm of it to also the things that make you want to GET OUT. In addition to that, Josh lost his leg in Afghanistan and is now an amputee. Obviously I don’t know what it REALLY is like, so take what I say from that perspective, but it really did feel like Heather Demetrios went to great lengths to write Josh’s perspective with care. I felt his struggles and his insecurities as he gets used to not having his leg as well as PTSD.
3. THEIR ROMANCE: You know those slow-burn romances that builds the tension to the point your heart is just pounding and you are like just all “OMG YOU GUYS KISS ALREADY”….that was this experience. It was the perfectly unraveled relationship that I couldn’t get enough of! AND IT WAS SEXY.
4. EVERYTHING?: I just loved everything okay?? There is not one thing I didn’t love. I loved the setting (especially the quirky motel where they work), I loved their individual storylines. I loved the quotes I dog-eared. I loved how it made me feel and what it made me think about. I loved the dual POVs. I loved how Demetrios portrayed Josh’s PTSD and how raw it felt. I loved how that made me want to help all the veterans in the whole wide world. I loved how it destroyed me in the best possible way but then had me soaring with hope. SO MUCH HOPE. AND LOVE. And God, I just love everything. EVEN THE AUTHOR’S NOTE/ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ARE MOVING!!
+ EVERYTHING. The whole package. I don’t hand out “favorite book” ratings often so it’s EVERYTHING.
– NOTHING. It’s perfection.
Re-readability: OH YOU BET.
Would I buy a copy for my collection? OH YES I AM!!
EVERYONE! Especially contemporary YA lovers!
I’ll Meet You There was just pure perfection. It’s rare that I find a book that I can call a new favorite and I’m just so moved by it. I love everything about it and highly recommend it. It broke my heart a million times, emotionally captivated me and was ultimately so uplifting. I love these characters. I love their stories. I love this book. I want YOU to meet them.
* Have you read this one? What did you think? Similar or different from me? I would LOVE to hear regardless!
*If you haven’t read it, does it feel like something you’d be into?
PS. Other great reads you might like: Something Like Normal by Trish Doller or The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Bieke @ Istyria book blog says
Heather is one of my favorite authors now. I loved this book soooo much! 😀
Jamie says
YESSS I’m so glad you did too! I cannot wait to read Something Real now. I’ve heard amazing things about that one too!
Bieke @ Istyria book blog says
Something Real was just as awesome, seriously. I read it right after this one.
Jamie says
Oh yay this makes me happy!!
Hazel @ Stay Bookish says
I’m so so glad I pre-ordered this one! <3 I can't wait to read! Fantastic review, Jamie!
Jamie says
Good life choice, girl!! I thought I would probably like it and maybe even love it but was not expecting to love it soooo much!! I was just wanting to shout about it and shout about it!!!
Nicole Hewitt says
I cannot WAIT to read this book. Every review I read has me more and more excited about it. I loved that you say you even loved the author’s notes – there have been books like that for me too – where the author’s notes make you even MORE excited about the book you just read!
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Jamie says
OMG her author notes just absolutely moved me!! I was crying reading them! A lot about the vets and reality of what they face.
Jennifer aka YA Book Nerd says
I loved this one too!
Jamie says
I cannot wait to go back and read Something Real! Have you read that one?
Jennifer @ YA Book Nerd says
Yes and I loved it! It showed me a very different side of reality TV
Katie says
I can’t wait to buy myself a hard copy! I want to read it again already. I’ve been thinking about a certain secondary character a lot and I don’t normally long for a book in a secondary character’s POV, but this one I definitely want. I felt like there was so much to her.
Jamie says
Same and same!!!! I thought she was just so compelling and wanted even moooore of her. I love how she was the contrast to how badly they wanted to get our is there bc she was so content and in love with the small town life she had. Her words to them just moved me so much bc my mom was so hateful towards our town that was like that and moved us from our dad but when I got older I started to appreciate it more and that some people genuinely loved what we had deemed as a depressing and dead town.
Cecilie says
Wow. Your book reviews are really something! They are original and I love that little post-it at the end 🙂 Kinda wish I’d come up with that first, hehe.
I’m not really sure I have the emotional balls to read this one, though. It seems like a really emotional read.
Jamie says
Hehe thanks! I came up with it a few years ago bc I have this habit of writing a little post it up on the front every time I give a friend a book to borrow! It sure is emotional but I promise you there are equal warm and fuzzy feelings in this one!! I hope you read it!!
Margot says
This book has been on my radar but after reading your review I am bumping it up to must read!
elena says
I was so afraid I wouldn’t like this book but I did! I totally agree with how she portrayed the town and the slow burn romance!
Pili says
Your review is not the first positive one that made me want to get this one, but it’s so damned enthusiastic that made me want to run and preorder it except that I’m in a book buying ban and I cannot!
This sounds like the kind of contemporary that I would really like! *adds to wish list*
Ashley Farley says
This one is next up on my kindle, after I finish The Nightingale, which I am enjoying immensely. Thanks for the great review. I can hardly wait.
Mysterious Bibliophile says
Your enthusiasm is infectious — I am adding this to my list. This is an outstanding review, and your review format is very cool. By the way, I love your rating graphic. If I go back to doing ratings, I am tempted to steal this idea (with credit, of course).
Danielle @ Love at First Page says
I have enjoyed reading everyone’s reviews for this book SO MUCH. I mean, there’s so much love for it and yet we’re all saying it in different but the same ways. That doesn’t make sense, but you know what I mean. I will definitely be re-reading this one in the future many, many times, and it will be impossible for me to forget about Josh and Skylar. OTP. <3 <3
Lovely review, J!
Alexa S. says
Your sheer enthusiasm for I’ll Meet You There brings me so much joy! I seriously adored I’ll Meet You There as well. Heather managed to tell Sky’s story (and Josh’s story) so dang well, combining emotion and character and story into this great big ball of wonderful. I can’t wait to snag my own copy of this one when it releases!
Jamie says
I really want to come to the release party (I think it’s the release) at BOW to get a signed copy! But the pre-order campaign is so awesome toooo!
Ebony @ Daring Damsels says
YESSSS. This review makes me so, so happy, Jamie! I loved Something Real, and I’ve been dying for more Demetrios contemporary ever since. Glad this one was fantastic! Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy. 🙂
Jessica@Lovin' Los Libros says
Ahhhh! I want this book in my life! No- I NEED it! I loved Sabrina Elkins’ Stir Me Up and this kind of sounds similar to that! So obviously, I’m going to love it. I was just having this conversation about how the more I read, the fewer truly stand out books there are. I mean ones that makes you just drop everything and shout your love from the rooftops. It sounds like I’ll Meet You There is going to be one of those for me, so now I’m even MORE excited after your review to read it!
Mallory @ The Leaning Tower of Tomes says
I have been hearing nothing but glowing things about this book and my excitement about it keeps growing and growing with every new review I read. Definitely will be picking this up at some point!
Cynthia says
I am so glad you loved this book. I have it on preorder because I am so excited to read it!
Violet says
This is an amazing review! I really want to pick this book up now after reading your review and how amazing this book is. I’ve loved a lot of the contemporary YA books you’ve talked about before. I hadn’t picked up many contemporary books before 2014, but have gotten some good recommendations for books to read and really enjoyed them. I’m excited to read this one!
Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed says
Oh man, I loved this book! I still have a book hangover because of it!
Jamie says
Right?? I had to read something SO completely different after it.
Emily says
Okay, seriously, this book talk got me so pumped for this book. Can’t wait to get my hands on it! Good contemporary YA is always a glorious find.
Jamie says
I hope you enjoy it just as much!!
Sam @ The Little Munchkin Reader says
This is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, so it made my day when I read this and said it’s PERFECTION. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and now I’m looking forward to this EVEN MORE.
Anne @ booksbakingandblogging says
I love it when someone is SO enthusiastic about a book! Makes me automatically add it to my TBR on Goodreads. 😀
Caramel says
I LOVED this book too! Glad I’m not alone, not that many people have read this yet!
I also love the site and hope you can just take a look at mine (I’m trying to make some friends in the book blogging community).
Jamie says
I agree! More people need to read this one!!! Welcome to the book blogging community 🙂