Hi everyone! Today at The Reading Corner for All, we're participating in Christina June's No Place Like Here book tour with Prism Book Tours. I enjoyed reading Christina's first work It Started With Goodbye and was particularly excited to be able to read and review her latest work.
One element I particularly liked about No Place Like Here is that author Christina June had a clear MG/YA audience in mind and was able to include heavy topics- such as verbal abuse and depression- without overwhelming the emotional journey of her protagonist Ashlyn Zanotti. Ashlyn is a humanized character who made some mistakes in the past (and got sent to boarding school as a result), but she does her upmost to turn her life with the hopes of being able to return home. Her independence derives from the backbones of the lines she collects from famous author and artists across generations and also steps from constantly being on guard from her fathers grueling and-at times-verbally abusive nature. On the other hand, Ashlyn's relationship with her mother gives her solace that they are united against the worst of her father's cutting words.
Overall, Ashlyn is a character that induces a great amount of empathy because Christina June is able to give her protagonist an open heart that readers can peer through like an open window. By doing so, No Place Like Here becomes a very intimate read and you gain such attachments to characters like Ashlyn, her cousin Hannah, and newfound friend Baxter. June provides excellent insight into mental health representation and endorses a strong message that getting help for depression like Ashlyn's mother, or opening up about self-deprecating thoughts are great steps towards a more positive future.
I loved that while this was an overall light read, the author was not afraid to delve into deep themes that gave No Place Like Here a layered meaning. No Place Like Here also held the timeless elements of friendship, the dynamics of family, and finding the courage to make your voice heard that will make for the perfect summer read!
About the Book
No Place Like Here
By Christina June
Young Adult Contemporary
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 288 Pages
May 21st 2019 by Blink
From Christina June, author of It Started with Goodbye and Everywhere You Want to Be, comes No Place Like Here, a modern twist on Hansel and Gretel.
Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She's just spent a year at boarding school and can't wait to get home. But when Ashlyn's father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for "exhaustion," a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.
The cherry on top? Ashlyn's father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn't even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed "indoor girl," not even Ash's habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes--inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere--can help her cope.
With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad's marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.
Fans looking for stories with elements of drama, romance, friendship, and an unflinching look into navigating and improving even the most difficult parent-teen relationships need look no further.
Purchase Links
Other Books by the Author
About the Author
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter. She is the author of It Started with Goodbye and Everywhere You Want to Be, and No Place Like Here.
Tour Schedule
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Tour Giveaway
1 winner will receive a print copy of No Place Like Here, a poster, and a book plate
US only
Ends June 5, 2019
