Review Detail

Sixteen-year-old Emma Healy has
never felt like she belonged in her family full of professors, geniuses, and
success stories. While her much older siblings went on to college and careers,
Emma kept to herself, dreaming of normal birthday parties and conversations
that didnt revolve around obscure literary figures.

Emmas neighbor, Peter Finnigan,
is a Civil War-obsessed nerd who wishes he had a family like the Healys.
Instead, its just him and his cop father, forever separated and at odds by the
taboo subject of Peters mother, who died giving birth to him. When Emma discovers
a birth and death certificate for a twin brother she never knew she once had,
its as if she suddenly feels complete. This discovery leads Emma and Peter to
take a road trip from New York State to North Carolina to visit Emmas
brothers grave, but what they discover is not grief and loneliness, but rather
togetherness in all senses of the word.

Jennifer Smith certainly knows how
to write. Her narrative reads like one of those twelve-page character
description exercises that writers occasionally do in order to get to fully
know their characters. At the end of the book, we know Emma and Peter inside
out. Neither one is without flaws, but all of their complexities, worries, passions,
and dialogue simply sing through the pages. Jennifer is in real command of the
language here.

I think that the books weak
point, the one thing that made me not like the book as much as I wouldve
wanted to like it, was its plot. Road trips are a pretty common plot in YA lit,
and so its hard to redo the age-old plot without falling into a rut. Emma and
Peters road trip, while completely realistic, with things such as the New
Jersey Turnpike and the Gettysburg battlefield described in a mesmerizing yet
straightforward and thus believable way, was also unfortunately not very
exciting or engaging.

They pick up a stray dog who never
gets a name, they visit a bunch of random places and have conversations that
sometimes run deep and sometimes turn into arguments&these are all nice things
to think about, because they happen in everyones lives, but when these
incidents and family flashbacks make up the majority of the novel, something
gets lost. Never mind the fact that this book has a strong message: family is
not just about similarities, but also about staying together despite the
differences. Its a great message&provided you dont get lost along the way.

I also wasnt much a fan of the
Emma-and-Peter romantic coupling. I felt like I knew it was going to happen,
and yet while reading the book I REALLY didnt want it to, I wanted the book to
break the stereotypes of boy-girl get-togethers at the end of the novel, but
alas. Maybe I didnt get a clear image of Emma and Peter as compatible human
beings. They are great as individuals, yes, but together? I need more
convincing.

Overall, however, YOU ARE HERE is
far from being a bad and unenjoyable book. Jennifer Smith is definitely a
strong writer whose talent deserves to get noticed. Readers who enjoy
character-driven books will like YOU ARE HERE, and for those of us looking for
a faster-paced read, well, youre going to have to wait for another book.