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 … 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.
more
4.5 rounded to 5
I think this story is simply beautiful. No Place Like Here by Christina June is a delightfully entertaining, fascinating, and riveting story that wonderfully touched my heart.
I haven’t read any books by June before, but that’s definitely something I’m going to change ASAP. This book is light, warm, and fluffy, but also really emotional in the loveliest way. I truly had an amazing time reading this book and cannot wait for you to meet Ashlyn, follow her on a life-changing journey, smile and swoon, and feel empowered.
This book is a gem! June blends adventure, friendship, drama, romance, forgiveness, and love in perfect harmony. I really enjoyed her writing style and felt this sense of wonder throughout the entire time I was reading. The storyline is charming, engaging, surprising, and so full of heart. It’s also a bit quirky, quite hilarious at times, whimsical in some ways, and even heartbreaking, but so genuine, real and incredibly moving. It definitely has all the best FEELS and I loved it!
I liked Ashlyn and her character development. She’s smart, hard-working, funny, and kind. She has a good heart and I rooted so hard for her. I thought Hannah is awesome. She’s actually my favorite and I just loved her personality. She can be blunt, but I admired her honesty. I adored Baxter so much. He’s encouraging, supportive, and really sweet. I was really hoping for more swoons, but I definitely enjoyed the cute and heartwarming moments he shared with Ashlyn.
I loved so many things about this story. I thought the setting is beautiful, the characters are likable and relatable, the plot is exciting with plenty of fun bread crumbs, the romance is sweet, and the overall message is important and inspiring. I loved the bond that blossoms between Ashlyn and Hannah, the friendship that forms between Baxter and Ashlyn, and the family relationships that are slowly healing. This is such a beautifully heartfelt story and an absolute joy to read.
No Place Like Here is utterly precious and unforgettable. I loved the story, the writing, the lessons, and the all the wonderful feels. I honestly can’t recommend it enough and I really hope you grab a copy of this charming book!
I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher and TLC Book Tours in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughs and opinions are my own.
Review can also be found
https://sincerelykarenjo.com/2019/06/09/blog-tour-arc-review-for-no-place-like-here-by-christina-june/
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2849773542
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book after reading on a different review that there’s not a big focus on romance. The author dealt so well with the themes and I was captivated as I read about Ashlyn’s journey that was at times difficult, uncomfortable, healing, and empowering. I appreciated being able to see the family dynamics that brought Ashlyn to the point she is at mentally at the beginning of the book, flaws and all. Family secrets are revealed and she is instantly and unwillingly thrust onto a path of discovery- more about her parents, extended family, and also about herself. The cast of characters that support her and those that she interacts with in a more negative way were brought to life and rounded out the story well. I especially liked seeing her relationship develop with her cousin and the quiet zipline instructor who makes a wonderful friend. A lovely story of becoming self-aware and choosing to be strong in the circumstances we are given.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions expressed in this review are my own)
A story about the longing for home even when it’s not perfect or you don’t feel worthy of it, No Place Like Here is a poignant and moving story.
Ashlyn Zanotti’s summer plans (and her unforeseeable future) go up in smoke when her father lands in prison, her mother checks herself into rehab for exhaustion, and she’s sentenced to working at a summer retreat camp. Over the course of her time there, Ashlyn discovers support in unexpected places and the courage to speak up for herself, even with her father’s disapproving voice acting as her conscience.
Using touches from Hansel and Gretel, Christina June gives readers another engaging book with a young heroine whose journey to obtain her deepest with, to go home again, finds her strength and individualism. Young readers will enjoy this summer read with a memorable setting, plenty of conflict, and an ending that offers the promise of wishes realized.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
I’d enjoyed the other two books by this author, so was happy when this next one came out. And once again I was not disappointed! Ashlyn was someone that while we definitely felt for her in the beginning, with what she was going through with her family, she also did a lot of growing and changing through her summer. The other people she met at the summer camp were a great cast of characters. Her cousin, while abrupt at first, grew to be a great friend, and we learned that abruptness was just her. And then there was the boy, Marcus. Yeah, he saved her at the beginning of camp, but there was just something about how he behaved around the new camp manager’s daughter that made me unsure of him from the start. But then Baxter, the mountain-man/teen, whatever. Maybe it’s just because of all the books I’ve been reading lately with bearded mountain guys, but something about him made me crush a bit from the start. So it was easy to tell that Ashlyn would probably lean more towards him in the end. But this wasn’t just a romance, there was so much family drama, but done so well, as this author always has in the past books I’ve read. Another winner from Christina June.
Ashlyn Zanotti is more than ready to come back home after being sent away to boarding school for a year by her strict father for getting in trouble; she wants to spend her summer at home as she misses her friends and her family. But when Ashlyn gets the shock of her life that her father is being sent to prison for tax evasion and her mother to a rehab center for exhaustion, her plans for the summer are thwarted. Instead her father has arranged for her to live with her Uncle Ed and Aunt Greta and to have a summer job working with her cousin Hannah at a wilderness retreat center.
Wonderful story, I was pulled in from the get-go; I love how it has elements of the Hansel and Gretel tale, especially with Ashlyn leaving around her favorite inspirational quotes as breadcrumbs. I loved how Ashlyn grew as a person as the story progressed, how she connects with the extended family she hardly knew and ultimately finds a strength in herself she didn’t know she had, as well as the courage to stand up for herself and what she wants.
I really enjoyed this book and loved the characters; I’ll definitely be reading more from Christina June!