(ARC Review) Wherever You Go by Heather Davis

WHEREVER YOU GO
Author: Heather Davis
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books; None edition (November 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 054750151X
ISBN-13: 978-0547501512

      Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

     As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Wherever You Go was supposed to be a heartfelt and sweet book about love lost, love gained, and emotional turmoil.  It indeed had all of that, but at times it was drawn out and dull.


I had a really hard time getting into this book.  The first half of it is so slowly paced that I could have read an entire other book while waiting for something interesting to happen.  Once I was about halfway through the story though, it did start to pick up and start to capture my interest.  Another thing that I didn’t like about the book was the swapped point of views from three different people involved with no heading to the switch.  Most books that are told from different points of view have a chapter header at least telling which characters head we are in.  This one just used little symbols and I had to keep back tracking in the story to figure out whose head I was in.  


The saving grace of this book is definitely Holly’s Grandfather.  He added the soft and caring touch that this book needed.  He is also the only one who can see Holly’s dead boyfriends ghost, Rob.  He made the story heartbreaking and touching at the same time.


Would I read this story again? Probably not.  Would other readers enjoy the book? Probably.  This is one of those books that you just have to read for yourself to know if it was a great read or just a mediocre read.