Here So Far Away by Hadley Dyer
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Release Date: March 20, 2018
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library Loan
Find it here: GoodReads
But instead of owning her last year of high school, a fight with her best friend puts her on the outs of their social circle. If that weren’t bad enough, George’s family has been facing hard times since her father, a police sergeant, got injured and might not be able to return to work, which puts George’s college plans in jeopardy.
So when George meets Francis, an older guy who shares her name and her affinity for sarcastic banter, she’s thrown. If she lets herself, she’ll fall recklessly, hopelessly in love. But because of Francis’s age, she tells no one—and ends up losing almost everything, including herself.
I have such mixed feelings about this one. It's not that I didn't like it, but it's a case of I thought I would like it so much more. I'm just going to hit a few main points instead of a full review.
• I didn't relate to any of the characters. That created a distance between me and the story and I was never fully invested.
• In particular, I could not relate to main character George. She seemed to shun all intimacy and mocked others for any show of genuine emotion. She had this sarcastic veneer and the glimpses beyond that were too infrequent for me. Plus, it started to feel like her life was one bad decision after another.
• I wasn't sold on the romantic relationship. I liked the conversations between George and Francis. I liked that George had someone who challenged her. But I never felt an actual romantic connection, so when 'I love you's' were exchanged I actually stopped and thought Really? Huh... okay.
• I liked George's friend group. Their interactions, the arguments, the taking sides, the coming back together... it all felt realistic. (Although I'm left wondering what purpose Sid served... ?)
• The family issues. I don't even know what to say. I wanted to smack both her parents most of the time.
• Rupert was a great secondary character. Really liked Rupert and I especially liked how both George and Francis looked out for him (and Shaggy the pig).
• Francis remained an enigma. I never felt I knew him at all. Maybe that was intentional, maybe not. But I never really understood his motivations, his real feelings, or his real intentions.
• Overall, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed. George made plenty of bad/questionable choices (Joshua, the drinking/drug use, Francis, the lying/covering up) and at the end I wasn't sure of how much growth or change had really occurred.
• I didn't relate to any of the characters. That created a distance between me and the story and I was never fully invested.
• In particular, I could not relate to main character George. She seemed to shun all intimacy and mocked others for any show of genuine emotion. She had this sarcastic veneer and the glimpses beyond that were too infrequent for me. Plus, it started to feel like her life was one bad decision after another.
• I wasn't sold on the romantic relationship. I liked the conversations between George and Francis. I liked that George had someone who challenged her. But I never felt an actual romantic connection, so when 'I love you's' were exchanged I actually stopped and thought Really? Huh... okay.
• I liked George's friend group. Their interactions, the arguments, the taking sides, the coming back together... it all felt realistic. (Although I'm left wondering what purpose Sid served... ?)
• The family issues. I don't even know what to say. I wanted to smack both her parents most of the time.
• Rupert was a great secondary character. Really liked Rupert and I especially liked how both George and Francis looked out for him (and Shaggy the pig).
• Francis remained an enigma. I never felt I knew him at all. Maybe that was intentional, maybe not. But I never really understood his motivations, his real feelings, or his real intentions.
• Overall, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed. George made plenty of bad/questionable choices (Joshua, the drinking/drug use, Francis, the lying/covering up) and at the end I wasn't sure of how much growth or change had really occurred.
3/5 STARS
