by Emery Lord
Series: The Start of Me and You #2
Published on January 7, 2020 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Format: ARC
Pages: 368
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Acclaimed author Emery Lord crafts a gorgeous story of friendship and identity, daring to ask: What happens after happily ever after?
It's senior year, and Paige Hancock is finally living her best life. She has a fun summer job, great friends, and a super charming boyfriend who totally gets her. But senior year also means big decisions. Weighing "the rest of her life," Paige feels her anxiety begin to pervade every decision she makes. Everything is exactly how she always wanted it to be--how can she leave it all behind next year? In her head, she knows there is so much more to experience after high school. But in her heart, is it so terrible to want everything to stay the same forever?
Emery Lord's award-winning storytelling shines with lovable characters and heartfelt exploration of life's most important questions.
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I feel like I need to add a disclaimer to the beginning of this review- The Map From Here to There triggered some sever anxiety for me. This has never happened before, in fact I generally love to read depictions of anxiety so I know that it’s not just me going through this stuff. But this book hit way too close to home. Not the circumstances and situations, but Paige’s particular brand of anxiety, her reactions, and her interactions with other characters. so, all this to say that I know my reading experience has colored my view of this book. In an attempt to try and remain unbiased, I’m going to keep this review short and sweet.
Where I was pretty blown away by the first book, The Start of You and Me, this sequel fell pretty flat in a lot of places for me. Sure, it’s an accurate depiction of some mental health issues, but other than that the book as a whole felt unnecessary to me. It didn’t have the same drive that the story of the first book had. I found myself wondering, “Why?” so much while reading. Why did I need to read this story? Why did we need to see more of Paige and Max? And by the end I can’t really say I had a solid answer.
It by far wasn’t all bad though. The pacing was great, in keeping with book one. The characters all had depth and rang true. And, like I said, the emotional aspects and beats all it their marks. Overall, though, something big was just missing for me. A spark that book one had seemed so dim in this one.
I love Emery Lord’s books, and will continue to read them. I doubt I’ll ever revisit this one though. The first book, sure, loved it. But this one somehow managed to simultaneously affect me too much and not enough. It wasn’t good enough for me to risk again what it put me through mentally. I think though that plenty of others are going to love this, in the way people loved the sequels to To All the Boys I Loved Before. So I recommend it, but it definitely wasn’t for me.
About Katie
I'm a twenty-something aspiring writer who really, really needs to get back to revisions. I've been reviewing books since 2014, and am determined to somehow make stories my day job. I truly think that every book out there contains something good and is meant for somebody.
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