You Are Here [Hardcover]

Jennifer E. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 19, 2009

Emma Healy has grown used to being the only ordinary one in her rather extraordinary family. But when she finds a birth certificate for a twin brother she never knew she had, along with a death certificate dated just two days later, she realizes why she never felt quite whole. She sets off on a trip to visit her brother’s grave. Peter Finnegan, her neighbor, comes along for the ride. Emma thinks they can’t possibly have anything in common, but with each passing mile, they find themselves learning more and more about themselves and each other.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7–10—This book has as rocky a start as the road trip it describes. Emma, 16, feels disconnected from her family of academics and brilliant people. Rather than compete for attention, she's happier being alone. Then she discovers a reason for her feeling of isolation. She had a twin brother who died two days after they were born. Emma, determined to find out more, sets off on a road trip from New York State to North Carolina to see her brother's grave. When her car breaks down in New Jersey, she calls her neighbor Peter, who arrives in a stolen yellow convertible. Along the way, Emma adopts a stray dog, makes peace with her family, and learns that there's more to Peter than his interest in maps and the Civil War. Told in alternating chapters by Emma and Peter, the plot moves jerkily from the present to the past, then back to the present. After an uneven beginning, however, the novel becomes more engaging as Emma seeks answers to why she was never told about her brother.—Melissa Rabey, Frederick County Public Libraries, Frederick, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A unique voice, comic and moving." -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of All We Know of Heaven and The Deep End of the Ocean

"You Are Here doesn't just take you on a memorable road trip, it takes you on a journey of the heart." -- Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You,You Haunt Me

"You Are Here is a thoughtful, sensitive story of self-discovery." -- Deb Caletti, author of Honey, Baby, Sweetheart and Wild Roses

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (May 19, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416967990
• ISBN-13: 978-1416967996
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #836,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book!, June 1, 2009

By 

Anne Gaughen "AC Gaughen" (Hingham, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Are Here (Hardcover)

Reasons I loved this book:
1. Factoids. Like do you know where we get "OK" from?
2. I loved Emma, the female protagonist. She's spunky, fun, adventurous, and unapologetically moody.
3. Peter really won me over! At first I, much like Emma, kind of dismissed Peter, the map-loving male protagonist, but he wormed his way into my heart!
4. The Maps. I've always loved to travel, but for some reason I never considered the maps, and what they represent, and how interesting they really can be.
5. There's no big twist, no crazy surprise, but the ending really snuck up on me and made a huge impression. I keep thinking about it, and inevitably rereading it, not because it's shocking or unexpected, but because its so heartfelt and true.

This book really struck a chord with me; all throughout, I kept thinking that not all who wander are lost and that despite the fact that I can't always find my way, the journey is the most important part.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting Review: You Are Here, July 30, 2009

By 

Enchanting Reviews "Lisa" - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Are Here (Hardcover)

YOU ARE HERE
JENNIFER E. SMITH
Contemporary YA
Simon Pulse

Rating: 4 Enchantments

Emma Healy has resigned herself to the fact that she's the only normal person among her family of extraordinary scholars. She's had years of experience being the odd one out, of feeling like she doesn't totally belong. And she doesn't know why, but she's always felt like a part of her is somehow missing.

Her shy but intelligent neighbor Peter Finnigan feels more at home with Emma's family of academics than he ever has is his own house. As much as he'd like to, Peter can't spend every minute of the day in the Healy's house, but with little other friends, he spends most of his time alone with his books and maps, dreaming of escape.

Opportunity presents itself when Emma finds the birth certificate of her unknown twin brother--and a death certificate dated two days later. Now that she knows which part of her has been missing, Emma feels the need to visit her dead brother's grave to greet the twin she never knew. Chance and impulse invites Peter, desperate to see the world, along for the ride. And so these two loners make their way from upstate New York to Emma's birthplace in North Carolina in an old and technically stolen vehicle, picking up a stray three-legged dog and trying to figure out what exactly they're looking for. Along the way, they'll learn about themselves and each other, and maybe even figure out how to make themselves whole again.

YOU ARE HERE is a story that covers multitudes of topics from family to friendship to forgiveness. This is all possible due to Smith's very descriptive, almost lyrical writing style, which covers nearly every aspect of the two teens' lives and allows great insight into their most intimate thoughts and desires. Although the lengthy descriptions are almost overbearing at times, they do help create vivid and believable characters in Emma and Peter. The character growth during this cross-country trip is predictable and none too original, but it doesn't make it any less sweet or moving. I felt a real connection to both characters as many readers will; their thoughts and fears and dreams make them easy to relate to. This connection, in turn, made me all the more open to this story's multiple messages, among which is that family will always be there, even if they don't always know how to express it. This story is not high action or particularly romantic; it is for readers who want to think and learn from Emma's and Peter's journey and anyone in search of their own niche.

YOU ARE HERE is Jennifer E. Smith's second novel. Her first is THE COMEBACK SEASON. [...]

Rachael Stein
Enchanting Reviews
July 2009

3.0 out of 5 stars Well-written but unengaging with wooden characters, April 27, 2010

By 

thebookwormsuggests - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Are Here (Hardcover)

Emma Healy has never really felt like she fit in with the rest of her quirky but brilliant family of academics and professors. All her life, she's never felt quite whole, as if something was out of place in her life. Perhaps, she sometimes thought, it was because she was out of place. It's hard to think otherwise when your parents throw birthday parties for you at poetry readings in New York City, or the invited guests are world-renowned professors of archeology, sociology, and anthropology (all of whom are your parents' close friends).

One day, Emma comes across a birth certificate and a death certificate, both of which change the way she sees herself, her family, and their shared familial history. Spurred by her discovery, she decides to go on a road trip to North Carolina--the place where she might find the grave of her recently discovered twin brother. Together with her neighbor Peter Finnegan--an unlikely car thief and civil war aficionado--and a three legged dog, Emma learns that there is a lot more to a journey than a destination, that there is a lot more to a family than meets the eye, and also, that the people who love you will always there for you.

As much Peter's story as it is Emma's, You Are Here is a well-written tale of two teenagers searching for answers to illuminate the unknown in their lives. Despite being well-developed characters, I occasionally felt that Emma and Peter's lines were strangely adult, making them seem somewhat like talking mannequins. I also found the slow romance between the two teens unfortunately inauthentic, but Jennifer E. Smith manages to make it work towards the end of the novel, pushing towards a moving finish.

You Are Here is an accomplished book about family, grief, and love, and there is lots to like in the book. Yet despite its eloquence, I'm not sure it is quite authentic enough to find a place in my heart. I cannot bring myself to heartily recommend the book. Readers who enjoy slower-paced novels might be better able to connect with the story, but I could not find myself completely engaged.