When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

Title: When You Were Here
Author: Daisy Whitney
Release date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown
Pages: 264
Source: Publisher
Reading level: YA
Challenge(s): YA Contemporary

Danny’s mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn’t know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom’s property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother’s memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney is just as awesome as all the reviews have been saying.  I admit to being a little skeptical but I shouldn’t have been.  Daisy Whitney is a fabulous contemporary author and When You Were Here will not disappoint readers.
When You Were Here is different from Daisy Whitney’s previous books since it is told from a male point-of-view.  I always worry when female authors write from a male perspective but Daisy Whitney nailed it!  Danny was the perfect mix of sensitive, sweet, kind, and yet, totally still a teenage boy.  He thought about sex and drugs and everything else that teenagers think about.  He was far from perfect!  He was grieving for his mother and he was completely lost.  He always thought she would be around for his graduation but when she doesn’t make it that far, Danny decides that he needs to know what happened.  Why didn’t she hold on just a little longer?  So Danny heads to Tokyo on a crazy journey that reveals secrets, not just about his mom but about himself, and about Holland, the only girl he’s ever loved.
The characters in When You Were Here were all completely amazing.  Danny, Holland, Kate, Kana, every last person that Danny came in contact with was so special.  They all played a part in Danny’s life and in his journey moving on after his mom’s death.  Holland wasn’t easy to read and she so wasn’t your typical love interest.  Sure she was pretty but she was smart and she had this depth to her that was such a big part of why Danny loved her.  Kate, Holland’s mom, was like a second mom to Danny.  She was best friends with his mom and she hated seeing what her death did to Danny.  Kana was completely unpredictable and exactly what Danny needed.  She showed him Tokyo like a native but with a fresh eye.  The best part about Danny and Kana’s relationship was that it was totally platonic.  They never felt anything other than friendship for one another and you just don’t see that enough in YA.
I’ve never been to Tokyo and to be completely honest, I never really thought I would want to go there.  However, after reading When You Were Here, it’s shot to the top of my list of places to visit.  The setting is one of the best things about When You Were Here.  I truly felt like I was seeing Tokyo with Danny.  All the places he visited and the things he saw were just so vivid.  I would recommend this book for the setting alone!
Things were not as they seemed with Danny and his family and I couldn’t predict a single thing.  Every secret was so well-guarded.  I was taken by surprise so many times!  I was really learning everything at the same time that Danny did.  That helped me connect to him even more.
Overall, When You Were Here is Daisy Whitney at her best.  If you haven’t read anything by her yet, I would recommend this one as a good place to start.  I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
What others are saying about When You Were Here:
Nerdy Book Club’s review: When You Were Here is an achingly, heartbreakingly, healingly incredible novel.” 

Miss Literati’s review: Written with raw, authentic emotion, WHEN YOU WERE HERE will break down even the most stone cold readers.”

Chick Loves Lit’s review:Daisy Whitney writes in a full, descriptive style that I really love.”
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18 comments

  1. Have yet to read anything by Daisy Whitney. 🙁 Yeah, I get doubtful when male POV books are written by female writers too. I think the fact that this book is set in Tokyo is very cool though. Will have to read it some time. 😀

  2. I love the male POV. I’m not big on contemporary, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about Daisy Whitney. I have this one Kindle, so I’m hoping to read it soon 🙂

  3. I recently read this, and I really liked it. I didn’t expect to because it was male POV. I’m looking forward to reading more by her. (:

    Angela @ The Raven Readers

  4. This sounds like a heartbreakingly beautiful novel. I’ve read books vefore from a Male PoV so that doesn’t bother me. I suspect I will cry a lot though… I’ll have to look for it. Thanks for sharing your review.

  5. YES to platonic relationships! I feel the need to throw all the confetti, because seriously, platonic relationships are so scarce in YA when they’re so present with teens today. But seriously, this sounds like a gorgeous book. I haven’t really been compelled to pick it up, but now it seems as if I must! It’s great that the author was able to really nail the male POV and make it so realistic. I’ve always wanted to go to Tokyo, and since I can’t really at the moment, why not read about it? 😉 And these plot twists have me really excited, since there’s not too many great plot twists in contemporary novels.

    Gorgeous review, Katie dear! <3

  6. I haven’t read anything by Daisy Whitney, so I think I’ll start with this book! I’ve been waiting for a copy to become available at the library ALL summer, so hopefully I’ll get my hands on it soon. And oh my goodness, it features a platonic relationship? That alone is something to be excited for.

    Great review!

    – Tabitha @ Tabitha’s Book Blog

  7. This seems like a perfect book to finish off the summer with. The plot seems interesting and the characters are ones that look like they would be easy to connect with. Awesome Review!

    -Chayse

  8. I’m so glad that you finally gave this book a try Katie and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve always been meaning to pick up more books written in povs from guys and it sounds like Whitney has done a fantastic job with this one! Brilliant review! 🙂

  9. i actually have not read any books by daisy whitney yet but have heard good things. i am also skeptical when an author is writing from the pov of the opposite sex. glad to hear that the author got it right on this one. i will definitely have to check it out.

  10. Yay! I wanted to read this book but then the male POV through me off. I’m not used to being in a boy’s pov for an entire novel, so I was skeptical but I think I’m going to check it out because I wanted to read this one for so long.

    Aly @ My Heart Hearts Books

  11. I absolutely loved this book. I loved the voice and the characters, the trip and the coming to terms with what his mom decided, I loved the romance and the big secret. It was just so beautifully written.

    Lovely review 🙂