You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith
Published by Simon & Schuster on May 19, 2009
Genres: Contemporary
Format: Hardcover
Source: Bought
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Emma Healy has never fit in with the rest of her family.

She's grown used to being the only ordinary one among her rather extraordinary parents and siblings. 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 feels like a part of her has been justified in never feeling quite whole. Suddenly it seems important to visit his grave, to set off in search of her missing half. When her next-door neighbor Peter Finnegan -- who has a quiet affinity for maps and a desperate wish to escape their small town -- ends up coming along for the ride, Emma thinks they can't possibly have anything in common.

But as they head from upstate New York toward North Carolina, driving a beat-up and technically stolen car and picking up a stray dog along the way, they find themselves learning more and more about each other. Neither is exactly sure what they're looking for, but with each passing mile, each new day of this journey, they seem to be getting much closer to finding it.

Emma Healy has just had the surprise of her life. While in the attic searching for a book for her father, she discovered the birth and death certificate of her twin brother Thomas. Why has nobody ever mentioned this to her? Is this why she always feels like she doesn’t fit with her family?

With the help of her nerdy neighbor Peter Finnegan, Emma sets off to visit the gravesite of her brother on the one day that she shares with her, their birthday. Along the way they run into some snags in their plan including a three-legged stray dog who seems to have taken a liking to them.

Is this the family Emma has always been looking for or is she just running? Will she ever find the place she truly belongs?

Jennifer E Smith has created a wonderful coming of age story in You Are Here.

Emma Healy and her family were wonderful characters. Yes I include Peter in her family. He just seems like he fits there. Her family was full of wonderfully eccentric people who loved her but never really knew how to show it. Throughout the book you get to see more into them and why they never mentioned the fact that Emma had a twin brother.

Peter was probably my favorite character. He was so funny and quirky. He was in love with Emma from the start and he couldn’t even admit it to himself. He was just so awkward and nerdy. I loved him.

And then of course the stray dog who made them his. He was found at a New Jersey rest stop and just decided to go with them. He was so cute and it was so funny how he seemed to think that Emma and Peter were the strays that needed him.

Also, the whole story was just cute. That is the one word I can think of to describe it. Peter and Emma are two unlikely runaways who end up finding their true homes while they are traveling across the country.

Overall, You Are Here is the perfect summer roadtrip book. I definitely recommend it for a long car ride or even a lazy day lounging by the pool.

Similar Books:
Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt
Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen