I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios Published by Henry Holt and Co. on February 3, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary YA, Disabilities, Military, Relationships, Romance
Pages: 400
Format: ARC
Source: the publisher
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Goodreads
If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.
Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.
Guys, I’ve read I’LL MEET YOU THERE by Heather Demetrios twice already. It’s one of those stories that isn’t brimming with big, epic flash-bangs, but still has that impact emotionally. Does that make sense? I loved I’LL MEET YOU THERE because it’s just a story about two kids in a down-and-out town who both have baggage and demons and who have this slowly intensifying heat between them that’s founded in friendship. But, OH, when that friendship is suddenly something else? UGH MY HEART AND FEELS AND BUTTERFLIES. Sky and Josh are everything. Everything. If there were two characters that I wish were real just so that I could know for an actual fact that this amazing story was true and they were living this major happiness in real life, it would be these two. They deserve to be real and to be happy together. If this makes me a crazy person, just let me know.
I’LL MEET YOU THERE is the story of two teens, Skylar and Josh, who live in a small town in California, an hour away from anything, barely a blip on the map. Sky lives in a trailer with her mother and struggles to keep her little family afloat in the aftermath of her father’s death years before. One of her jobs in between daydreaming about leaving Creek View for San Francisco in the fall to go to college, is working at the Paradise motel. A place where she used to work with the insufferable, popular, good-looking Josh Mitchell. Before he joined the Marines, that is. When Josh returns home from Afghanistan missing part of his leg and with other wounds besides, Sky and Josh slowly begin to forge a friendship and to reveal themselves to one another. Their feelings continue to grow until things in Creek View go a little pear-shaped.
So I mentioned that this book gets all my love, right? All of it? Ok, good. Because I really did love everything about it. The relationship, the characters, the setting–it was all a perfect mix. I can picture Creek View in all it’s dry, desolate backwater-ness. I feel Sky’s eagerness to leave, and Josh’s uncertainty about being home. I keep thinking about all of it. I can’t get these people and these places out of my mind.
I’LL MEET YOU THERE is told from two perspectives: Sky’s and Josh’s. Josh’s chapters in particular are heartbreaking. They’re told as if he was speaking directly to an old friend of his from the Marines as he tries to acclimate to returning home, something his friend can never do. Josh blames himself for his friend’s death and struggles hugely with survivor’s guilt and post-traumatic stress. But the way he talks to his friend about Skylar and what she means to him and how he doesn’t know how to approach their relationship, it gives us great insight into his character and, on a smaller scale, brief but poignant glimpses into the camaraderie he felt with the guys in his unit while he was serving.
I’m just going to come out with it: I LOVE JOSHUA MITCHELL. I adore him. He’s got kind of a soft center, but not too soft. He’s still a dude. Funny, adventurous, confident. Sky is a wonderful, wonderful match for him, and he for her. She wants to look out for him and empathizes with him but doesn’t let him wallow or let him off the hook when he’s being a douche. They are exactly what the other one needs. And I loved how Josh’s disability is obviously important, but it doesn’t really define him to Skylar. Heather Demetrios crafted an amazing relationship, guys. It’s so REAL and still has that magic that all romances have.
Speaking of Skylar, this poor girl. She’d probably hate me saying that because she doesn’t want anyone’s pity. She works hard to help her mom pay the bills, she’s concerned about her mother when she takes up with this bum guy Billy, she wants to make sure that her mom isn’t left hanging out to dry when she leaves for school, she’s a wonderful friend to Dylan and Chris (who I also loved), and she’s devoted to her art (she makes collages). Skylar is one of those kids that has too much on her shoulders but who handles it with aplomb. I was just so proud of her, you know?
There’s basically nothing I don’t love about I’LL MEET YOU THERE, friends. Nothing. I’ve read Heather Demetrios’ book twice and the second reading had the same impact on me as the first. It’s stuck in my mind and my heart. I wish I could pick it up and reread it again right now. I can’t wait to read more of Heather Demetrios’ books. As my first book of hers, I’LL MEET YOU THERE sets the bar really high, but not just for her. For everyone. READ ITTTTT.
I totally agree with you about Skylar and Josh! If anyone deserves to get to live together and be happy, it’s them. But seriously, I’ll Meet You There was INCREDIBLE. Heather’s storytelling is so evocative and powerful, and I absolutely loved it!