When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

Title: When You Were Here

Author: Daisy Whitney

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release Date: June 4, 2013

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man--death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.

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. 

I simply loved Daisy Whitney's first two books and couldn't wait to read When You Were Here. Before reading it, I had heard nothing but amazing things about the book which made me a little apprehensive. But I really shouldn't have worried because Daisy Whitney couldn't' have disappointed me with this book even if she tried. 

For the last five years of his life, Danny has been helping his mom fight cancer, helping her hold on so that she could see him graduate from high school. But just weeks before the big event, his mother loses her fight. Now Danny isn't exactly sure how he is supposed to go on now. Being happy was something Danny's mom was the expert on, not him. And with Holland coming back into his life after breaking his heart a year earlier, Danny is at a loss. So when the opportunity to go to Tokyo comes up, Danny decides that if he can't find happiness at home, maybe he can find it on the other side of the world. 

As I've mentioned, I absolutely loved Daisy Whitney's first two books, The Mockingbirds and The Rivals, so I was very excited at the prospect of reading her new book. And When You Were Here completely blew me away. This story was both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I can't say that I related to losing a parent, but the way it was written, I felt the pain associated with that event any time Danny thought about his loss. But despite the sadness this brought to the story, there was a certain feeling of happiness flowing underneath it all until that feeling overpowered the sadness altogether. Because, ultimately, this story felt like it was more about how to find that happiness again when you don't think it's possible to do so. And I loved seeing that aspect of the story, whether it was Danny learning how to be happy despite being alone, or finding happiness and love again when you thought you never would. There was just something so incredibly touching about this story, to the point that I often found myself tearing up, and even smiling through my tears. And Daisy Whitney's writing has this addicting quality, making it so I just can't stop reading once I start. 

I'll admit that I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about Danny when I first started reading When You Were Here. He had some self-destructive tendencies and though I could understand why he was the way he was, I expected more of him. But the more I read, the more he grew on me. He gradually turned himself around and I loved seeing that transformation in him. I loved seeing Danny realize that he could do this on his own, that he could be happy and in love again despite all the pain and loss from the past. And I that had a lot to do with Kana. In a way, Kana stole the show for me. While I was reading, she just jumped off the page. The descriptions of Kana were to rich and detailed that I could easily picture her while I was reading. But beyond just being extremely real, she was just so alive and she transferred some of that to Danny. Their friendship was what friendships should be. Danny's relationship with Holland, I wasn't quite as sure about. But the more I read and the more I understood their history, I could see that Danny and Holland were supposed to be together. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise, but Daisy Whitney's When You Were Here did not disappoint. This story was at times heartbreaking, but it was also heartwarming, making me believe that happiness and love are two of the most important emotions. Don't stop yourself from reading When You Were Here because it deals with the loss of a parent, because it is about so much more than that. Plus it has an awesome dog.

Waiting on Wednesday (70)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine where book bloggers devote a post to an upcoming book release they are particularly looking forward to. This week I have two contemporary titles I am particularly looking forward to reading.

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith
April 2nd, 2013
Poppy

If fate sent you an email, would you answer?

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

I absolutely love Jennifer E. Smith's The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight when I read it last year. It was a fantastic contemporary read, so I can't wait for more from this author. And This is What Happy Looks Like sounds like a fun contemporary that might have something more than just fluff going on.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney

June 4th, 2013

Little, Brown BFYR

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man--death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation--the one day 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 is mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There,a kong the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harijuku 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.

Daisy Whitney has yet to disappoint me with anything that she writes. I am a big fan of The Mockingbirds & The Rivals, so I am excited simply at the prospect of getting to read more of her writing. And When You Were Here sounds like a fantastic story that will no doubt be pulling at my heartstrings.

The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney

Title: The Mockingbirds

Author: Daisy Whitney

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Release Date: November 2, 2010

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis way. So when Alex Patrick is date-raped during her junior year, she has two options: Stay silent and hope someone helps, or enlist the aid of the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of the student body.

In this account of a teenage girl’s search for her voice and the courage to use it, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that standing up for someone, especially yourself, is worth the fight.

I first heard about The Mockingbirds in two ways: first through The Contemps, and second through everything that happened with Speak Loudly last September. Personally I’m all for reading a book that will get people talking, especially when it deals with a subject that isn’t talked about as openly as it could be. The Mockingbirds was a great read and dealt with the subject of date rape in a way that makes it so people shouldn’t be afraid of it and as something that happens a lot more than we would like to think.

It’s the start of a new semester and Alex barely remembers what happened on the first Friday night back. She wakes up in a bed that isn’t her own, in a room she doesn’t recognize and everything around her seems to be indicating that she had sex, but she has no recollection of it. Now she doesn’t know what she should do. Did she say yes? Was it date rape? Who knows, Alex just can’t remember anything. With the help of her friends and her older sister, Alex goes to The Mockingbirds, a group of students who rights the wrongs the school’s administration just chooses to ignore. With their help maybe Alex will be able to find out what really happened that night and even possibly overcome it.

I really liked Alex from the start. You always here stories about rape victims being afraid to come forward or even admit what happened to them but Alex came straight out and said it. Sure there were plenty of times where she doubted that it was rape, having flashbacks to that night and remembering only disconnected moments. What made Alex feel more real to me was that she went through a whole range of emotions following what happened to her. Just the fact that she doubted herself, wondered if she was doing the right thing, but despite everything she still made it through and came to terms with what happened. Her friends were also pretty great and had me laughing. The book dealt with a pretty dark subject matter but those moments of laughter were really welcome.

Carter on the other hand was a real jerk. Whenever he showed up I just wanted to chuck my book at the wall. I don’t think there is any way I could have ever liked him. As much as I tried I just couldn’t find he quality that would have sort of made him better. And when the “trial” finally took place, I just hated him that much more. Martin on the other hand I loved. He was your typical cute nerdy guy and I’ll admit I can easily fall for those guys. He was so good to Alex with everything that happened and because of that you just can’t help but like him. Sure there were some moments when I wasn’t too sure what was going on with him but the rest of the time totally made up for that.

Daisy Whitney wrote an amazing story about a subject that a lot of people are afraid to deal with. The way in which Alex’s story is told tells girls that date rape is something that happens a lot more than we would like to think and that it’s not your fault despite what some people like to say. The book is also written a way that makes it impossible to put down. I would always tell myself that I would stop after that chapter but then read on to the next one, and the next and so on.

Overall, The Mockingbirds is an amazing novel and I would never have been able to guess that it was a debut. Daisy Whitney is a wonderful writer and I can’t wait to read the sequel when it comes out.