Monday, January 7

Return To Me by Justina Chen Headly

Return To Me by Justina Chen Headly
Release Date: January 5, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352



Summary: Three months before Rebecca Muir is set to begin college, her father reveals a secret that tears the family apart: he is leaving them.

In an instant, Rebecca’s life crumbles—she has to rely on her mother now, when her whole life she’s been her father’s girl; she’s not sure she can trust her high school boyfriend; and her carefully planned-out life suddenly feels all wrong.

Reb’s journey takes her across the country and back, and is for anyone who has experienced uncertainty or betrayal. This book will inspire readers to overcome life’s challenges and come out triumphant on the other side.

My Thoughts: Well, I really did like this book, I did, but I just didn’t love it like I wanted too. I really enjoyed it, but love is too strong of a word for me to use on this one. I guess I found it to be a bit drawn out in some areas, and I just wanted the plot to move a little faster.

We are introduced to Rebecca aka Reb or Rebel who lives with her mom, dad, and little brother. She also has a boyfriend named Jackson. Well, her family moves with her to college town (or at least close) and everything goes haywire. She finds out her dad isn’t who she thought he was at all. So, this sets in motion the beginning of the end to her relationship with her boyfriend. It complicates her life, and makes her question everything she has ever known. She’s always been a daddy’s girl, now what? With half of her identity taken away, who is Rebel now?

She’s scared, lost, and confused. She doesn’t know much of anything at this point.

She has to learn how to cope with things and keep her family together. But while her dad is gone, she meets her grandparents who she hasn’t seen in years. This begins the healing of her family and the moving on and forgiving of her dad. He’s still her dad no matter what. He has made mistakes, but not because he doesn’t love Rebel and her brother. He’s just human, thats all.

I loved that they went to Hawaii and the journey they embark on. I also loved where the novel ended up and how things progressed and Rebel’s choices on college. I’m glad she gets to expand her dreams and find out who she really is.

Overall: Liked it! This might even be a 3.5 for me, but I felt that I liked it more than a 3 cupcake book. I did like the plot, and the characters, and the way things ended up but there for a while in the middle, I felt myself getting kind of distracted and wanting to move on to another one. Don’t give up! Its worth it to finish this one to the end.

Cover: Like it. Like the coloring and the way she is just sitting there.


What I'd Give It:

2 comments:

Kelsey said...

I hadn't heard of this before! I didn't know the age of the character before so I might pick this up simply because she's almost in college. Thanks for the honest review!

Becca said...

I can't decide if I would like this one or not. I can identify with losing a dad and needing to find a way to move on (of course mine died and I was an adult so not exactly the same) but I really hate she is called Reb. What IS that? I would never like to be called Reb. I don't know why that bugs me, lol.

 

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