New to You (15): Margaret Reviews I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Posted August 16, 2018 by Andi in Books, Giveaway, New to You, Review / 1 Comment

Welcome to New to You!

This idea came along last year when I was supporting Lauren Miller’s newest book All Things New and I asked Kelsey to read and review Parallel, a book I have read more than once. I didn’t really get it going until December when I offered people the chance to sign up to read and review a book that has been a favorite of mine that they have never read. I got a great response and I’m happy to tell you (minus January) you will see a New to You post twice a month.

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Next up for New to You is Margaret and she’ll be reviewing I’ll Meet You There. Margaret mentioned to me that Bad Romance was a top read for her last year so I had no choice but to give her a book I have read twice just this year. There is something about I’ll Meet You There that makes me constantly come back for more and I’m excited to have someone new read it. Let’s see what she had to say about it.

New to You (15): Margaret Reviews I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Published: February 3, 2015
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If 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 separating Skylar from art school is three months of summer…until Skylar’s mother loses her job, and Skylar realizes her dreams may be slipping out of reach.

Josh had a different escape route: the Marines. But after losing his leg 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 Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and, soon, something deeper.

Compelling and ultimately hopeful, this is a powerful examination of love, loss, and resilience.

“And maybe some people are like collages – no matter how broken or useless we felt, we were an essential part of the whole. We mattered.”
― Heather Demetrios, I’ll Meet You There

I’m a longtime fan of Heather Demetrios. I normally read fantasy, so I started with her YA fantasy trilogy (loved), eventually gave her contemporary Bad Romance a try (loved), and then delayed far too long in reading I’ll Meet You There (loved).

Do you notice a trend here?

I love everything Heather writes, even the things that I wouldn’t normally pick up.

I’ll Meet You There falls solidly into that camp. Being set in a small town, far from anything interesting, surrounded by clones of the same people, doing the same things they’ve always done…reminds me far too much of where I come from, and not in a good way. But I trusted Heather and I trusted Andi, knowing neither of them would steer me wrong.

So I wasn’t surprised I couldn’t put this book down. There’s something about Heather’s books that sucks you in, the incredible prose she uses to bring their worlds to life, it holds on to you. I spent days with the phrase “party decay” echoing in my mind, amazed at how it perfectly describes the downhill turn of partygoers that have stayed too long and drunk too much.

But most of all, Heather makes you FEEL things. She makes you squirm with embarrassment or brings tears to your eyes. She shows you the broken pieces of the boy come home from war and the desperation of the girl who wants to escape a hard home life, she puts them on the page in a way that feels real and true.

I related to the characters in this story more than I wanted to, but in the end, I loved every second of it. I fell in love with Josh and Skylar.

To be honest, I’m already reading I’ll Meet You There for the second time.

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