You Were Here by Cori McCarthy

Pages: 400

Goodreads Rating: 4.06 / 5 stars

My Rating: 4 / 5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary [Goodreads]:

Grief turned Jaycee into a daredevil, but can she dare to deal with her past?

On the anniversary of her daredevil brother’s death, Jaycee attempts to break into Jake’s favorite hideout—the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum. Joined by four classmates, each with their own brand of dysfunction, Jaycee discovers a map detailing her brother’s exploration and the unfinished dares he left behind.

As a tribute to Jake, Jaycee vows to complete the dares, no matter how terrifying or dangerous. What she doesn’t bargain on is her eccentric band of friends who challenge her to do the unthinkable: reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother.

My Review:

Review also posted on Goodreads

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A story about teens take an urban exploration and friendships developed. Told in five perspectives, each characters tell their stories with raw emotion about their life issues. The concept of this book is fascinating, each perspective is in 1st person (Jaycee), 3rd person (Zach and Natalie), illustration (Bishop) and graphic novel style(Mik).

Among the characters, Jaycee has the best character development Grieving over the loss of her brother, Jake, she had a hard time letting go by clinging too much on his stuffs, doing reckless things that her brother usually did (it was suicidal) and shuts off everyone. She lets herself to be vulnerable and express her feelings. It’s a slow process to let go of someone you lost and it’s wonderfully done in this book. However, Mik is my favorite character. He was this mysterious, selective mute guy and I think I have a little crush on him. There is a story behind this guy and why he’s connected with Jake’s death. I wish there’s more Bishop’s perspective I absolutely adore his art. His unfortunate relationship made him brokenhearted and he expressed it through his illustrations. To me, he has the least character development though. I’m not the biggest fan of Nat.. in the end I sort of love/hate her. She and Jaycee are best friends but she distanced herself after Jake’s death and that caused a strained relationship between them. She has her reasons and I tried to understand her situation. Despite of that, it’s nice to see her cleared things up to Jaycee. It’s touching to see them reunite. Lastly, Zach may look optimistic and funny, deep inside.. he’s lost. He’s Nat’s boyfriend. I pity him for some reason and I wish he may find happiness. He deserves to have a good life.

It is challenging to read it but I really enjoyed their adventures and they have great character developments. Also, I love the setting and the plot twist. Kudos to Cori McCarthy for writing this book! I recommend it to everyone.