Recent Reads and Giveaway! - Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June

Source: From the Publicist and the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June
Publisher: Blink/ HarperCollins
Publication Date: May 1, 2018  

 

Format: Paperback

Rating:


 



Goodreads Synopsis: 

From author Christina June comes Everywhere You Want to Be, a modern tale inspired by the classic Red Riding Hood.

Matilda Castillo has always done what she was told, but when she gets injured senior years, she watches her dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer slip away. So when Tilly gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the summer with a New York dance troupe, nothing can stop her from saying yes--not her mother, not her fears of the big city, and not the commitment she made to Georgetown. Tilly's mother allows her to go on two conditions: one, Tilly will regularly visit her abuela in New Jersey, and two, after the summer, she'll give up dancing and go off to college.

Armed with her red vintage sunglasses and her pros and cons lists, Tilly strikes out, determined to turn a summer job into a career. Along the way she meets new friends ... and new enemies. Tilly isn't the only one desperate to dance, and fellow troupe member Sabrina Wolfrik intends to succeed at any cost. But despite dodging sabotage and blackmail attempts from Sabrina, Tilly can't help but fall in love with the city, especially since Paolo, a handsome musician from her past, is also calling New York home for the summer.

As the weeks wind down and the competition with Sabrina heats up, Tilly's future is on the line. She must decide whether to follow her mother's path to Georgetown or leap into the unknown to pursue her own dreams.

Review: 
I have been reading and enjoying a lot more YA contemporary these days, and this was another one for the good pile. Everywhere You Want To Be follows a girl named Tilly who has been angry for months over losing her chance to dance in the big time. She has overcome a broken ankle, and her anger and is now on her way to NY to participate in a summer dance program which could become a job if everything goes right. 

Tilly is a smart, accomplished main character who knows the value of things and wants to do right by everyone, even in the competitive world of dancing. She doesn't want to disappoint her mother but also wants to live her dream - so she is an anxious character. I can relate to that, so reading about her and being in her point of view was easy for me. The other characters in the book were nice additions and the conflict points were there and easy to read. I think some of the characters could have been fleshed out a bit more but the book wasn't super long and it rounded out nicely in the end.

I liked that the book had aspects of romance and drama and it made for a good contemporary YA read.  As I was preparing this post, I read the Goodreads synopsis noting that this is a modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. I had no idea! But now, after the fact, I can see the parallels. So if you are going into this book as just a contemporary read, as I had - it is still just as entertaining as reading it as a retelling of sorts.

As far as the retelling tie-ins, I found that Tilly could be Red but in a different way - she is straying from her mother's path but she is also strong enough to fight the wolf on her own. I think the wolf of the story is a few things, Tilly overcoming her fears, angers, and embarrassments, and also more literally Sabrina.

This was a good summertime read for me. If you like YA contemporary with a bit of romance and a good girl drama, this one is for you.

 Prize: 1 Copy of Everywhere You Want to Be by Christina June 

Rules:  

No giveaway accounts, I will check; 

Must be 13 with parent permission or older;

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