Book Review- Wherever You Go

I finished reading Wherever You Go by Heather Davis for a Teen Book Scene review.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Holly Mullen has felt lost and lonely ever since her boyfriend, Rob, died in a tragic accident. The fact that she has to spend most of her free time caring for her little sister and Alzheimer’s-stricken grandfather doesn’t help. But Holly has no idea that as she goes about her days, Rob’s ghost is watching over her. He isn’t happy when he sees his best friend, Jason, reach out to help Holly with her grandfather—but as a ghost, he can do nothing to stop it. Is his best friend really falling for his girlfriend?

As Holly wonders whether to open her heart to Jason, the past comes back to haunt her. Her grandfather claims to be communicating with the ghost of Rob. Could the messages he has for Holly be real? And if so, how can the loved ones Rob left behind help his tortured soul make it to the other side?

Told from the perspectives of Holly, Jason, and Rob,Wherever You Gois is a poignant story about making peace with the past, opening your heart to love, and finding the courage to move forward into the light.

I had a hard time getting into this book.  I think it might be because of the fact that the perspectives of the story kept jumping around.  There is Holly's point of view in the first person.  There is Rob's point of view in the second person.  And there is Jason's point of view in the third person.  Personally, I didn't like reading in second person AT ALL.  It was just too off putting.  And I think that since there were all of these different viewpoints, that I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Holly bugged me somewhat.  She seemed so cold and distant.  I get that her boyfriend died.  But she didn't really seem sad to me, just emotion-less.  I never really felt that she loved Rob.  And then the scenario with her mother.  Argh!  I get that in today's economy, teenagers often times have to take care of younger sibling while parents are at work.  But she really did seem too much like she was the parent.  And when her mom stepped in to actual be a parent, I wanted Holly to give more attitude to her mom to ler her really know how much of a burden was being placed on her.

I liked Jason.  He seemed sweet.  But also a little distant.  I liked that he seemed to care so much for Holly and wanted to make her happy.  But I also think it's kind of odd to move in on your deceased best friend's girlfriend only 6 months after he'd passed away.  Maybe that's just me.

And then there's Rob.  His story was an interesting one.  I didn't see it coming.  I think a whole story could really be told about the reason behind the crash.  And I think that could be an important story.  Unfortunately, this story didn't go into it that much.

And finally, there's Aldo, Holly's grandfather who is suffering from Alzheimer’s.  I really enjoyed him.  I think he was the most sympathetic character of the whole book.  I really felt for him.  I felt so sad for him when he was struggling and almost trapped inside his brain.  And I loved when he was so engaged while doing things on his "list".  Such a sweet old guy.

This story was definitely a character-driven one.  I'm not too keen on the whole multiple-perspectives, but if you are, then give this book a try.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Wherever You Go will be released on November 15, 2011.

This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 80
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 64
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 62
2011 YA Contemporary Challenge: 14

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Teen Book Scene.