Katie's Book Blog!!

Emma Healy has just had the surprise of her life. While in the attic searching for a book for her father, she discovered the birth and death certificate of her twin brother Thomas. Why has nobody ever mentioned this to her? Is this why she always feels like she doesn't fit with her family?With the help of her nerdy neighbor Peter Finnegan, Emma sets off to visit the gravesite of her brother on the one day that she shares with her, their birthday. Along the way they run into some snags in their plan including a three-legged stray dog who seems to have taken a liking to them.Is this the family Emma has always been looking for or is she just running? Will she ever find the place she truly belongs?Jennifer E Smith has created a wonderful coming of age story in You Are Here. Emma Healy and her family were wonderful characters. Yes I include Peter in her family. He just seems like he fits there. Her family was full of wonderfully eccentric people who loved her but never really knew how to show it. Throughout the book you get to see more into them and why they never mentioned the fact that Emma had a twin brother.Peter was probably my favorite character. He was so funny and quirky. He was in love with Emma from the start and he couldn't even admit it to himself. He was just so awkward and nerdy. I loved him.And then of course the stray dog who made them his. He was found at a New Jersey rest stop and just decided to go with them. He was so cute and it was so funny how he seemed to think that Emma and Peter were the strays that needed him.Also, the whole story was just cute. That is the one word I can think of to describe it. Peter and Emma are two unlikely runaways who end up finding their true homes while they are traveling across the country.Overall, You Are Here is the perfect summer roadtrip book. I definitely recommend it for a long car ride or even a lazy day lounging by the pool.