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The Map from Here to There by Emery Lord

It's senior year, and Paige Hancock is finally living her best life. She has a fun summer job, great friends, and a super charming boyfriend who totally gets her. But senior year also means big decisions. 

Feeling the weight of 'the rest of her life' Paige starts to panic. Everything is exactly how she always wanted it to be - how can she leave it all behind next year? In her head, she knows there is so much more to life after high school. But in her heart, is it so terrible to want everything to stay the same forever? 

 Gahhh... I wanted to love this book, I really really did. I am a huge fan of Emery Lord's other novels; The Names They Gave Us and When We Collided, so I went into this book with super high expectations, which possibly could have been why I didn't love this book as much as I think I should have. I did enjoy it, but its just not my favourite YA novel. 

 Paige was a really great main character, and the friendships in the story were crafted perfectly! There were such beautiful moments between Paige and her parents and her sister which was also fantastic. It is always wonderful when parents are present in YA books. I didn't realise that this is the sequel to The Start of Me and You so maybe if I had read it first (You don't need to!), I would have found myself more invested in Paige and Max's relationship . Max was a nice guy, but he didn't make me swoon!!! The only time I really admired Max was when he quoted Mr. Darcy! When I am reading a book with a big romance component - I need a swoonworthy male character! There was too much drama between Max and Paige which made me roll my eyes and want to pull my hair out. But their relationship was quite realistic for 17 year olds which was really great. 

 I was so excited to read a book where anxiety was a big part of the main character's life. There needs to be more books that discuss mental health disorders! I personally just found it a bit frustrating that Paige didn't share her struggles with her friends, family and boyfriend sooner as that would have been a fantastic way to help reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues. It also could have inspired other people who were struggling, to get help. Saying that though, this is a perfect example of what happens when anxiety spirals out of your control and why you should talk about your emotions with people you trust. This will sound silly, but I actually would have appreciated if Paige's anxiety became even more severe, so that the readers could understand how life-altering mental health issues can be. 

 Don't get me wrong! I did enjoy this book, and I really loved some of the relationships, and the mental health aspect. Paige is a very relatable character, and everyone who has been through high school will understand her struggles! 3/5 stars
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  1. SanJune 12, 2020 at 7:35 PM

    If quoting Mr Darcy doesn't help with liking character then we have a little problem. It's a shame that you didn't enjoy this book as much as you expected. I haven't read any book from Emery Lord yet but I have The Names They Gave Us and When We Collided on my shelf sp probably will start with them. Grate review!

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