I’ll Meet You There

Received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Cover image and summary from Goodreads:

If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything she’s ever worked for is on the line.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.

This is not usually the kind of book that I gravitate towards. Contemporary romance isn’t really my jam. But a lot of people who’s bookish opinions I trust really enjoyed this one, and then it was picked for my book club, so I was kind of excited to read it.

One of the things that I really liked about I’ll Meet You There  was the way the author gave the reader both Skylar and Josh’s perspectives. It was really great to get Josh’s side of things.

I also liked the serious tone of the story. This wasn’t a lighthearted, fluffy summer romance! The characters were dealing with a lot of things, including PTSD, grief, alcoholism, and more. It was great to get to know these characters and see them work their way through these situations. There isn’t always a solution or a happily ever after, but the way we deal with difficult situations when we’re young can be very instrumental in how we see the world and who we become. I like to think Skyler and Josh went on to happy, fulfilling lives.

I also liked that the story took place as Skylar was finishing high school and preparing to move on to college, which is such an in-between and confusing time in a person’s life (or at least, it was for me). I’d love to read more stories about that time.

This wasn’t a perfect book for me, but overall I really liked it. Recommended!