You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith

Emma Healy has never really felt like she fit in with the rest of her quirky but brilliant family of academics and professors. All her life, she’s never felt quite whole, as if something was out of place in her life. Perhaps, she sometimes thought, it was because she was out of place. It’s hard to think otherwise when your parents throw birthday parties for you at poetry readings in New York City, or the invited guests are world-renowned professors of archeology, sociology, and anthropology (all of whom are your parents’ close friends).

One day, Emma comes across a birth certificate and a death certificate, both of which changes the way she sees herself, her family, and their shared familial history. Spurred by her discovery, she decides to go on a road trip to North Carolina—the place where she might find the grave of her recently discovered twin brother. Together with her neighbor Peter Finnegan—an unlikely car thief and civil war aficionado—and a three legged dog, Emma learns that there is a lot more to a journey than a destination, that there is a lot more to a family than meets the eye, and also, that the people who love you will always there for you.

As much Peter’s story as it is Emma’s, You Are Here is a well-written tale of two teenagers searching for answers to illuminate the unknown in their lives. Despite being well-developed characters, I occasionally felt that Emma and Peter’s lines were strangely adult, making them seem somewhat like talking mannequins. I also found the slow romance between the two teens unfortunately inauthentic, but Jennifer E. Smith manages to make it work towards the end of the novel, pushing towards a moving finish.

You Are Here is an accomplished book about family, grief, and love, and there is lots to like in the book. Yet despite its eloquence, I’m not sure it is quite authentic enough to find a place in my heart. I cannot bring myself to heartily recommend the book. Readers who enjoy slower-paced novels might be better able to connect with the story, but I could not find myself completely engaged.

Smith, Jennifer. You Are Here. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, 2009.

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