No Place Like Here by Christina June

No Place Like Here by Christina June
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to #BookJunkies and Blink for the advance reader copy of No Place Like Here by Christina June, in exchange for an honest review. Ashlynn Zanotti’s life is far from rosy; she has been punished by her very controlling father for a minor indiscretion (dating a bad boy) by being sent away to a boarding school. As her junior year closes, Ashlynn finds out her father is going to jail and her mother to rehab. Even worse, Ashlynn will be staying with her aunt and uncle and cousin, Hannah, all of whom she has not seen in years. But it is during this summer she spends at a retreat camp with cool, no nonsense Hannah, that Ashlynn begins to really begin to change and question her life. Ashlynn has been bullied by her father who controls her (also her mother) with fear and intimidation for so long that she is constantly internally angry yet compliant outwardly. As she works as a secretary to the camp manager, she uses skills she never knew she had and begins to grow and flourish. I loved the pacing of Ashlynn’s growth; the daily dramas she works through while at the camp kept me riveted turning the pages; rooting for her growing happiness within herself and hope for her future. I loved so many of the characters; Ashlynn’s best friend, Tatum, camp counselors Baxter and Ruth, and of course her aunt and uncle and cousin, Hannah. Ashlynn’s love of quotations was one of my favorite parts of this story; the quotes helped Ashlynn deal; she used the quotations to work through problems and brighten her outlook when life was drowning her in more challenges. I also loved how Ashlynn and her mom empower and support each other as the summer progresses. Teens will relate to the drama, the parental issues, and the importance of friendship and hope. Highly recommended!

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