Blink Summer Reading Tour: Book Review: No Place Like Here by Christina June + GIVEAWAY

Even though I’ve met Christina June and own a few of her books now, No Place Like Here is still my first book from her that I’ve read! I know, my TBR is shameful, please don’t pile more shame on it. But I’m actually very glad it was! There’s something nice about going backwards in time too!

Summary

Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She’s just spent a year at boarding school and can’t wait to get home. But when Ashlyn’s father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for “exhaustion,” a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.

The cherry on top? Ashlyn’s father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn’t even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed “indoor girl,” not even Ash’s habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes—inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere—can help her cope.

With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad’s marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home. 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37856233-no-place-like-here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LHHUnK

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-place-like-here-christina-june/1128931453?ean=9780310766926#/

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/No-Place-Like-Here-Christina-June/9780310766926?ref=grid-view&qid=1557882248351&sr=1-1

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=No+Place+Like+Here

Review

(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

I would like to preface this review by saying that I love that this is a pseudo Hansel and Gretel re-telling. That being said, let’s dive right in. While this a modern twist on the story you may know, it transcends what you might expect. While I never really understood Hansel and Gretel’s parents in the original, June brings new life to these figures – allowing us a fascinating look both at Ashlyn’s mother and also the relationship with her father. There are times we stand by and say nothing, afraid of rocking the gentle balance we’ve come to know, and when expectations pile up.

While Ashlyn’s story in No Place Like Here is very much one of self-discovery, finding one’s strengths, and becoming in touch with speaking our feelings, I couldn’t help becoming charmed with June’s exploration of family. Ashlyn’s mother checks into a clinic for her depression, while her dad is also in jail for tax evasion and this distance forces Ashlyn to look at all the spaces in between them. The heaps of expectations, stunned silences, and ways in which the family danced around each other.

All while exploring the nature of home and our self-identity. Feeling abandoned, Ashlyn struggles to be seen for who she is. To be actually heard, instead of holding back screams and tears. She feels very much like she is a person who her family doesn’t expect – something different than who they see her as. But how do we bridge that gap? Between the image people construct of us, and who we are?

Find the Book

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37856233-no-place-like-here

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LHHUnK

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-place-like-here-christina-june/1128931453?ean=9780310766926#/

Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/No-Place-Like-Here-Christina-June/9780310766926?ref=grid-view&qid=1557882248351&sr=1-1

IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=No+Place+Like+Here

Giveaway

Prize: 5 BLINK Summer Reading Tour Book Bundles (A Touch of Gold, Meet the Sky, No Place Like Here, Pretty In Punxsutawney, and Swing by Kwame Alexander) (USA)

Starts: 7/22/19

Ends: 8/9/19

a Rafflecopter giveaway

About the Author

Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.

She is the author of IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE, and the forthcoming NO PLACE LIKE HERE.

Website: https://christinajune.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinajuneya/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13987227.Christina_June
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/christinajuneya/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christinajuneya/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/christinajuneya/

Tour Schedule

July 22

That Artsy Reader Girl – Summer Reading Tour Kick-Off

July 23

Pages & Pugs – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Favorite Quotes Mangeuse de Livres – Q&A with Annie Sullivan (French & English)
Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes Musings of a (Book) Girl – Christina June Guest Post Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney Nay’s Pink Bookshelf – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes Taylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
Kayla Reads and Reviews – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post
Savings In Seconds – Book Review of Meet the Sky

July 24

J.R.’s Book Reviews – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
Book-Keeping – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Musings of a (Book) Girl – Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton
Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of No Place Like Here Shelf-Rated – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Favorite Quotes
Reading Authors Network – Book Review of Swing
Read At Night – Interview with Christina June YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of Swing
Cinnamon Summers – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes Inky Moments – Creative Post

July 25

Marshmallow Pudding – Christina June Guest Post
Never Too Many to Read – Creative Post for No Place Like Here
Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes Nay’s Pink Bookshelf – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Favorite Quotes FictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for A Touch of Gold (Instagram)
Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with McCall Hoyle
Will Read Anything – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Kait Plus Books – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
The Reading Corner for All – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Instagram Post

July 26

Adventures Thru Wonderland – McCall Hoyle Guest Post
Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
What She Will Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes
Starlight Reads – Book Playlist for Swing
Story-eyed Reviews – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes
Library of a Book Witch – Book Review of A Touch of Gold Will Read Anything – Book Review of Swing
Inky Moments – Book Review of No Place Like Here + Favorite Quotes

July 29

Beauty In the Binding – Author Q&A with Annie Sullivan Onemused – Book Review of Meet the Sky (Instagram Photo) A Bronx Latina Reads – Book Review of No Place Like Here Cinnamon Summers – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Favorite Quotes
A Dream Within a Dream – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
Savings In Seconds – Book Review of Swing + Favorite Quotes
FictitiousWonderland – Book Review + Creative Post for Pretty In Punxsutawney (Instagram)

July 30

What She Will Read – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post
Never Too Many to Read – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Starlight Reads – Book Review of Swing
YA/NA Book Divas – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
YA Media Consumer – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Some Books and Ramblings – Interview with McCall Hoyle
Moonlight Rendezvous – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes The Reading Corner for All – Book Review of Meet the Sky + Instagram Post

July 31

Feed Your Fiction Addiction – McCall Hoyle Guest Post Taylor Fenner’s Bookish World – Book Review of No Place Like Here Book-Keeping – Book Review of Touch of Gold
Utopia State of Mind – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Kait Plus Books – Annie Sullivan Guest Post Musings of a (Book) Girl – Book Review of Swing
Kait Plus Books – Laurie Boyle Crompton Guest Post Read At Night – No Place Like Here Creative Post
Ohana Cascadia – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Favorite Quotes
Lifestyle of Me – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney

August 1

Reading Authors Network – Creative Post for Swing
Story-eyed Reviews – Interview with Christina June
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
The Secret Reader – Book Review of A Touch of Gold + Creative Post
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Swing
A Dream Within A Dream – Annie Sullivan Guest Post
Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney
A Bookish Dream – Book Review of No Place Like Here
Adventures Thru Wonderland – Book Review of Meet the Sky

August 2

Here’s to Happy Endings – Book Review of Meet the Sky
Belle’s Archive – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney The Secret Reader – Book Review of Pretty In Punxsutawney + Interview with Laurie Boyle Crompton + Creative Post Smada’s Book Smack – Book Review of No Place Like Here Faery Tales Are Real – Book Review of A Touch of Gold
Read At Night – Book Review of Swing + Creative Post
Two Points of Interest – Book Review of Swing

Discussion

What author have you only read the latest book of, but not any others?

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