Even though I’ve had so many Julian Winters books on my TBR, this is my first! And what an immense joy this book is. I now have to read all the previous ones because Right Where I Left You was a character driven emotional story about love and friendship. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
School’s out, senior year is over, and Isaac Martin is ready to kick off summer. His last before heading off to college in the fall where he won’t have his best friend, Diego. Where—despite his social anxiety—he’ll be left to make friends on his own. Knowing his time with Diego is limited, Isaac enacts a foolproof plan: snatch up a pair of badges for the epic comic convention, Legends Con, and attend his first ever Teen Pride. Just him and Diego. The way it should be. But when an unexpected run-in with Davi—Isaac’s old crush—distracts him the day tickets go on sale, suddenly he’s two badges short of a perfect summer. Even worse, now he’s left making it up to Diego by hanging with him and his gamer buddies. Decidedly NOT part of the original plan.
It’s not all bad, though. Some of Diego’s friends turn out to be pretty cool, and when things with Davi start heating up, Isaac is almost able to forget about his Legends Con blunder. Almost. Because then Diego finds out what really happened that day with Davi, and their friendship lands on thin ice. Isaac assumes he’s upset about missing the convention, but could Diego have other reasons for avoiding Isaac?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Right Where I Left You combines some of my favorite elements – a love, and shared community, of friends united by fandom and friendship drama. At this fragile transitionary moment before college, Right Where I Left You has a solid and emotional foundation of friendship. Not only the best friendship between Diego and Isaac, but also the friends they make along the way. I immediately loved their easy banter, the way we have codes and habits with friends. Yet at the same time, they, like all of us, fall into miscommunications and times where we have trouble being honest.
So you already know how much I loved the heart of friendship, but in Right Where I Left You Winters also examines family. Winters explores making mistakes, amends, and asking for a second chance. How, in our lives, people we love will hurt us. And it will never cease to be painful, but it’s about how we make amends and wondering if we start over. Right Where I Left You is a story driven by choices. How a person can make us feel at home. While also being a story about the secrets we keep from each other. All the ways we can be hurt by mistake and it’s up to us if we decide to give someone a second chance.
Overall,
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Right Where I Left You took me on an emotional roller coaster. There’s anguish at missed moments. And then there’s elation at shared memories and inside jokes. I loved how it explores friends and family, the people who we allow to see us and the ones who can hurt us deeply. But also the people who will have our backs, who end up coming through when no one else will. Find Right Where I Left You on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.