Meet Me Here

Spoiler Alert: It's never too late.

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Despite how enticing it looked in the library, this was not my favorite book. Telling the story of a boy wishing to defy his town and his father’s expectations, the book is dry believe it or not. The main character doesn’t want to join the Army and end up like his father and certainly not like his brother, the town hero. The story takes place on his graduation night as the protagonist is joined by his childhood friend, Mallory, who he hasn’t talked to in forever. As they’re sucked back in time and do the things they only wished they could when they were younger, they know it can’t last forever. They realize bitterly that they’re not seven anymore and when the sun comes up they will each have expectations to face. By the end of the book, Thomas finally tells his dad he can’t go to the military, and just as suspected his dad is livid, so Thomas leaves town after realizing he was meant to be more than just friends with Mallory. So despite ending on a bit of a sour note, I like to believe it will get better for Thomas -- because his bravery, though the unspoken kind, might’ve been what saved him from a fate destined for someone else.

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Favorite quotes: “I have to believe in whatever magic brings us down twisted roads, leading us to places we never expected. Leading us back to the place we should've been all along.” ~~ “I think courage is somewhere between doing what you want to do and what you need to do," he says. "And that's on you, man.” ~~ “I want to believe that we make our own plans. I want to believe that we are the ones in control of our lives.” ~~ “I'd drive until the sun came up and went down again if I thought I could get away with it, letting the radio mute whatever I was feeling. The wind would blow away all my problems.”