Title: Take Me With You When You Go
Author: David Levithan and Jennifer Niven
Publication: August 31, 2021
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Genre: Teens and YA Fiction
Pages: 336
Author Website – David Levithan
Author Website – Jennifer Niven
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Subject: You. Missing.
Ezra Ahern wakes up one day to find his older sister, Bea, gone. No note, no sign, nothing but an email address hidden somewhere only he would find it. Ezra never expected to be left behind with their abusive stepfather and their neglectful mother—how is he supposed to navigate life without Bea?
Bea Ahern already knew she needed to get as far away from home as possible But a message in her inbox changes everything, and she finds herself alone in a new city—without Ez, without a real plan—chasing someone who might not even want to be found.
As things unravel at home for Ezra, Bea will confront secrets about their past that will forever change the way they think about their family. Together and apart, broken by abuse but connected by love, this brother and sister must learn to trust themselves before they can find a way back to each other.
REVIEW:
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
My first warning for this book is that it is heavy. If domestic abuse triggers you, this may not be the book for you. With that said, I think this book lived up to the hype around it.
The story follow Bea and Ezra, brother and sister, who live in a domestic abuse situation until one day Ezra wakes up and Bea is gone. I have mixed personal feelings about the actions of some of the characters in this book. This isn’t a bad thing because I love when authors can really draw out emotional reactions throughout a book. Levithan and Niven definitely did this. I really love Ezra and the character growth we got to see throughout this book. Usually you see growth in characters, but this was exceptional. It was like watching a child mature into a young man from a kid. The authors did a fabulous job of displaying this growth. While I think Bea also went through some growth, her character came across as very selfish in some instances to me and wasn’t my favorite.
I really loved the layout of this book. It was unique to read the story from the aspect of emails back and forth and not like a live play by play. I felt it added a little something to make it interesting and also was a new way for me to read a story. It’s not something I had seen before.
Overall this book was great. The characters were well developed and showed growth we could actually watch happen page after page. The formatting of the book was really good. My only complaint is I would have loved an epilogue or something a year later to show us how they were later on. Maybe a possibility for a sequel? Could be fun! Definitely for anyone who loves really deep stories with some hard hitting topics and a fantastic list of characters. Highly recommended!
