As a result, Jess starts to pull away and June starts to seriously question her own life: Why did she and Jess drink so much? Were her and Jess just friends or were they something more? Why doesn’t Jess seem to like June’s family and new friends (and vice versa)? Can she be into Sam and Jess at the same time? Has moving to Virginia changed her for the better or for the worst? And can she and Jess ever regain the closeness that they once had? This book really reminded me of You Don’t Live Here by Robyn Schneider; if you liked this book (or really any of Schneider’s books), you should definitely check out Any Place But Here. This book is ideally suited for a teen audience and deals with themes such as LGBTQ+, friendship, first loves, coming of age/ growing up, and identity. The main take always for me was that you need to be true to yourself and that change doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Overall, I thought that this book made sense and was easy to follow. I loved reading about June and Sam’s photography classes and assignments; it was interesting to read about how they learned to use vintage cameras with film and how they developed their photographs using a darkroom. I also loved the detailed descriptions of the settings; especially Claire’s elaborate dorm room ceiling, which was decorated with fairy lights to resemble the night sky, and the beautiful river across the street from Oma’s condo/ beside June’s school. Lastly, I thought that it was cool that all the characters mentioned in this novel were very accepting of anyone who identified as (or came out as) gay or bisexual; that, in and of itself, makes this book a worthwhile read in my opinion. One critique that I have is that the plot mostly stayed in the same place (June going to school with Kitty and Claire, taking photos with Sam, eating dinner with her Oma, and talking to her family and Jess on the phone); there didn’t seem to be a lot of dramatic rising and falling action. The plot mainly focuses on June’s increasing awareness of her romantic feelings towards Jess and June’s (mostly) inner struggle to determine her sexual orientation. It would have been nice if the action rose a little more, if there was a greater climax, and if there was a more fulfilling ending to June’s story. Overall, I thought that Any Place But Here was a relatively quick and enjoyable read. I gave this book a rating of 8 out of 10. This article was written for "The Nerd Daily". Click to view this article on "The Nerd Daily's" website or copy & paste the following URL into your web browser: https://thenerddaily.com/review-any-place-but-here-by-sarah-van-name/
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