Demetrios, Heather.  I’ll Meet You There.  New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2015.  978-0-8050-9795-5. 388 p.  $17.99.  Gr. 9 and up.

Skylar Evans wants nothing more than to leave Creek View after graduation and attend art school in San Francisco.  This dream is threatened, however, when her world starts spinning out of control.  First, her mother loses her job at Taco Bell and falls into a deep depression.  Then, Skylar is reunited with Josh Mitchell, a former coworker who lost his leg while serving as a Marine in Afghanistan. As she desperately tries to save her mother and begins to develop a relationship with Josh, Skylar begins to rethink everything Creek View means to her.  Will she really be able to leave behind this place and these people?  Although the book is an obvious love story, Josh’s recollections of war and Skylar’s emotional maturation throughout the book will also entice fans of war and coming-of-age stories.

Realistic Fiction        Julie Ritter, Montoursville Area High School

Although the story is told mainly from Skylar’s point of view, Josh’s thoughts and war flashbacks are interspersed throughout the book, adding to its appeal for male as well as female readers.  The book really provides readers with a glimpse of the struggles soldiers face after returning home from war, and the author’s note at the end includes information about the Wounded Warrior Project as well as recommendations for further reading on the war in Afghanistan.  Underage drinking, steamy love scenes, and swear words make this title more appropriate for high school audiences.