Review: HERE by Denise Grover Swank

Title: Here

Author: Denise Grover Swank

Publication Date: 11-7-2011

Publisher: Bramagioia Enterprises
Pages: 352

Format: eBook

Source: Blog Tour

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Book Summary:

Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before. 

Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

 

Julia Phillips is an interesting character with a tragic story.  Her best friend died in a car accident that she truly believes is her fault.  She doesn't remember what happened, why it happened, or what they were doing, but she knows that it's her fault.  Her life takes an interesting turn when Evan Whittaker has started to pay attention to her.  He volunteers to be her tutor, seems to know strange things about her, and basically chooses her over the queen of popularity.  No one knows why.  No one understand it.  Although there is the strange feeling that everything is a little off.  

When the situation changes and the police come looking for Evan, Julia doesn't know what to think.  She isn't sure who to believe or what she should do, but she decides to trust Evan.  She decides to go with him even though she doesn't know where exactly that may be.

I'm not going to say much else, because it will give too much away!  However, there were some intense feelings throughout this book, and the connection between characters was insane.  I was hooked on this book from the first page.  I started reading it before leaving for work one day, and I was pleasantly surprised.  I didn't want to put it down, but I didn't have a choice.  When I finally picked it back up, I finished it in that one sitting.  Swank did a great job of keeping me fully entertained.  I really liked the characters, and the story line was really different from other books I've been reading.  I hadn't expected the ending to be what it was, but that made it even better!  I could tell something was off with everyone, but just couldn't quite place it.  I just wish I had the next one to read NOW!

Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning. Denise is represented by Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary.

You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com or email her at denisegroverswank@gmail.com You can also follow her on Twitter: @DeniseMSwank or  friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deniseswank

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