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A review by kindwordsgoodbooks
Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard
5.0
sara barnard does it again, another book i will give a mysterious rare five stars to but barely function to actually review because the book hit so close to home and my own experiences that it would be legit painful to think too much on.
i understand some have knocked stars off for it being too unrealistic, fantastical, etc and i super disagree.
in regards to travel: lots of 17 -almost-18 yrs olds travel like this, and even if not, sometimes logistical things HAVE to be tweaked or fiction would cease to exist, lol
in regards to how Peyton acts and reacts: shes traumatised. insanely lonely and sad and with terrible self esteem. obviously she does stupid things. and if she comes across immature its because she is.. 17. you can be smart enough to know how to travel and get things done but still be emotionally immature. plus she matures in the novel.. which is the point, no?? everyone always wants dynamic and flawed characters until a character is actually dynamic and flawed, especially when its a girl!
and also the plausibility of 17 yr olds taking coke.. maybe this is just very telling about me as a person but when i was that age i would feel like the odd one out for *not* doing hard drugs, in certain circles. this shit is really normalised depending on where you're from. i think american readers are sometimes too used to US centric YA where folk barely even drink, and if they do its an alcohol abuse storyline.. but in the UK the drinking culture is so, so different, especially in scotland for instance. so i have no qualms with the authors choices here. it was incredibly realistic to me and im glad she didnt shy away from the topic.
ultimately i think sara barnard does a grand job at treating teens like the complex, emotional and intelligent people they are. the book is funny and beautiful and heartbreaking and clever and i loved it so so much.
i understand some have knocked stars off for it being too unrealistic, fantastical, etc and i super disagree.
in regards to travel: lots of 17 -almost-18 yrs olds travel like this, and even if not, sometimes logistical things HAVE to be tweaked or fiction would cease to exist, lol
in regards to how Peyton acts and reacts: shes traumatised. insanely lonely and sad and with terrible self esteem. obviously she does stupid things. and if she comes across immature its because she is.. 17. you can be smart enough to know how to travel and get things done but still be emotionally immature. plus she matures in the novel.. which is the point, no?? everyone always wants dynamic and flawed characters until a character is actually dynamic and flawed, especially when its a girl!
and also the plausibility of 17 yr olds taking coke.. maybe this is just very telling about me as a person but when i was that age i would feel like the odd one out for *not* doing hard drugs, in certain circles. this shit is really normalised depending on where you're from. i think american readers are sometimes too used to US centric YA where folk barely even drink, and if they do its an alcohol abuse storyline.. but in the UK the drinking culture is so, so different, especially in scotland for instance. so i have no qualms with the authors choices here. it was incredibly realistic to me and im glad she didnt shy away from the topic.
ultimately i think sara barnard does a grand job at treating teens like the complex, emotional and intelligent people they are. the book is funny and beautiful and heartbreaking and clever and i loved it so so much.