Chloe has known since forever that her destiny is ballet, but her mom won't let her audition for an exclusive NYC ballet conservatory started up by Chloe's favorite professional dancer. When her mom goes on a cruise, Chloe realizes she's got a chance to drive from New Jersey to DC to audition. What she doesn't expect is Eli, her enemy next door, blackmailing her into taking him along. When the two run into problem after problem, Chloe begins to wonder if she's ever going to make this audition.

This was utterly adorable.

Chloe's passion for dance and her love of ballet, combined with her very real doubts about her own talents and the fact that her body is different from the skinny mini ballerinas her age, are so real. After breaking her ankle just before Homecoming a year and a half ago, she's lost her confidence in her body and herself—and has constant anxiety attacks of "what if." What if she would never be as good as she was? What if she sucks? What if, what if, what if.

I felt for her so hard, particularly when she gets so anxious that she's nauseous (and then pukes on herself and the car and Eli—that's a smell that doesn't go away for a while). I did like that she regains her confidence in herself and her worth as a dancer, and learns that no matter what happens she will find a way to pursue her passion—because she's gone on this crazy road trip, took a risk, and survived to tell the story.

Chloe and Eli's slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance is cute as hell, and is more a tale of miscommunication and an unwillingness to accept fault and apologize. Enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes, but it is so easy to misstep—and this definitely doesn't.

Eli is flawed, complicated, arrogant, funny and filled with his own insecurities that he tries to tamp down and hide. His mom blames him for literally everything and calls him a horrible kid to his face (seriously, wtf), and his dad just wants him to go do UNC (which one, I dunno) and become a lawyer like himself. But Eli wants to purse his own passion and make a living as an artist—what time of artist, he doesn't know, that's what art school is going to help with.

It was so refreshing to see a character have no fucking clue what they were going to do after high school, but also know that they had a dream, they had talent, and they were going to pursue that dream and passion to the ends of the earth.

So ultimately this is a cute and funny story with a romance between two people, but the journey was more fun than the romance. It's also a story about family, forgiveness and reconnecting with friends.

And, of course, a coming of age story about a girl who realizes just how far she's willing to go to realize her dream.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a fun road trip story about two neighbors, and former friends, as they connect while traveling down the east cost. Chloe is determined to make it to an out-of-state dance audition, whether her mother approves or not. Eli, and his dog Geezer, worm their way onto the traveling squad to catch a ride to his dad’s house to let him know that he’s going to art school across the country.

This was exactly what I wanted it to be. Anything having to do with dance, I. Am. There. After her dad died when she was three, Chloe’s mom put her in dance classes. From then on, Chloe knew she was going to become a professional ballet dancer. All that changes when she breaks her ankle, her whole career vanishing before it even begins, if she listens to her doctor. However, Chloe works her ass off for a good 10 months to get her strength back. Encouraged by her instructor, she is set on auditioning for a spot in a conservatory run by her dance idol, except her mother is a hard no, not ready to let her only daughter leave her side. What I loved about Chloe was her perseverance. She knows she’s a good dancer, but because of this severe injury she doubts if she’s back to how she was before the accident. She pushes to prove to everyone—her doctor, mother, classmates—that this has made her stronger and she is going to fight to follow her dream.

The last thing she wants to do is be stuck in a car with Eli. I liked Eli. He was a sweet kid who was just trying to help Chloe out throughout their journey together. You could tell he really meant well, he just couldn’t help himself with kind of screwing things up.

This was a very strong debut and I can’t wait to read more from Kristina Forest.

I was sent an e-arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a remarkably adorable story, with a passion that every teenager could relate to. I would have loved this book to pieces when I was seventeen, like our main character Chloe, and it would have inspired me to truly find what I love, just to chase that feeling Chloe has for ballet. I Wanna Be Where You Are is a wonderfully quick read that will leave you with happy feelings and a fire burning to chase your dreams.

Chloe is a model student, the perfect daughter, and is really really good at ballet. So lying to her mother about anything is out of the ordinary for her, but following her dreams of auditioning for a prestigious ballet conservatory is reason enough to do some pretty unexpected things. Like drive to Washington DC during spring break after her mom doesn’t allow her to go to the New York audition. And allow her neighbor Eli, a childhood friend turned public enemy number one, to blackmail his way into hitching a ride to DC. Chloe wants this more than anything though, and not even her fear of driving on the highway is going to stop her. And it is her determination that is the driving force of this book. She faces many obstacles, not limited to a nervous stomach, road construction, and a stinky dog, but it can’t stop her. The only thing that might get in the way is her own self-doubt after breaking her ankle last year, and her ever-constant guilt about going behind her mother’s back.

This book is a fast read, filled with emotion. You get all the lovely first romance type of feelings. The will they/won’t they dynamic plus a bit of enemies to lovers that will make anyone swoon. Everyone loves a road trip, and this one will make you laugh and probably give you anxiety. But it’s fun anyway. You can feel the way that Chloe and Eli start to fall into each other; even if they haven’t spoken to each other in a year, they grew up together. They know all of each other’s idiosyncrasies, all of their best childhood stories are together. And there is a closeness that only comes from that kind of friendship, from knowing somebody that well. It’s that feel-good teen movie kind of feeling, where you know someone as well as you know yourself, for better or worse. Being there as Chloe and Eli rediscover that feeling is as heartwarming as it is entertaining, as they argue like an old married couple and come to terms with their history.

What I loved reading the most, though, was Chloe’s relationship with dance. Ballet is her passion, her reason for being, and even her own fears won’t stop her from trying. They very nearly do, but she knows she’d never forgive herself if she went all this way and stopped short. It’s always fun to hear people talk about what they love, the excitement they feel can transfer to you and you too start to feel like anything is possible with enough effort. And Chloe brings the effort. Even with nightmares plaguing her every night of her ankle snapping again and being a complete failure at the audition, she keeps going. Even when she can’t stop hearing her doctor saying she’ll never be the dancer she once was, she keeps going. Even when she knows how it will break her mom’s heart to know Chloe lied and traveled 200 miles to attend an audition she was expressly forbidden from attending, she keeps going. Because her dream is it. It’s all she imagines for herself. Ballet is synonymous with breathing for Chloe, and it fills you with an undeniable optimism to watch her do whatever it takes to make her dream a reality. To find confidence where there was none, to show her mom what this dream means to her. It makes you want to believe in something that strongly, to know it starts here, and you can make anything happen if you just don’t stop.

I Wanna Be Where You Are was everything I wanted it to be and more. To be honest, the cover is what caught my interest the most, so I wasn’t going in with any sort of expectations from the plot. But it was filled with so much spirit, an undeniable fervor for going after what you want most, that it will stick with me as more than just that book with the gorgeous cover. Whenever I feel like I’m not doing enough, or I’m not sure I can go for what I want, this will a book to turn to. I wanna be wherever everyone appreciates this fun and passionate book.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Chloe aspired to be a ballet dancer, and was thrilled to hear that one of her ballet idols was opening a dance conservatory. Her mother had forbidden her from attending the New York auditions, but when the fates intervened, and her best friend helped her lie to her mother, Chloe was on her way to DC to take her shot. But, as with all the best laid plans, the universe, or rather Chloe's neighbor and former friend, Eli, threw a monkey wrench in her plans. Things may have gone awry, but this was a road trip, which resulted in so many wonderful and promising things for Chloe.

If you think the person on the cover of this book looks happy and full of joy, you should have seen me, when I was reading this book. My eyes were smiling, my heart was warm, and I was definitely sporting a perm-grin, because this was such a sweet, charming, and heartwarming story.

Chloe was a most wonderful character. She was hardworking, a loyal friend, and a dutiful daughter. The more I learned about her backstory and her somewhat complicated relationship with her overprotective mother, the more I rooted for her. She may not have gone about it in the right way, but it was time for Chloe to exercise her autonomy. And, this road trip was so important for her. Yes, the audition was a B I G step towards her future, but so much more occurred as she made that trek along the east coast.

Chloe believed she lost something, when she injured her ankle, and though she was dancing again, she didn't believe she would ever be back at her pre-injury level. While on this trip, Chloe was able to reconnect with some old friends. Each one of them helped Chloe rediscover and reignite something that she lost within herself, and as she recovered those pieces, she was also able to recover her dancing mojo. It was amazing to witness that transformation, and it may have resulted in me punching the air and whatnot.

Eli was an interesting match for Chloe. It was a lot of fun watching these enemies with a lot of history evolve into more. I liked that Forest slowly revealed parts of Eli to us, because with each new piece of the puzzle she presented, I found myself more and more interested in seeing this move from enemies to friends to more. The romance was a slow burn, and it was sweet and adorable, and it made me smile so, so much.

This book was near perfection for me. My only issue was with the ending. It was cute and sweet, but I really needed a jump ahead. There were a few really important things left up in the air, and I had so much invested in the future of Chloe and Eli, I just needed a little bit more to be totally satisfied.

If you love seeing people reach for their dream - read this book.
If you like road trip books - read this book.
If you enjoy a good enemies to more romance - read this book.
If you want to laugh and smile and get the warm fuzzies - read this book.

Finally, a book about ballet that doesn't make me want to go Footloose and ban all young people from dance. Very cute on both the road trip and enemies to friends to romance fronts: apparently tropes that are gaining popularity in the YA novel front, but which get a well written and nicely developed showing here. Both Chloe and Eli get neat little character arcs, and the supporting characters are fleshed out well. The ending felt a bit rushed, but overall the book balances the light with the meaningful in a pleasing way.

Forest’s debut is a rom-com with ballet. The main characters of the book were likeable although Eli’s charm took some time to develop, which seemed to be a main point of the plot. Having Chloe’s point of view helps to give readers a feeling of closeness to the story as she discusses the feelings behind her relationships. This especially helped when she finally revealed the cause of her estrangement from Eli. Also not having Eli’s added to his “mystery”. The cast of minor characters was varied from the upperclass lawyer (Eli’s father), the childhood crush ( they visit him and meet his boyfriend), the sister who has become a little edgier during college (former ballet dancer), and the supportive friend (who was also a kind of comedy relief). The mothers had bigger roles being authoriatative, while loving. I did find a few awkward items in the wording, but they did not take away from flow of the novel. I enjoyed reading the backstory of the novel with its #OwnVoices view.

(My reviews and opinions belong to me alone)

Chloe loves ballet more than anything. Even despite the setback of having broken her ankle a while back, she's a talented dancer and wants to be a professional ballerina more than anything. So it is crushing when her mother denies her the chance to audition for a conservatory program. However, Chloe is determined to take this opportunity and so she breaks her good-girl lifestyle and tells a few teeny tiny white lies to live her dream.

This, of course, gets complicated with her neighbor (and former crush) talks her into taking him and his dog along for the ride. What starts out as a simple road trip becomes anything but simple, especially when old feelings and memories get dredged up along the way.

An awesome read for those who love "To All the Boys I've Loved Before", "Love and Luck", and more, "I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a fantastic debut from author Kristina Forest! This is one road trip adventure you don't want to miss out on!

I enjoyed the basic premise of the book, but I felt like it was written on a middle grade level with YA subjects. There's a lot of whining and complaining about boys, a lot of basic high school worries, a single mother/daughter dynamic and ballet! All of these should have made for a fun read, but too many impossible conveniences made it fall a bit flat and unbelievable.

2.75

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Professional ballet is Chloe's dream, so when she gets the chance to audition for an important conservatory, she obviously wants to. The problem is that her mom won't let her. So Chloe comes up with a plan - audition for the conservatory while her mom is away on vacation. She'll be back before her mom will even know she's gone! Of course, her plans get kind of messed up when her ex-friend and annoying neighbor Eli threatens to tell her mom where she's going if she doesn't give him (and his dog) a ride to the same city her audition is in. The only thing she can do is say yes.

This book is a sweet rom com with diverse characters, but also the author uses her own knowledge and history of ballet to make everything much more real. The writing is great and some of the moments in this book will definitely have you giggling to yourself. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out!

I loved this book! It was a quick and engaging read. The characters grow and learn how to trust themselves, others, and stand up for themselves. I've never read a book about a young Black ballerina and it was so magical to do so. I danced when I was younger and, unfortunately, all the books about dancers were all about white, blonde girls, which I could not relate to at all.