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We see books like this one occasionally, where a character undertakes a road trip to avoid dealing with an emotional issue. It is to this books credit that the other characters do eventually call her out on that fact, that running away doesn't change what happened or solve her issues. She does come to some epiphanies and grows as a person. I can see the appeal

I absolutely LOVED this book. I hate how badly the MC was bullied but it drove her to do extraordinary things, and that is beautiful. Backpacking is a dream of mine, as is road tripping Canada so this combination surprised and thrilled me to say the least. I love that Peyton not only found the friends that she so desperately needed but also a family that she deserved, including when her Mom came around. Healing and finding yourself through travel, what a dream. I also loved how the happy times juxtaposed the darkness of her past. May we all be so lucky.

Thank you so much for granting my request for this title. I wish this book much success, but I do not think that I am interested in reading this book at this time. I have heard from other reviewers some of the content contained in this book and I do not feel comfortable reading it in this moment.

Kind regards and thanks.

Secondary school had been filled with isolation and abuse, therefore, Peyton was looking forward to a fresh start in college. Though she was able to find a group friends, she found she was losing herself in this friendship. When she hit bottom, she was looking to run far from her life. That brought her to the west coast of Canada, where she found her tribe and herself.

I cannot express how much I love reading a Sara Barnard book. Her books are always such a wonderful and emotional experience for me, and this one really hit home.

Though I never got as wild as Peyton did, I had a similar experience. I was relentlessly tortured in grade school, and though things weren't quite as bad in high school, there was a group of girls who lived to isolate me and make me feel bad. I could totally understand Peyton trying so hard to be part of this group that appeared to welcome her as one of their own. She was so desperate to be accepted and to have friends, that she constantly dismissed all her reservations. She wasn't blind, but she dismissed a lot of things go, because of her need to be included.

It was utterly heartbreaking to read those bits from "before", but as rash as the decision was, fleeing to Canada came with a great reward for Peyton. There she learned what real friendship was. She found a group of incredible people, who liked her for who she was, not for what she could give them. She didn't have to perform for them, but rather, she could be herself. The contrast between her college friends and her Canadian friends was so striking, and I loved seeing them side by side like that.

Barnard made me cry and feel lots of things, but she also took me on an adventure. I was only in Vancouver to board a cruise ship, so I didn't really get to see much. Barnard filled in those holes for me. She brought me to so many wonderful places, showed so many breathtaking natural wonders, and let me tag along on an epic road trip.

This combination of physical and personal journey was such a winning combination. Though Peyton's past was painful to read about, I found so much joy in her present. Seeing her heal and learn to trust again filled me with endless amounts of cheer. A part of me hopes Barnard might revisit Peyton and write a sequel. I loved her and her merry bunch of travelers so much. It would be a joy to attend a reunion with them.

Sara Barnard writes some of the most relatable stories I’ve ever read. The struggles her characters face are struggles that I almost always identify with and that is definitely the case with her new novel, Destination Anywhere. Destination Anywhere follows Peyton King, a seventeen-year-old college student who has struggled her entire life to make friends. As if having no friends wasn’t bad enough, she was also the target of relentless bullying for most of her school career. Desperate to make friends once she arrives at college, she falls in with the wrong crowd and ends up in a world of trouble. Between that and the fact that she’s miserable at college because her parents are forcing her to study something she’s not interested in, Peyton takes matters into her own hands. She packs a bag and her sketchbook, buys a one-way plane ticket from England to Canada, and sets out to find herself and her own path in life.

Peyton’s journey is presented in present day chapters, alternated with chapters from her past, and I have to say that those past chapters were truly heartbreaking. I felt so bad for her as I was reading the feelings of self-doubt that Peyton expresses as she is rejected by classmate after classmate and then bullied by them on top of it. Those thoughts of “What is wrong with me?” or when she does finally find a potential friend and then overthinking it to the point where she’s trying too hard and makes things awkward. While I always had a core group of friends when I was in school, I was painfully shy and could relate to some of Peyton’s inner monologue.

While those past chapters were somewhat painful to read, however, the present chapters were pretty amazing. I loved watching Peyton’s confidence start to grow as she learned from past mistakes and challenged herself to get out there, pursue her passion, and find like-minded people. I was especially impressed with the way she stands her ground when it comes to her parents. That can be a hard thing to do.

I don’t want to give away any details of Peyton’s journey, but one of the highlights of her trip for me was the friend group she meets when she checks in to the hostel in Canada. It’s a group of young travelers from all around the globe and they practically adopt her as their little sister and make it their mission to ensure she gets the most out of her trip and finds whatever it is she’s looking for. Their mission even turns into a road trip at one point and I’m all about a good road trip, so I especially loved those adventures and of course the gorgeous Canadian scenery.

Destination Anywhere is a lovely and heartwarming story about finding yourself and about finding your people. It’s one of those wonderful reads that engaged all of my emotions. I went from being heartbroken for Peyton to absolutely elated for her, and pretty much everything in between. And don’t even get me started on the ending, which left me crying happy tears. Such an all around satisfying read. 4.5 STARS

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing my review copy.

Unfortunately this did not work for me and I DNFed at around 50%. Peyton was a character I had a hard time emphasizing with even though I know what it’s like to struggle with not having friends. The Canada chapters were interesting but overall I couldn’t get through the before.

Sara Bernard is a must have author in any classroom library. Her books are relatable, thought provoking, and hard hitting. Her books are also wonderful resources for neurodiverse characters. This will be a novel that many of my students will gravitate toward.

Rating 4.5

Wow, what a lovely book. The book "Destination Anywhere" written by Sara Barnard will take your emotions for a ride. One page I was happy then immediately mad then a couple pages later I was almost crying. The story follows seventeen year old Peyton who left home to have an adventure in Canada because she needed to escape her life. Growing up she was bullied and when she finally gets 'friends' it does not go how she always imagined it would. This story is a great coming of age book about a girl finding herself and learning that it is okay to not be okay. I think the author handled Peyton's hardships and her leaving in such a believable way. This story felt realistic to me which matters because some readers will be able to connect and relate to what happened to Peyton. I know when reading this book it made me reflect on my childhood and how I always struggled getting friends. This book could help take someone on an adventure while at the same time facing real life issues. 

Should you read "Destination Anywhere"? 
YES! I recommend this for anyone who likes to read coming of age stories that feel so full of emotion. There were so many times when reading this book I wished I could hug Peyton for what she went through. 

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

A heart-wrenchingly relatable coming of age story that features a very real, lost 17 year old who is navigating between what her parents want for her and what she needs to figure out for herself.

Peyton King experienced years of traumatic, friendless, bullying throughout secondary school. When she finally found a group of people with whom she connected, she latched on. Overtime the group becomes toxic and yet Peyton finds herself unwilling to pull away.

Told through then-and-now perspectives, we see Peyton come to terms with her past as she flourishes into an independent and bold young adult with a crew of new friends who help her realize her potential. As Peyton and her band of traveling companions (each with his or her own compelling backstory) make their way across Canada, she discovers her identity is not wrapped up in others' perceptions of her. With this realization, Peyton begins making choices for herself that will lead to a much brighter future for the aspiring illustrator.

A must-read for young adults who have felt lost within their group of friends, or who have struggled to fit in and find "their people" in their school-age years.

**I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.