Kasie West is one of my favorite ya contemporary writers. Her books always make me feel good when reading them. This one was no exception. The romance was sweet. The book was funny and heart warming. I adored Norah and Skyler. I highly recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s / Delacorte Press for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Places We’ve Never Been is a sweet little YA novel featuring the friends to lovers and second chance romance tropes. When they were children, Norah and Skyler were inseparable… but then his family moved. They stayed in touch at first, but over the years their relationship diminished to the occasional like on social media. At first, Norah was lost without Skyler but then she made a friend who introduced her to new crowd. They may not have been the kind of friends she’d seek out, but at least she wasn’t alone. When Norah and Skyler’s moms plan a cross country RV trip with all the kids, Norah is beyond excited at the prospect of reuniting with Skyler, but when he arrives his reaction is not at all what she expected. Skyler acts like he doesn’t want to be there and couldn’t care less about Norah, so she assumes their friendship didn’t mean that much to him after all. Thus their road trip starts out with Norah and Skyler as friends turned enemies, but a lot of surprises are in store for them that could lead them to something more.

This is a perfect summer read for fans of YA romance. It’s very light, but includes moments of depth and features some amazing settings as they travel on their trip. I enjoyed both of the main characters and their supporting cast. The sibling dynamics were funny and relatable. I haven’t previously read any Kasie West books, but I can see why she is popular.

Is a sweet story revolving around a summer RV trip between two families. Featuring childhood best friends who reconnect. The story’s emphasis on family and friendship is especially touching, making this a great read for those looking for an uplifting summer read.

Places We've Never Been was such a cute book to jump into. Especially after meeting Norah and Skyler. They used to be the best of friends until Skyler's family moved away. Eventually they started to talk less and less. So, it was definitely interesting to see how they would react towards one another during this vacation they were about to embark on.

Thank you to Delcorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.

Omg I'm obsessed with this book! I loved the concept for this book! There was so much tension and banter! Such compelling characters! You literally get to see each character's personality even the side characters! The only thing I didn't like about this book is how rushed the ending was.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a well-written teen novel that I think kids with connecting with. The road trip of their lifetime, a chance and love together again, and growing up, but there were too many secrets, and I found it frustrating.

This book is the perfect YA vacation vibes while also being full of hilarious, angsty teen drama. The characters felt complete and real, with varied emotions like any person would have. The book kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat while simultaneously being a great relaxing read. It mixed more serious topics well with a cute romance!

Kasie West always writes great contemporary YA romances including her lastest release. Skylar and Norah are likeable characters that you are rooting for the whole book. It was nice to read also read about a loving family going on a family vacation. As an avid RV'er, I thought the camping trip was a fun way to present the story. Overall, this is a sweet story that I greatly enjoyed.

I enjoyed the road trip aspect of the book. However to me the teenage characters who are high school seniors and juniors read younger than that. Or at least they did to me. So I guess its safe to say that I Kasie West's writing is no longer for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and PRHAudio for the ARCs!

I LOVE Kasie West. She’s probably my favorite YA author, and I’ve read nearly all of her books (still need to make time for Pivot).

This is a story of two former best friends who have been separated by distance until their moms decide to take a long road trip together. Young love, close proximity, friends to (PG) lovers…a very cute and light read.

I loved that this book took place over the course of a summer road-trip!

I don’t typically like friends to lovers but this has a four year timeframe of ex friends so I really enjoyed that rekindling aspect.

I was not a fan of the parents and their secret keeping then making the kids feel guilty for snooping.

A cute YA read, perfect for a summer adventure - with a great mix of family, love, and travel.

I've been a fan of Kasie West for years, and I love her coming-of-age stories. Places We've Never Been was an entertaining read, with a friends-to-lovers trope that will keep you turning the pages. It was sweet and wholesome, but also had some depth to the story as well.

I LOVED this book so much. If you were a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty, then you'll love this story of Norah and Skyler - childhood best friends who move away and then get another summer together. This book was SO cute. I'm almost 30 and I swooned. Definitely check this out - and thank you so much, NetGalley for the early look at this book! This was my first Kaise West book, and I can't wait to read her others!

This book would be perfect for my teenage students, not me. This book, while cute and lighthearted, reads very slow. (I tend to gravitate my interests to books that are more fast-paced.) You read the story of Norah and Skyler who were formerly best friends until Skyler's family moved. Their moms planned a grand road trip (for reasons unknown to their children until the end) and Norah had grand plans of reconnecting with her old BFF. When things don't go according to plan, readers get to go on the adventure to their reconnection.

All in all, it's a pretty cute book. I think I'm just getting a little old for YA books to appeal to me, but I think my students can appreciate this book.

This is a sweet YA read about road tripping in an RV, family secrets and a second romance.

Norah and her family along with Skylar and his family go RV’ing through the National Parks of the west. Skylar was Norah’s best friend (and crush) until he moved away many years ago. Now he doesn’t even seem to want to be around Norah. Will they be able to mend their friendship?

I love reading YA in the summer – they are short, light reads and a breath of fresh air. This one wasn’t any different. I loved traveling through the National Parks with the characters and see Norah and Skylar relationship blossom. Skylar’s little sister was hilarious and she made me laugh out loud numerous times. There was also a touch of sibling rivalry, the complexities/dynamics of families and of course a sprinkle of romance. If you’re looking for a sweet and easy read, then this is it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Norah was excited for the road trip in which she'd finally reunite with her best friend from childhood after four years that he'd left. But he doesn't greet her back as enthusiastically. In fact, he ignores her. What could have made Skyler change from the person she could trust and share her dreams of drawing and making videogames? She'll have a whole trip in an RV to figure that out.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

I'm partial here, I love Kasie West, she's the safe place where I can get my dose of YA but with the right amount of all else. She's fun, she's involving; and this book was again pretty much what I'd expected from her. I love how, as a plus, she managed to put the two families together while giving each of the characters different and remarkable personalities.

I can't say this was a big life lesson, or that it was the best YA I've ever read. I'm not even sure I can call it a page-turner; you know where this is going, you can even guess most of the plot twists. But it is the perfect comfort read. And you get that something else you already expect from West's books.

If you're already a West fan, you will get what you see. If you haven't read any of her books, this one is a standalone, cute, filled with likable characters, and entertaining. Why pass this chance, right?

I would love to rate this higher because the story itself is very, very good but I'm forced to take a star off for the completely unnecessary use of the s slur within the final chapters. Below is my review if I ignore it's existence:

This was a really fun, light read that I sped through in a couple of hours. While the story does somewhat use the miscommunication trope, it works well here as Norah and Skyler haven't seen each other in a few years, and struggle to find ways to connect now they're older teenagers, and different people.

This had a really good combination of humour, hijinks, travel and bonding time with the two families as they all reconnected on the spur of the moment trip, while Norah tries to work out what secret her and Skyler's moms could be hiding. I did guess this fairly easily, but it didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story -and, we get a one year later epilogue, giving me exactly the ending I could hope for!

Kasie West is one of my all-time favorite authors, so I was ecstatic to see that I'd been approved for an ARC of her latest novel. And I was mostly not disappointed. Places We've Never Been follows two families' RV trip across the US Southwest and Northwest as two of their children rediscover their old friendship...and maybe even something more.

I loved the travel aspects, and the family dynamics were super cute. I also really liked how much art and drawing were included and how West even touched on sexism in the video game industry. However, I felt like the book could've been even better had the multiple plots/subplots been expanded upon. It seemed like it ended a bit suddenly, and I would've liked to see a little more tension in the protagonists' relationship once they got together. Still, it was an enjoyable read overall, and one I'll be recommending to my fellow teen romance lovers.

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

This is a YA romance with close proximity, bantering, secrets, and family drama. No spicy in this book. Definitely a very cute book to read and it’s a great book for those who don’t like to read books with smut/spicy scenes. It was my first book by Kasie West and she did not disappoint. So if you are looking for a book with lots of sweetness, go pick this up! 💖

Overall, Places I've Never Been is a delightful look at the complexities of friendship, family, and falling in love. It's a coming of age novel as much as it is a love story, and seeing Norah and Skyler accept who they are and the ways that they've changed and grown was quite possibly the best part of the book. 

I recommend Places I've Never Been to fans of the friends-to-lovers trope, road trip narratives, and video games, as well as those who enjoy a coming of age story about high schoolers preparing to enter the next phase of their lives.

(Full disclosure: I received an advanced review copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Friends to enemies to lovers... Need I say more??

This book was so cute. Both Norah and Skyler were so likeable. I felt so happy reading this, it was so heartwarming. This was the first Kasie West book I read and it is safe to say I am reading more. The only thing I didn't like about this book is al the secrets that were being kept. I loved the way the family bonded with each other, most books just make them all sound like annoying jerks.

Overall, it was a cute, quick read and I definitely recommend it to get out of a reading slump.