Karin Lin-Greenberg (Vanished) is an award-winning short story writer, a skill that shines through in her debut novel, You Are Here. In it, she explores the many moments that make up a human life--and how the intersection of moments across many lives shapes new possibilities in unexpected ways. Jackson spends the hours after elementary school hanging out with his mother, Tina, at the mall salon where she works. He sometimes visits Maria, who dons a chicken costume each day after high school to serve sad food at the food court. Kevin manages the bookstore across from the salon, a job that offers a brief respite from an otherwise cramped life spent with his wife and rambunctious twin children in the tiny house he's built in his mother-in-law's yard. Ro, the elderly widow who lives next to the tiny house, visits the mall to get out of her house and interact with other people, even if those interactions often bring out her cruelty and prejudice.

At first glance, it's hard to see what these characters could have in common besides their frequenting of a soon-to-be-shuttered mall, but Lin-Greenberg weaves together their individual stories with skill and nuance. As their paths cross--both in and out of the mall itself--their lives become entangled in unexpected ways, until a shocking act of violence in the food court leaves them reeling as individuals and a community.

The small details of each character's experience provide a kaleidoscopic portrayal in this heartfelt exploration of what makes up a life: secret hopes and dreams, human interactions, moments of kindness and care.

A fascinating concept for a novel, with beautiful prose and and an eclectic cast of characters. I thought this debut novel was well written but the plot lacked a bit.

A really cool concept that I found captivating. This book was a slower read for me, but the payoff was satisfying. For some reason it made me think of Emily St. John Mandel in the way the narrative focused on people and one event that impacts their lives and thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was truly a great story about a small town and the people who love there but written in a way that hasn't been done before. Talk of Pulitzer should begin once released.

I thought this would be more about malls.

I’m kidding (kind of), but what I thought I was getting into here was a character study set against the backdrop of a failing mall. Instead, I mostly got petty drama and hokey life lessons unfolding amongst a cast of characters from the suburbs.

As an elder millennial I love a good “death of a mall” story, but the execution of that wasn’t successful here. The sense of place is mostly lacking, and the introduction of the murder came out of nowhere and didn’t fit with the tone or the rest of the plot.

Perhaps my biggest gripe with this one was that the writing style was deeply unappealing. The book is almost all dialogue and inner monologue, and ALL of it is written in a stilted and simplistic manner. It doesn’t come off as spare or (as I assume the author intended) as an indication that these are “regular people.” It just made everyone in the book seem dim.

Jackson gets the book’s few profound statements, and even those are presented in an overly infantilized tone for a nine year old.

This is an early favorite choice for book cover of the year for me. Wow, what a beauty! If that alone isn't enough to get you to pick up YOU ARE HERE let me convince you further. While at times sad, lonely, and heartbreaking, at the core of this novel is a story about humanity, and finding connection in unlikely places. I also want to assure readers that you will be not be "depressed" throughout the book and ending which I know can be a turn off for some people, just trust me on this one. I loved seeing community drawn together at the dying mall. It felt real and also metaphoric. All in all, pick up YOU ARE HERE for all of the feels.

Tina supports her young son Jackson by cutting hair at the mall, Kevin supports his family working at the bookstore, and Maria is supporting her college dreams selling chicken sandwiches there. And Ro, a 90 year old widow uses it to stave off loneliness. And now the mall is going to close. Tina wants to be an artist, a dream she put aside but is poking at a bit. Kevin is Ro's neighbor but they aren't neighborly. And Maria is being stalked by a classmate. All of this collides. There are some lovely passages here (and a heartbreaking passage about Ro's husband and their neighbor Earl, who Ro din;t know until her husband was dying was his best friend). There's social commentary as well as humor. You'll find yourself rooting for young Jackson, who loves animals and magic as well as for Maria, who works so hard. Kevin, well, he's a bit of a buffoon (I had a hard time picturing a family of four in a tiny house). And Ro- I know we're meant to dislike her but you, like me, might feel sympathy for what she's missed. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. This is more character than plot driven and it's a good read.

A mall that is about to shut down in upstate New York centers this book. Each chapter is told in a different month by a different person who has a connection to the mall. Although the mall represents hopelessness and many of the narrators have a sense of hopelessness, Lin-Greenberg writes in such a way that the reader will be hopeful for each character. I really appreciate how the format for this book allows for multiple explorations of race, friendship, safety, and dreams. The characters also span a huge age range - from an elementary school student to an elderly woman - and all feel authentic.

The slow death of an suburban mall is the link between several characters in a small town. And like the mall, many of the characters seem stagnant in their own lives. Stuck with ideas from the past, stuck with ideas for the future but no solid path forward, just stuck. Some of these characters gave me anxiety just living in their heads a little. The book is very character driven, a slow and somewhat depressing read. But all the better to set the reader up for an event that wakes everyone up and makes the characters, and the reader, take notice and reassess. This is a well written bittersweet story.

Residents’ lives in a small town in upstate New York intersect at the once-busy local mall, now nearly empty with store closings and employees leaving. Repairs and upkeep are left undone, and the mall has fallen into disrepair. Tina, the sole stylist at Sunshine Clips, works long hours for little business and dreams as she watches art instruction videos, having been told art is no way to make a living. Her young son Jackson gets dropped by school bus to the mall every day, where he does homework at the salon before sweeping the hair from the floor, keeping his budding talent as a magician hidden from his mother. Across the hall in the Book Nook, Kevin works as the manager while busying himself by building a tiny home and beekeeping, procrastinating about finishing his PhD and writing a book. He lives in the tiny house with his aspiring-poet wife, Gwen, a professor with few classes to teach, and their six-year old twins in Gwen’s mother Joan’s backyard. Next door to them is the nosy, judgmental Ro, an elderly widow with a complex history. She visits Tina at the mall for her weekly appointment and, though Ro would never admit it, to stave off the loneliness she’s had for the past twenty years since her husband passed away. Maria, the beautiful high schooler who works at a fast-food place in the mall’s food court, dreams of becoming a famous actor. She has captured the unwanted attention of a boy at school, telling no one but Kevin about her dilemma. A deeply tragic event occurs one evening at the mall which will change all of their lives forever.

What a wonderfully written work by Karin Lin-Greenberg, centered around a fabulous assortment of real people as its characters. The book is funny, tragic, heartwarming, eye-opening, and entertaining, and most of all, it is completely relatable, as we can all identify with going about our every day lives dreaming of being someone or doing something else—possibly something completely different or better than what we are, wanting more for our children, a change to relive our decisions, and not always knowing how to relate to those who think or act differently than we do. The very end is perfectly wrapped up in a way that makes sense for everyone involved in the story. “We Are Here” is character-centric; an interesting study, if you will, of the inner workings, feelings, and dreams of people that come from Anytown, looking for happiness and fulfillment. It’s the world in the microcosm of the failing mall, and though it is not my typical genre, there is so much to love on these pages! If you are a fan of adult fiction in general you will be enchanted, and even if you prefer other genres, like I do, please do give it a try. I think each reader will find at least one part or character will resonate long within them long after the novel is closed. I look forward to more writing from this talented author.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Karin Lin-Greenberg, and Counterpoint Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book a lot. I think the author did an amazing job of telling the stories of a diverse cast. The book follows several people who either work in the dying mall in Albany, Ny or frequent the mall. The stories are all tied together but you get a lot of background into the early lives of each character. I though the first half of the book was really great and loved reading about the characters but what I didn’t love as much was the climax of the story because it comes out of nowhere and once that happens the story become very disjointed and then jumps ahead first several months and then several years in the future and the end feels like it just nicely wraps everything up without feeling like much of a point was made. I feel like the book was very close to being a really great book but missed the mark a little bit. All in all still an enjoyable read that I would recommend checking out.

Deeply moving and quietly impactful! I really, really enjoyed this slice of life story that takes a look at a suburban, upstate New York town and the ways a number of its residents' lives revolve around a dwindling mall. Everyone is rocked when a tragic gun shooting kills one of the residents leaving ripple effects that reach them all in different ways. The focus on the Asian American immigrant experience was my favorite part in this relatable and touching debut novel. Highly recommended for fans of Kim Hooper's No hiding in Boise. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for early digital copies of this book in exchange for my honest review. (Absolutely LOVED this cover too!).

TW: gun violence/public gun shooting

A mall in Albany, New York is fading away, repairs going unmade, empty stores, the end is coming. Various of the characters in this novel work at the mall - Tina Huang, a single mother estranged from her parents, and the last remaining stylist at the mall's hair salon; Maria, a high school student with acting/singing aspirations who works in the food court, Kevin, the manager of the mall's book store, and then those in their lives - Tina's young studious son, Jackson; her one weekly client, elderly and lonely and judgmental widow Ro Goodson, who lives next door to Kevin's tiny house where he lives with his Black wife aspiring poet and teacher Gwen and their twins in the backyard of the house that belongs to Gwen's parents, Joan and Earl, a long-dead poet with whom Ro's husband was friends. Their current lives, their inner lives, their life stories, their fears about what comes next for them, ordinary stories of ordinary people with their wishes and wants and confusions and more are intwined. The characters' various ethnicities are natural here, winding through the story but not subsuming it. Rather, it's about hanging onto one's humanity in the midst of dashed hopes, irrelevancy, and desolation, and figuring out how to build new lives. A kind and sweet book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Counterpoint for an ARC.

This book took me by surprise in every way imaginable. It is absolutely wonderful. The characters and their stories made it a delight to read

What a beautiful book. I love this collection of characters, with a hair stylist at the helm, love the location of a small town shopping mall. These seemingly ordinary people in this seemingly ordinary of places = extraordinary magic. Karin Lin-Greenberg's writing is skilled and graceful, and her characters, vivid and relatable, could be your friend or neighbor. This story of change and community and connection, is a perfect read for anyone who loves quiet, profound, character based stories that linger long after you've turned the last page. This one tugs on your heartstrings and doesn't let go. Much thanks to Netgalley and Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t get into this book. Everyone was so mopey and negative. Even the kids in the book were down in the dumps most of the time. I read to escape from real life and characters like this just don’t work for me. .

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An exceptionally well written “coming of age” story about a cast of characters ages 9-90. This unlikely group is brought together by their respective relationships with a failing mall. Following them as they learn, grow, and come into their own based on their relationships and experiences together made for a delightful read.

This is a beautiful story about a small town and it's residents and how everyone is connected by even the thinnest of spider web threads.

Karin Lin-Greenberg writes with a gentleness and still manages to create the tension and excitement that is needed to help this story along.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

You Are Here is a very sweet, very readable story about employees and patrons of a mall in New York that is closing due to the economy, and is being sold to a developer. Lin-Greenberg develops the characters well, and it's hard not to fall in love with each of them as they struggle with their daily lives inside and outside the old mall. All have their individual issues that they must work through, and this story brings "people together that might not have crossed paths" in beautiful and satisfying ways.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review You Are Here.

What a quirky, lovely book of interconnected stories. In truth, this book is more of a novel with alternating POVs, as the story after about a third of the way through requires the linear plot.