Quick thoughts:
- Really stunning book cover that immediately caught my eye
- I loved the format of the book, especially the inclusion of art/drawings
- Nice character development + all characters were fleshed out
- Mik is my favorite character
- Book tackles a lot of themes without overdoing any of them; very nicely balanced
- Beautiful, compelling narrative
- I've already read this twice, and both times were equally magical

* Review to follow!

This book gave a very interesting look on grief and the impact it has on the people it impacts. How we all deal with it in our own way. Whether we wallow in it or carry on. The closer you are to the one you lost, sometimes its the hardest to deal with. This book handled death and grief in the eyes of a teen girl perfectly. It was a refreshing look into the eyes of a hurting teen and how she, and those around her, come through it. This wasn't a fast page turner for me, but I still highly enjoyed.

I live in the Cleveland area, so the mention of the Randall Park Mall and Geauga Lake I was excited. Especially since I can still faintly remember going to Geauga Lake as a kid and I went to the waterpark several times including the last weekend it was open.

That being said, I loved the different POV's in this story especially Mik's. The only real problem I had was the ages and years didn't exactly add up and maybe this was my fault. I thought Mik was the same age as Jake, but if that were the case then he would be slightly older than 21 (17/18 + the 5 years since Jake's death = like 22/23). Also, I assumed Zach's sister was younger than 13. everybody seems to treat her and act like she's 8 not 13.

Two things, before I dive into the meat of this review. One, this is the first YA Contemporary book that I've read in about a year so I'm coming into this with fresh eyes. It's entirely possible that has also biased me to love this book, so let's get that out of the way before anything else. Two, although I was given a copy of this to review back in 2016, it has taken me this long to get to it. I actually borrowed it from the library to read, and I'm not sorry in the least. Now that you know where I'm coming from with this review, let's get started.

I love Jaycee, but I also hate Jaycee. I'll start right there, because that's the kind of book that You Were Here really is. I love Jaycee because she's a broken protagonist who is falling into a pit of grief and can't figure out how to claw her way out. She's raw, brutally honest, and walled off into her own safe place. I love her because she's real. On the flip side, that's also why I hate Jaycee. She reminds me of how easy it is to fall into that pit, how easy it is to push everyone away and become a flicker of your former self, and how hard it really is to let that all go an come back to the light. It was Jaycee, and her profound loss, that really made this book hit home for me. Cori McCarthy perfectly crafted a human being with real flaws, and I soaked that in and reveled in it.

In fact, every character in this book has their own set of flaws and short comings. That's what made me feel so strongly for them. McCarthy even manages to craft a character with social anxiety, who is selectively mute, and still bring him to life on the pages. His chapters, told in graphic novel format, were actually some of my favorites. I loved being pulled in to his mind, and seeing things from his point of view. It's not easy to have a book narrated by multiple characters that isn't confusing at times. McCarthy hits that out of the park though. Every character is so rich, and well formed, that it's not hard at all to skip from the mind of Zach, to Jaycee and back again. It's normal, and wonderful.

What really impressed me, more than anything, was how easy to read this book was. It deals with some tough subjects, unabashedly so, but it does it in a way that makes you love the characters and want to be wrapped up in their lives. I found a part of myself in every one of them, and it made this a really personal and amazing read for me. Highly recommended! Just be prepared to get a bit teary eyed.

I absolutely loved everything about this book. My words are not eloquent enough to talk about how great the writing, the characters, and the pacing of the story was. I never wanted it to end. Highly recommend it!

I had a hard time getting into this one, but I know others will adore this book!

I thought that I would like this book, but sadly I wasn't able to get into this book. Sorry for the late review and I DNF this book .

This book was beautifully written and I really enjoyed every minute of reading it.

This title wasn't for me.

I received this electronic book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity!

I truly enjoy this book, it kept me reading till the end. I would certainly be reading more of this amazing author. I suggest you read it, you will certainly won’t be disappointed.

What an amazing story. About sudden, violent loss and the struggle to move on. This is the story of a band of mismatched friends. Bishop, Zach, Natalie and Jaycee. And this side guy Mik that seems to stumble in and out of their lives randomly. Very few have talked to Jaycee since her brother died trying to execute another one of his dares. All of them have fallen into their own struggle to come to terms with love, loss and the realization that it's senior year and it's time for them to all grow up.

So when they all run into each other unexpectedly and take a trip down memory lane - but also glimpse at how broken they've all become, they decide to have one last bit of summer fun and retrace (and bring to life) Jake's last few dares. It's rough because they are all there for different reasons and the secrets and truths that bind them are also what has kept them apart.

When I first tried to crack this story, it was shortly after losing my own brother, very suddenly. And I just couldn't open this one - I could barely get through the synopsis. It's taken me months to get to this point. But now I'm so glad I did. This story was so full of hope and love but also tragedy and the grief, guilt and anger that comes with loss. It's such a true book, one that resonated so deep within me. I loved every chapter and I absolutely loved the underlying love story. It was sweet, and slow and burned so red hot. I loved the journey and am so glad I took a chance and read this.

A beautiful, heartbreaking novel about family and what it means to hold onto them, no matter what the cost.

Interesting concept, but I couldn't make myself get through the book.

A beautiful read told from the perspective of different narrators.

Jaycee is wallowing in grief after her daredevil brother Jake’s accidental death. Revisiting the places he did his most daring acts on the anniversary of his death, she finds herself struggling to reconnect with former friends and give up her fixation with her brother.

Natalie, Jaycee’s former best friend, is also having a hard time moving on. She can’t wait to leave their town and start life anew at college, but that means being away from her boyfriend Zach. The need to go out and do something crazy leads her to behave in a way she never would have, and do something that will break her up from Zach for good.

Bishop is still not over his cheating ex, and shows his emotions through graffiti.

Mik, Jake’s former best friend, has selective mutism, and is afraid to speak to Jaycee, who he has feelings for.

Really a lovely story. I loved LOVED loved how Mik’s sections were in graphic novel format.

Following the lives of teenagers can bring up your own memories as a teen. Either you embrace that difficult time or you block it out and pretend it never existed. Jaycee was wondering through life looking for more. She needed closure but regardless of who was there and what they knew. She was never going to understand the tragedy that happened to her brother. Some people think they should be the one that's handicap or dead. Why is that? The pa in would hurt the ones around you less or you could handle it better? I enjoyed this book because it was as if I was there in certain parts. The detail and emotion was true and accurate. You wanted to help but at the same time rooted for the underdog to pull through.

Guys, this is such a lovely book! I would classify it as contemporary young adult, and not only is it written brilliantly but the execution of the e-book was also done perfectly. I might buy this book because it's totally pretty and it earned its place next to Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl. It's sweet and truthful and a great story in itself. Also, this book is a perfect collaboration of Cori McCarthy and a wonderful illustrator Sonia Liao whose work plays a major part in how the book reads. There are wonderful comic-style illustrations that made me completely fall in love with the characters. COMPLETELY.

The story is about a group of teenagers who are on the verge of graduation, pondering what is life beyond school. There are several POV's and one of the main heroes is Jaycee who is still in a constant struggle with what her life has become after the death of her brother Jake.
She desperately tries to follow in his footsteps and recover the memory of him as the other heroes of the book gather around her, drawn by the thrill and adventure.
There's Natalie, who is a wonderful control-freak who always has to have everything together, there's Bishop who's recovering from a very hurtful breakup, there's Zach who's in an on-and-off relationship with Natalie and would rather just drink his problems away, and then there's the mysterious Mik who we get to know through the comic side of things as well as the perspective of the other characters.

When the group comes together we see their dynamic change, secrets get uncovered and shit hits the fan. It's completely awesome. It's such a classic story of growing up, of struggling to find yourself and of how important it is to face what's happening instead of running away from it.
I loved the book. I definitely recommend it. It's so sweet.

I have mixed feelings on this book.

Firstly, the characters; I didn't particularly like any of them. I didn't find them very likeable, but at the same time I felt like they were pretty well written, especially considering the different themes the novel deals with.

Secondly, the plot; it was quite slow and uninteresting. However, at the same time, it was quite easy to read so I didn't mind reading it.

Format; I really liked how we got to see from all the characters perspectives - honestly, I don't think I could have read the whole book if it was all in Jaycee's perspective - and I especially liked how the structure varied as with Bishop and Mik's characters instead of a load of text to read, their thoughts and feelings were depicted more visually through a more arty medium.

Overall, this book was okay; I wouldn't really recommend but it was an alright read.