Review by Giselle Carlos, 17
With You All the Way By Cynthia Hand
*For mature audiences only* 16-year old Ada is finally satisfied at the utter teenage-ness of her life. Her boyfriend, Leo, is an utter dream- kind–courteous and hot. She’s never been more inspired to create art, and her family is picture-perfect, cut out from the squares of a feel-good family film. Just as she grows adjusted to her near-perfect life, one night sets off the dominos holding her life together, ripping the stability from her life and sending her tumbling. Her boyfriend? A douchebag. Her family? Ripping at the seams. Her house? Gone for a while, as her family travels to Hawaii for a week for another of her mom’s yearly surgeon conferences. Even worse, her dad isn’t coming along for the first time in years, making Ada wonder if perhaps there’s something worse lurking behind her parents’ marriage than she thought. Determinedly, Ada sets her mind to enjoying herself in Hawaii, restoring peace with herself and in her life. But this might be more difficult than she thought, as Ada begins to uncover secrets about her family that she feels could tear her and them apart.
With You All the Way is a pleasurable and fun experience, worthy of it’s vacation-esque setting. While it’s not a story for anyone seeking out the deeper meanings of life, it is, much to the homage of the YA genre, a soft, feel-good story about a teenage girl looking to prove that she’s no longer a child. Ultimately however, it’s a story about learning to come at peace with the moment, with age, and learning that sometimes it’s better to go along for the ride rather than constantly look for a way to go faster. Though a pleasurable, relaxed, and fairly fast paced read, the book falls flat in its shallowness. At times, the dialogue is cliche and Ada’s character development lacks slightly. The message of the book gets convoluted at times, and though the book does have some wonderful messages, it can be a bit difficult to discover what exactly those messages are. The book is a fun and casual read- especially for hot summer days lazing around by the pool, but shouldn’t be expected as anything more. It does, however, remind the reader that growing up isn’t something that should be rushed, but instead relished. Recommended for readers 16 and up, as the novel does have sexual content and profanity.
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Catalog Number: YA FIC HAND,C
323 pages