Susane Colasanti
Viking Juvenile (2008)
ISBN 9780670063338
Reviewed by Avni Gupta (age 15) for Reader Views (11/08)
When I got “Take Me There,” I was really excited about reading it. I had read some reviews of it already and had figured out that it was going to be an amazing book, but just how amazing, I never expected. I felt like I could really relate with all of the characters. I was like Rhiannon in that I had wanted my ex back, like Nicole in that there were things that kept me from getting close to people and like James in that I had fallen in love with my best friend before. This book accurately showed how hard it is to be a teenager.
This book starts out in Rhiannon’s perspective, telling about how her ex, Steve, just broke up with her. Rhiannon is devastated and has no idea why she was dumped. The whole first part calls out to you. It says “My life could not possibly suck more than it does right now. I try not to cry. And to let it go. I don’t want to be this totally depressed person, with a heart so broken it hurts every time I breathe. I still love Steve. And here’s the worst part. I want him back.” (from the back cover) Even though those words sound like they came from a pathetic loser, all of us know that if we were dumped, we would feel the exact same way.
The next section in the book is the same set of days from Nicole’s perspective. Nicole is one of Rhiannon’s best friends and she can’t stand to see her pining over that good-for-nothing Steve. She has her own problems though. She just broke up with Danny even though she still likes him. And to make it even worse, she also likes her math teacher. It’s kind of sketchy, and what makes it even sketchier is that her teacher tries to seduce her too. Nicole can’t deal with any of this, and in the end you find out what the book has been hinting at the entire time.
The last point of view this book takes is James’ view. James is Rhiannon’s best guy friend and he wants the best for her. The best is defiantly not Steve. In fact, the more he thinks about it, he is the only person who is perfect for her. In the end, you figure out something that James has known forever, just never actually acknowledged.
“Take Me There” by Susane Colasanti is an amazing way for anyone to see the struggles that we teenagers have to go through everyday.
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