e-Audio, 08:13:24
Narrated by: Ali Stroker
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Published by: Scholastic Inc.
Read from: May 10-14, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
TW: Ableism, Classism, Chronic Illness, Dysphoria
For Readers Interested In: Romance, YA, Contemporary, Coming of Age, Sparkly CoversWhere You See Yourself combines an unforgettable coming-of-age tale, a swoon-worthy romance, and much-needed disability representation in this story about a girl who’s determined to follow her dreams.
By the time Effie Galanos starts her senior year, it feels like she’s already been thinking about college applications for an eternity—after all, finding a college that will be the perfect fit and be accessible enough for Effie to navigate in her wheelchair presents a ton of considerations that her friends don’t have to worry about.
What Effie hasn’t told anyone is that she already knows exactly what school she has her heart set on: a college in NYC with a major in Mass Media & Society that will set her up perfectly for her dream job in digital media. She’s never been to New York, but paging through the brochure, she can picture the person she’ll be there, far from the Minneapolis neighborhood where she’s lived her entire life. When she finds out that Wilder (her longtime crush) is applying there too, it seems like one more sign from the universe that it’s the right place for her.
But it turns out that the universe is full of surprises. As Effie navigates her way through a year of admissions visits, senior class traditions, internal and external ableism, and a lot of firsts–and lasts–she starts to learn that sometimes growing up means being open to a world of possibilities you never even dreamed of. And maybe being more than just friends with Wilder is one of those dreams…
*MY THOUGHTS*
As y’all know I’ve been reading books with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses this year so I could make sure that I don’t slack in my reading different representation. And this was a great one to add to that list. This book was so cute and so good! I really enjoyed learning all that I did from Effie.
Reading and being behind Effie’s eyes was definitely a wake up call. I hated the things that those college campuses or her high school and some of the things her friends were doing. For instance, her principal and the locker AND the lunch thing. There should be NO reason one of those things had happened, but it was even worse that it happened more than once! Like wtf. And I hated that she was so calm about it. I felt more so like her mother. I know she didn’t want to “feel like a burden,” but that’s just common courtesy. I think I was more pissed because they weren’t tripping over themselves to help right the wrong until lawyers were brought up. WHY DID THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN? Like bro bffr. Ugh I just hated that they were so rude.
Even with that tho, I did still have issues with the writing style. It was the pacing? It was a bit slow in the middle and it got repetitive. I wanted to see more of the events and I wanted to see more of her fighting for herself and the others. I get that she doesn’t owe anyone emotional work, but when she mentions that she’s doing this for future wheelchair users that go to these schools, I just wanted to see more. If there had been just a few more intense scenes like the end, I would have loved it more.
The romance isn’t the main focus, but her crush was ADORABLE. It was so cute. I didn’t like the way it waited until the end, but I understood that this story was not about that. This story was Effie’s and the romance was just another thing that happened in her life. But it wasn’t the most important. But it still happened and was worth mentioning.
The audio was great too. I learned from listening to the Author’s Note at the end that the narrator was also a wheelchair user and I loved that. A lot of times people don’t really think twice about things like having an own voices cover model or narrator. I’m glad this wasn’t one of those times. It seemed that she read this with more fervor and more emphasis at certain times. I felt that she always spoke with the right intonation and the right emotion every time. I say this with own voices authors, but even with narrators, this made all the difference.
This book was so much fun. There’s romance, quirky parents, and so much more! Definitely a book that lived up to the hype. I really can’t wait to read more from Forrest and I really hope her narrator has more gigs lined up as well. C’mon now give me something to look forward to lol
Overall, I give this
