Fan Club Friday - Where I Belong

Let me say that you know you're into a book when it makes you homesick. That's just what Gwendolyn Heasley's book Where I Belong did to me. Readers Beware: As if having a baby doesn't make you miss your folks and grandparents enough, as if sweltering subways and crowded sidewalks don't make you long for winding roads with the windows rolled down, and as if pizza slices and bagels don't make you yearn for fried chicken and biscuits, you pick up a novel like Where I Belong and start to ponder the book title yourself.

This YA novel follows Corrinne, a New York City Upper East Sider who's life is full of "shopping sprees at Barney's" and "open access to the best clubs and parties." She's got it all, from designer clothes to an expensive education, and she takes it all for granted because, hey! Why shouldn't she? Her lifestyle may seem unbelievable to me, but to her, it's the way things have always been.

But then, her father is laid off and their family takes a powerful blow from the recession. They lose their entire savings and are forced to sell their sprawling Manhattan apartment. Corrinne is forced to move to Texas to live with her little brother and grandparents, attend public school, and leave behind her horse and best friends. She has to shop at the mall (gasp!), lose her spot at boarding school, and get a job... shoveling manure! It may not sound bad to you, (okay, the horse poop might), but remember, the small town lifestyle is some kind of alternate universe for her. She may as well have moved to Mars.

Now, I was worried that maybe I wouldn't feel for somebody like Corrinne. When we first meet her, she is snobby and stuck up, selfish and immature, and to put it plainly, not the kind of person I would want as a friend. (Heasley pens a letter from Corrinne at the jump off asking us to give her a chance, which I think was really smart. I mean, I grew up in the kind of place where driving an hour away to shop at the mall was a luxury!) But then throughout the course of the novel, this character really grows on you. You find yourself cracking along with her as she loosens up and starts eating those deliciously described southern foods. You smile at Grandpa's peace-making efforts and laugh at Grandma's sassy attitude. And as cute as Rider is and as sexy as musicians are, you can't help but like a good ol' boy like Bubby. The fact that we're actually rooting for Corrinne by the end says a lot about the author's talent.

Where I Belong was a fun read and a good time. I still think about Corrinne every now and then. I wonder how much of her southern roots she brought back with her to the big city; cause the post-Texas Corrinne had a heckuva lot more self-confidence and surprisingly turned out to be a girl I would call a friend after all.

You can follow Gwendolyn Heasley at where_I_belong on Twitter.

Also, check out this amazing blurb she wrote for my book, The Queen of Kentucky:

"Whitaker's debut sparkles as she takes the reader on a tour of two unforgettable places: small town Kentucky and the heart of our charming and hilarious narrator, Ricki Jo."

- Gwendolyn Heasley, author of Where I Belong