Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Release Date: 8th February, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 289pgs

The Story

Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City - shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best club and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her life is perfectly on track. At least it was . . .

When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back her life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R. - before the recession - was as perfect as it seemed.

The Review

I came across this book on Goodreads and I think the only thing that attracted me to the book was the hot Texan cowboy model on the front cover. I love anything to do with COWBOYS . . . what can I say? They're hot, always have a gorgeous accent . . . and well I have a weaknesses for them in young adult book settings. I also love the whole riches-to-rags kind of storyline and while it 'sort of' reminded me of Miley Cyrus's Hannah Montana film, what with her being super rich and moving to an odd nowhere town, I still enjoyed some parts of the book. It has a little Texan charm that a lot of readers will enjoy and appreciate.

WHERE I BELONG is about a naive teenage girl named Corrinne who lives in the big and busy city of New York. Her father makes a lot of money and she spends most of it on clothes and other you-don't-really-need-these type of items. When it comes down to it - she's a spoiled brat. So Corrinne's everyday shopping sprees soon come to an end when her father loses his job and she and her younger brother are forced to adapt themselves to the slow life in a small Texas town by staying with the grandparents they barely know. Unlike her younger brother, Tripp, Corrinne is living her worst nightmare. And she's more than determined to hate everything about Broken Spoke. But as she makes unexpected friends and starts living the country life, she begins to reconsider that her so-called 'perfect' life wasn't as perfect as she'd first thought.

Readers will appreciate the book's variety of relationships. You have your mother-daughter, grandmother-granddaughter, grandfather-granddaughter, sister-brother, and the ultimate one . . . . your bestfriend relationship. I really liked the way the author, Gwendolyn Heasley, dealt with these different types of relationships and they felt pretty genuine. But I also had a lot of problems with the book. I knew right from the very beginning I might not like this book because the main character is a total snob, and for me personally, it's very hard to like a character that is UP themselves. However, when it came close to the end, it was a nice change to see Corrinne in another light. She was no longer the snob. Sure, she made a lot of mistakes throughout the events of the book - what with falling in love with the wrong guy, for judging people, and even not seeing the true beauty that lies within the small Texan town - but characters can always have a second chance to improve themselves. And for me, she got that chance.

But there's also another slight problem. It was the transition Corrine went through, from the Big Apple to the small I-don't-where-I-am town. Like most of the events, it happened far too quickly and I wasn't entirely convinced that she had a change of heart about the small town . . . since it only happened right at the end. At least that's what I think. Anyway, the major thing that I didn't like was the falling in love bit. In WHERE I BELONG, Corrine has a guy that's straight way interested in her. That being a guy named Bubby. Please don't laugh. It's seriously his name. And while readers may not be totally convinced that he's into her - since he always makes fun of her and where she's from - but you're definitely aware of his feelings when he keeps making jokes out of her. Teasing turns into love. Almost always. But being the clueless one, Corrine is head-over-heels for another town hottie. I won't mention his name cause he was a jerk and not worthy of his name being typed up on this blog. And well . . . you get what happens. She falls for the wrong guy. *gasp* Despite this hiccup, it was still very cute to see Bubby and her tease each other.

Overall, if you're looking for a book away from the paranormal genre or something to pass the time or perhaps something that has the Texas charm like this book does, then this book is for you. But be warned, sometimes the character can get frustrating.

The Rating

3/5 stars