I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

If you read my last review, for Loveboat, Taipei, you would know how much I love reading about dance. So, when I came across the Goodreads page for I Wanna Be Where You Are, I automatically added it to my TBR. Then, last year I was lucky enough to happen upon an ARC of this book at YALLWEST, which you can read about here. I can’t even tell you how excited I was when this book fell into my hands. But of course, no matter how much excitement I have for a book, I am physically incapable of reading it in a timely manner, so here we are, practically a year later, with my review!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free from a book convention. This in no way impacted my review.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Content Warnings: Injuring ankle, car accident, vomiting (emetophobia)

The author wrote this book with 12 to 18-year-olds in mind. After reading, I would say it is geared more towards 11-13. I really enjoyed reading Chloe’s Pierce’s journey, however, the writing was simple and repetitive, and that often pulled me out of the story. The storytelling wasn’t as immersive as I like, and that is why I am giving the book 3 stars.

Of course, 3 stars isn’t a bad rating. When Chloe learns of a summer dance intensive taught by her idol, she is thrilled. However, her mother is not as excited. In order to get around this, Chloe comes up with a plan in order to get to this audition, including bringing her best friend turned enemy along with her to avoid blackmail. This starts a long road trip filled with emotional and physical speed bumps that Chloe could have never expected.

This book included a few tropes that I absolutely love including road trips and the classic “two people…one-bed” scenario. It also included a storyline of friends to enemies to lovers, with some mystery behind it. It isn’t until the middle of the book, that the reader finally learns why Chloe and Eli have such a rocky relationship.

You all know how much I love dance. One of my favorite parts of the book was Chloe’s admiration for her idol, Avery Johnson. According to the author, Johnson was modeled after Alvin Ailey, who is a prominent figure in modern dance history. Ailey did so much for the dance community, and I appreciated this inclusion in the book. Although, I would have loved for the author to just use Ailey’s name. He deserves to be known outside of the dance community, and I think young readers should learn more about him.

Overall, this book was cute and I sped through it in a couple sittings. So, you may be asking why the three stars? Again, three stars is not a bad rating! For some reason, I feel like I have to say that a lot.

There are a couple reasons for this rating, the first being the aforementioned simple writing. While it made it an incredibly easy read, and I think young readers won’t mind this, it made the story fall flat for me. I have read young middle-grade books with complexity, literary devices, and even description and this book had none of that. Yes, young readers won’t care about that, but I did.

Another reason and this may be petty, but sometimes the way Chloe thought about dance was unrealistic. I have a B.A. in dance. I know what I am talking about. To me, some of Chloe’s thoughts came off as an essay about dance. I would rather learn the thoughts Chloe has while executing a jeté or a fouetté, not the use of fouettés in Swan Lake. Dancers don’t think about Swan lake while turning, or the purpose of adagio while we hold an arabesque. Another example is Chloe constantly thinking about how dance is supposed to look easy, but it is not. This is true, but I promise dancers don’t think about this while they moving across the floor. While this may have been the struggle of writing about a very specific subject in first person, it took me out of even the dancing, which is always my favorite part.

Overall, anyone who is looking for a light, easy, and quick read should pick up this book. The characters are relatable to sweet, and the plot is quick and easy. This would be the book you would take to the beach. Something you could put down and pick up and know exactly where you are. But if you are looking for a dance book with more in-depth characters and complex plot, I would check out Loveboat, Taipei!

The fact that the longest paragraph in this review is about dance is so on-brand for me. What can I say, I’m picky. Even if this book didn’t live up to the hype I put on it, I’m glad it exists. I know a lot of readers will love Chloe and will breeze through this story.