Thank you to Viking Books for sending me a copy of Right Where I Left You for an honest review.
Summary
From the publisher:
School’s out, senior year is over, and Isaac Martin is ready to kick off summer. His last before heading off to college in the fall where he won’t have his best friend, Diego. Where — despite his social anxiety — he’ll be left to make friends on his own.
Knowing his time with Diego is limited, Isaac enacts a foolproof plan: snatch up a pair of badges for the epic comic convention, Legends Con, and attend his first ever Teen Pride. Just him and Diego. The way it should be. But when an unexpected run-in with Davi — Isaac’s old crush — distracts him the day tickets go on sale, suddenly he’s two badges short of a perfect summer.
Even worse, now he’s left making it up to Diego by hanging with him and his gamer buddies. Decidedly NOT part of the original plan. It’s not all bad, though. Some of Diego’s friends turn out to be pretty cool, and when things with Davi start heating up, Isaac is almost able to forget about his Legends Con blunder. Almost.
Because then Diego finds out what really happened that day with Davi, and their friendship lands on thin ice. Isaac assumes he’s upset about missing the convention, but could Diego have other reasons for avoiding Isaac?
#Adulting
Right Where I Left You is my favorite of Julian Winters‘s novels thus far. If you’ve never read one of his books, well, go remedy that right now. Winters tends to explore similar themes throughout his works, such as what it means to be on the cusp of adulthood. Here, Isaac deals with social anxiety, his small friend group and lack of romantic experience, causing him to worry he won’t adapt to college. He has to figure out how to be true to himself and all of the facets of his personality and identity. What does that look like for him?
Related: Check out our interview with Julian Winters!
Isaac feels that he should have so much more figured out at eighteen. It’s easy for me, as an adult, to read this and think, “Oh, honey, how you’ll learn.” But, Winters really succeeds in never undermining his characters or his intended audience of young adults. Right Where I Left You is a very gentle reminder that it’s OK to not have everything figured out without ever talking down to its readers.
Right Where I Left You feels like a safe space. Isaac trips and falls, whether it’s with regard to how he treats his friends, his family or dating life. Isaac messes up a lot and is a bit of a jerk sometimes, but I never stopped rooting for him.
SPOILER: The book did make me wonder what it’d be like to read a story of two best friends in a relationship. So many stories about friends falling in love end at the beginning, as it were. But, what does that transition from friendship into a romantic relationship look like?
Diversity FTW!
People need to see themselves in books, and it’s so nice that in Julian Winters’s world, queer BIPOC characters are the show’s stars. Isaac Martin is a nerd, a Black Latino nerd, a gay Black Latino nerd; he’s also a son, a brother, a best friend, someone who deals with social anxiety — you get the picture. His friend group is equally diverse — because the world is diverse.
This innate diversity allows for Winters to integrate important issues into Right Where I Left You without it becoming an “issues” novel. For example, Winters is able to seamlessly touch on white privilege and biphobia because of the make up of his cast.
Related: Drawing More Attention to Black Mental Health Representation on TV
Photo credit: Vanessa North
Easter Eggs!
In true geek fashion, Winters pays homage to some of the queer YA greats in a fun and clever way. It took me a few chapters to spot it, but it put a huge smile on my face when I did. Also, I want to take a moment to appreciate Winters’s prose. It’s a lovely mix of contemporary referential and stylized descriptions.
The Minorest of Quibbles
OK, this is probably build up from consuming a lot of media where this happens, but why have vegans eating animal products when they’re high/upset/bored/whatever become a trope? For most vegans, their lifestyle is an ethical thing, so having them eat animal products feels akin to having a strict Jewish or Muslim character suddenly start slamming bacon McGriddles, and I think most people realize that would be offensive.
Should You Read It?
Yes, obviously. 💯%
Right Where I Left You hits shelves March 15. Pick up a copy at your local indie book store or library.
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