A Road Trip to Remember: Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West
Places We’ve Never Been by Kasie West
🎶ROAD TRIP🎶
I loved this plot! What a way to spend a couple weeks of your summer, especially before the rush of the fall season! And if that’s not eventful enough, why not journey with your childhood best friend who you haven’t talked to in years?
🫂Norah and Skyler have history beyond imaginable, so this reunion over a cross-country trip in two RVs should be a breeze! Just because their communication sums up to the occasional “like” on social media, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t jump right back into their original familiarity…right?
Norah is an artistic teen who is thrilled at the idea to experience life outside of her home state of California, meanwhile traveling with her childhood best friend’s family; the boy she was inseparable with up until 8th grade.
So when her supposed bestie shows up for the trip, the last thing Norah expects is his distant, uninterested, rather-be-anywhere-but-here attitude.🧊👀 The Skyler who taught and honed her drawing abilities, shared her deepest secrets and fears, and harbors most of her young memories, is not the Skyler who stands before her at the beginning of their journey.
In this YA novel, Kasie West wonderfully throws together deep connections, roadtrip humor, electric and new feelings, with a couple dashes of suspense and mystery! 😍
✍️I loved the plot for this story, all the way through! It felt like there was so much to find out in such a small time, a roadtrip that might’ve been weeks in the novel, but feels like a precious couple days while you’re reading. The intriguing introduction captivates your interest to flip the pages and find out why Skylar has turned hostile towards Norah, plus what both of their moms seem to be hiding from the rest of the family.
📚As you read, not only does the ice start to break and the old best friends form a tentative bond, but the cross-country experience in two cramped RVs provides them with questions they never even thought of. Answers that might be difficult, and yet, exactly what they’re looking for. Emotional boundaries and personal feelings that this novel explores, making the read that much more interesting!
💞Yet another timeless rom-com with plenty of laughter! West’s writing makes the journey seem too short, leaving you wanting more and feeling satisfied all-together! Places We’ve Never Been forces a smile onto your face, and the family dynamics make it so relatable. I especially enjoyed how Kasie West skillfully dives into the story behind the main characters, allowing them to be flawed and imperfect, in order to write a great story. And yes, don’t worry, the romance is adorable. From ice-breaking glances to late-night chats, to forced proximity, meanwhile completely exciting and appropriate! You won’t regret getting attached to Skylar and Norah. 🤭
Alright, why don’t we get into some of the fun details!! 😇
✨CHARACTERS✨ — Here’s a taste! You’ll have to read the book to get the full development arc!
Norah Simons 🎮👩🎨 — Artsy, relatable, funny, and real. I say that because her unique personality made reading her POV (point-of-view) a breeze! She sees the world through the eyes of an artist, and her creative take on their journey was amazing! I loved how she naturally wanted to draw or paint every pretty sight, and how she could come off as slightly awkward but is actually confident on her own two feet. She definitely brings so much intrigue into the story of her and Skylar!
Skylar Hutton 📱🧑🎨 — If you’ve read the book, you know how great Skylar’s character development arc is, and how you don’t expect to grow attached to him as quick as you might! Kasie West steers him carefully away from being a whimpy MMC (male-main-character), and instead builds him to be a guy you could actually swoon over, at least in Norah’s case. Though he hides it to start with, the artist in him immediately connects with our FMC (female-main-character), making it a book you’re bound to remember!
Paisley 🍿😂 — I just had to mention her! As Skylar’s younger sister, she becomes the cushion between the old besties. Her humor in the novel made me laugh many times, and her upbeat, joyful personality made it such a fun time reading! I am definitely glad for her role in Places We’ve Never Been!
Willow 📣💃 — As Norah’s best friend, she was a great addition! Her loud, outgoing confidence and enthusiastic, bold personality posed as a great contrast to Norah’s introverted tendencies. And it’s always amusing to read late-night text streams about the day’s events, especially as things turn around for the main characters! So much humor!
‼️Everyone else in this book had a great part to play and I admire how Kasie West displays them all! Great characters overall‼️
💬QUOTES💬 — again, just a taste of a great rom-com!
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“Failure in life is inevitable. It’s only a problem if we let it keep us from progressing.”
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“That’s a weird saying, isn’t it? That we grew out of something? Like we’re embarrassed to like something we liked as a child because that means we’re immature or something. I don’t think we have to grow out of things. Maybe we were our truest selves as children, before we let the expectations of everyone else dictate who we should be.”
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“People like the watered-down version of me.”
“I like the concentrated version of you.”
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“Just remember you love me later, okay?”
“You think I’m not going to remember that when I’m gone? I’ve loved you for half my life. I’m not going to forget.”
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“He smiled his real smile for the first time since he arrived and nostalgia came pouring into my chest, making it even harder to breathe.”
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“Love is a pretty powerful thing.”
“It doesn’t take away all of life’s disappointments, but it can provide a nice place to fall.”
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“Skyler was my person. He always had been. My thirteen-year-old self knew it and my seventeen-year-old self knew it even more. It didn’t matter what my mom said, or the hard things we were going to face in the coming years. I knew we’d face them better together.”
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❗️Personal Note: This is considered a clean, no-spice YA romance. However, there were minor things I did not appreciate. In these minor cases (detailed below), I personally felt Kasie West chose to unnecessarily implement several different aspects of belief, ranging from Mother Nature, to the universe, to the LGBTQ community, to God. Although I understand the desire to connect with all sorts of people, I find it is typically unfitting with the story as a whole, and therefore extraneous. This is my opinion.
⚠️CONTENT⚠️
🌶️Spice/sexual/innuendo — Strictly PG! Innocent flirting. Emotional connection. Hand-holding. A few passionate, brief, semi-described kisses. Absolutely not sexual content or innuendo.
🤬Language — One mention of men’s “balls”.
🏳️🌈LGBTQ — Singular mention of Skylar’s older brother being gay. It’s mentioned once just to be there…literally has nothing to do with the story and is not mentioned again.
🙏Spirituality — Mentions of Mother Nature, God, and the universe. No religion or belief is explored.
Potential “Other” — Strict parents, unsupportive father, separation, stage-two breast cancer.
𓇼 ⋆.˚ 𓆉 𓆝 𓆡⋆.˚ 𓇼
Overall, love Kasie West’s clean books, and will definitely be picking up some of her fall/winter season romances later in the year!! 🤭🍁❄️
Please don’t hesitate to comment if you have any questions about any of my reviews!🤗
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