Book Review – Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard
Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard
Contemporary | Young Adult | 320 pages
Published on 15th April 2021 by Macmillan Children’s Books
Synopsis
Sometimes you have to leave your life behind to find your place in the world.
After five years at secondary school spent without any friends, Peyton King starts sixth form college determined that things will be different. Whatever happens, she will make friends at any cost.
When she finds the friends she’s always dreamed of, including an actual boyfriend, she’s happier than she’s ever been.
But when they let her down in the worst way, Peyton is left no better off than when she started.
Now Peyton knows the only chance she has of finding happiness is to look for it somewhere else. Her life may feel small, but it doesn’t have to be. With nothing but her sketchpad and a backpack, she buys a one-way ticket and gets on a plane…
My rating:
Review
I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
I found Peyton quite a hard main character, but it’s hard not to empathise with her as the book progresses. While I don’t necessarily agree that dropping everything to fly to Canada is the best solution, I do see her logic.
I loved everything about the roadtrip, and the fact she visits places I have been made me both nostalgic and bitten by the travel bug! The friendships she eventually makes there are so lovely, and it’s really nice to see Peyton learn to open up.
The parts of the story set while she is at school are much harder – not just because of the epic bullying and loneliness and poor decisions, but because they really are soaked in misery and you feel it as you read. I liked these less, but they are buoyed by the sense of hope in the Canadian sections. They do however have the unfortunate side effect of making Peyton less likeable.
Overall the emotions and sense of hope and healing swing this through for me, just beware if you read it – have tissues!
4 stars.
Buy Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard from Waterstones.
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2 Comments
Ellie
Glad you enjoyed! I haven’t heard of this before so your review was super interesting!
Booksandlemonsquash
Glad you enjoyed