Book Review: Where I Belong

Where I Belong
by Gwendolyn Heasley
289 pages - Paperback
Published February 8th 2011 by HarperTeen
ISBN: 0061978841 (ISBN13: 9780061978845)

Summary:

Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect 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 to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on 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.

Review:

The book starts with a letter from Corrine telling the readers not to be too annoyed with her snobby attitude because she'll get better towards the end of the novel. I think this is a very smart move by the author because had she not included this letter, I would have given up on Corrine halfway through.

You’d be surprised by how much Corrine’s attitude got to me. Or not, if you have read this book already. I was utterly annoyed with her attitude. She felt as if she was superior to all the people in Broken Spoke. She was so bitter and condemned everyone and everything for not being as good as her peers back in New York.

The plot predominantly revolves around Corrine’s character development so there's not much romance here.. I almost did not notice her growth as a character though, had I not looked at the story as a whole. She learned to accept life in Broken Spoke, as well as its people and traditions. But what I really liked about Corrine’s character development is that she did not transform from a snobby rich New Yorker to an all time friendly and humble Texan. Her snobby attitude is rather irritating, but it is one of the qualities that define her character and I am glad that it did not vanish towards the end of the book. She’s still not the friendliest or the most humble person, but her life in Broken Spoke has made her such a smart and an open-minded character. Corrine doesn't have the most likable personality ever, but who she is is what made her such an interesting character as well.

Rating: 4/5 stars