Page Princess: HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE by Tessa Marie

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE by Tessa Marie

Title: HOME IS WHERE YOU ARE

Series: N/A

Author: Tessa Marie

Publish Date: 09.30.14

Publisher: Tessa Marie

Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance

Recommended for: 16+ adult themes (no sexual content)

Grammar/editing: A – near perfect

Received from: Ashley Blevins, P.A. (in exchange for an honest review)

Goodreads link: Home Is Where You Are

Date completed: 09.27.14

Description from the publisher:

Anna’s life reads like a check list.
Straight A’s (Check)
Editor of the school paper (Check)
Volunteering time at the local soup kitchen (Check)
Ivy League (So close she can taste it)
Falling in love with a homeless boy (Not on the list)

Dean has a plan too. Survive. After being subjected to his foster father’s violent attacks, Dean made the hard choice to leave. Now he lives on the streets doing everything he can to get by, refusing to let people help him. But when he meets Anna, he realizes not everyone is out to hurt him.

Slowly, Anna and Dean let each other in, blending their two worlds into one. But when a series of events brings Dean’s world into perspective, he pushes Anna away. Not willing to accept the line that divides them, Anna sets out to bring Dean back to her. Her determination and faith in their future puts her on the tracks of danger, and he is the only one who can save her.

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Dean is 17 and has been on the streets for two years. His day is busy with plans for survival – food, hoping for a cot for the night, and spending time in the library for warmth and a bathroom. A shower is a coveted treat. Anna is also 17, a latch-key kid living with a mother who is never there. She is determined to make good grades and get into an Ivy League college. Community service is on her to-do lists because it is needed for the acceptance committees. She has no plans to actually become involved in the lives of any of those she is helping. Slowly, Dean and Anna become friends. They get closer to one another, but when the realities of Dean’s world crash through, he pushes her away. Is there a way for them to move forward and face the future together?

This is not just Anna’s story; nor is it just Dean’s story. It is their story. It is a story of acceptance, realism, and optimism. It is also a story of finding your limitations and knowing when to ask for help. It is a story of realizing that help and charity are two very different things and both are needed and appropriate at times. Anna and Dean have both closed themselves off from the world. Their backgrounds are so similar, except for one small variance that made all of the difference in how they lived.

I could not put this book down. This was definitely one of those “leave me alone. I’m reading” kind of days. I didn’t have to get lost in this world, because it is our world. You can look in any city in this country and find a Dean and/or Anna. I loved the theme of optimistic hope with a firm grasp on reality that this story provided.

As far as I could find, this is the first full-length novel presented by Ms. Marie. I look forward to reading more from this wonderful new author!