Review: A Coming of Age Story and a Romance Even a Non-Gymnastics Fan Can Get Behind
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 10 21, 2013
3.75Letters to Nowhere had so much working against it in my world. First, I bought it for 99cents on Amazon. I cannot tell you the number of books I've bought because they're 99cents. A number that's a lot less than that? The number of 99cent books I've actually read. That number is probably between zero and five. Second, it's self-published. I am always skeptical of the self-published book. Third, it's about gymnastics. This is mean, but gymnastics has always freaked me out. When I was in sixth grade (yes, 6th) I read Little Girls in Pretty Boxes and all these years later I've just never been able to look at gymnasts without getting freaked out.But, despite all those negatives, I really enjoyed this book! I just thought it was so well done and so interesting. The book starts off right after Karen's parents died in a car accident. Karen is an elite gymnast, she doesn't go to regular school, she doesn't have friends outside of the gymnastics world, and she's rarely interacted with boys. Not only is Karen trying to come to terms with her parents death, she's also trying to figure out where she'll live, her only family is her grandmother who lives far away, and how she'll be able to continue with gymnastics.The where she'll live question is settled by her coach. Seriously, I loved the romance between Karen and her coach's son, Jordan, but my favorite relationship in the book was the one between Karen and Coach Bentley. When the book starts out Karen doesn't know her coach that well, he's just this quiet, strict guy. But as Karen lives with him and learns more about him, he's still quiet and strict, but his kindness and how he cared for Karen made me so happy.Karen still has to come to terms with her parents' deaths and she does that through these letters that are scattered throughout the book. Before Karen's parents died they had made a deal that Karen would go to college rather than continuing to pursue the elite gymnastics route. As part of coming to terms with her parents' deaths Karen also has to decide if she sticks to the path they all decided together (which was mostly what her parents wanted) or if she forges her own path. Karen writes letters about lots of things and to lots of people (I also loved the ones to Jordan), but the ones to her parents were so poignant/sweet/heartbreaking.My favorite part of the book though was Karen's honesty, confidence, and curiosity. Yes, she had a lot of issues to deal with with her parents' deaths, but I found her confidence really refreshing. And part of that confidence was her honesty and curiosity. I guess this mostly had to do with Jordan, but I liked how even though she wasn't experienced with guys she still pursued Jordan. And as she learned what it was like to date a guy and make out with a guy and do more with a guy she said and did things that I bet a of people want to say or do but are too shy or insecure to say or do.Bottom Line: This book is certainly about gymnastics, but as someone who doesn't like gymnastics I can tell you it's a good read regardless. Karen is a great main character and I really enjoyed watching her deal with her parents' deaths, figure out her own path in life, and fall in love with a guy who may or may not be good for her. This is a great YA romance (it actually kind of reminds me of Stir Me Up in some ways) and I definitely recommend it.