The Map from Here to There (Start of Me and You)

ARC from Edelweiss and Netgalley

The Map From Here to There is the follow up to Emery Lord’s wildly popular The Start of Me and You. Fans were clamoring when they found out they were going to get more of Paige and Max, and with good reason. It was a long road of self discovery and learning to be vulnerable to find their way together. This, in all likelihood, should be a shoo-in of a good read for me. Yeah...not so much. Fair warning - there was little I found to like about this book, so this will be a rant review. There will be people, I’m sure, who will say that I’m not the ‘target’ audience for this book. I would argue that as a huge fan of the first story, I’m an excellent candidate to read this book. Whether I had a positive experience reading it or not.

So you know that nice relationship glow that lasts for a little while right after you get together? Yeah. There was none of that here. And quite frankly, this book almost felt insulting. It was like the author was afraid I’d think Paige and Max were going to live happily ever after, so there was a desperate need to show me otherwise. Even if she had to pull Paige and Max out of character to take me there. Not at all reminiscent of the heroine I came to know and love in the first book, Paige just came of as judgey and jealous. All of the growth in first book was killed in this one; I read another review that said all of the progress made in the first book was undone, and I couldn’t agree more.

So I’m not going to go over every aspect of this book, but I will touch on the reasons it was such a miss for me. For one, there was the appearance of a character named Hunter that felt like a half-assed attempt at a love triangle, and it felt so contrived. Max spent most of this book confused, and who could blame him? It was so weird and all on Paige, until the end where something had to be pinned on him, so another contrived situation rears its ugly head.

Though it covered some serious topics, the first book had a hopefulness and lightness to it that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I expected that here. If you’re also looking for that in this installment, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. It was just misery, not very good angst, and you guessed it - all things contrived. This book basically felt like a young woman who didn’t have enough drama in her life and felt the need to create some. EVERYTHING was blown out of proportion, and while I can give a teenager a break and say that can be indicative of their age or inexperience, it didn’t feel inline with Paige’s character from The Start of Me and You.

I will say that at around 75% of this book, things did start happening that felt monumental and authentic, but was so over Paige that I couldn’t even give the plot line the benefit of the doubt.

In the end, The Map From Here to There felt disjointed and unplanned, and aside from Max, there was nothing to enjoy. I’m sure you’ll see this book crop up again - in my most disappointing reads of 2020.

I’m so glad this book is OVER! It’s so long, and it felt like one giant field trip through angstville. I read the first book in the series and thought it was okay, so I gave the second one a shot and really wish I hadn’t wasted my time. All the forward strides Paige makes in book one are backpedaled, and she’s a fairly unlikable person in his book. She says mean things, she does some mean things, and then she’s like, “Hey, anxiety,” like that should forgive all. It took WAAAAAY too long for her to own up to her own mistakes. And once she finally did, the book felt readable. Too bad that was basically the end.

It was also pretty irritating that the relationship we all waited for through book one was barely present in book two. It starts out with Paige feeling nonsensically self conscious, and then the author skips over all the cute new-couple moments, and speeds straight into Majorproblemville. It was disappointing, it was exhausting, and it was tedious. I got so tired of being inside Paige’s head. I’ve read books where the main character has anxiety before, and felt like it was handled much better. Kasie West's By Your Side comes to mind. This just felt like so many things going wrong that could’ve easily been avoided, and again, so much drama. My 15 year old, the target audience for this book I might add, was put off. Her thoughts? “There’s already so much angst and negativity and anxiety in real life. Why would I want to read about more?” Pretty much.

I get wanting people to be able to find themselves in a book, finding relatable characters and so forth, but that shouldn’t mean the book itself should be a total downer.

When I recieved a copy of this book, I had no idea that this was the second book of the series. It wasn't until I started reading that I realized that something about this story seemed a little off for me, like maybe I was missing something. And sure enough, after doing some research, I realized that this was a sequel.

But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to read this book and not feel completely lost on the story. The author does a great job of catching you up on everything you should already know about the plot and characters, and so I don't think that me not reading the first book took away from this story.

This is my first Emery Lord book, and it definitely won't be my last. Her writing is really amazing, and she allows you to relate to her characters in a very genuine way. It reminded me so much of when I was in high school. The friendships and romance were very realistic, and the struggles that Paige went through with her anxiety and fears are something that so many of us have gone through.

I'm curious to see if Emery Lord has a third book set for these characters, as the ending seemed a little open ended. The story did seem to drag a little at times, and maybe had some unnecessary drama, but overall I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the first book in the series.

3-3.5 stars. I was a little bored with this book at first, but it gradually got more interesting with each chapter. It’s senior year and Paige is juggling a job, schoolwork, extracurricular stuff, along with her friends and a boyfriend. Not to mention college applications and the big decisions ahead. Her personal worry is that the other shoe will always drop and the expectations feel too heavy on her shoulders. She wants to branch out a bit and that leads to a bit of spontaneity on her part, but also some projected arguments with the people around her. Paige let her concerns consume her and didn’t do the best job with communication, but Max wasn’t entirely exempt from being frustrating either. Regardless, they are a better couple together than apart. The book ended without knowing Paige’s direction for the future even though she seems older and wiser. Maybe the knowledge of that decision was irrelevant given everything else around her. However, a lot of time was spent on contemplating this issue of what she would do next year and then no outcome was given, so that was disappointing unless there’s another book in the works.

Granddaughter din not like store line!

The Map from Here to There definitely did not capitalize on the success of The Start of Me and You. The author took what seemed to be every teenage issue and put it into the book. People have issues, but not all of them have to end up in the same novel. In the end, there was nothing to set this book apart from the many other YA romance novels, so it is not one that I would recommend.

I'm so surprised this book doesn't have more reviews and reads! This is a cute book that picks up where the first book, "The Start of You and Me", left off. If you haven't read that, definitely make sure you read that first.
This book reunites you with all the characters from the first and follows them on their senior year of high school. They are dealing with everything from new relationships, to college applications, to trying to do everything they can together before everything changes for good. Reality starts to really sink in during this book and they are now really dealing with the prospect of separating due to different college acceptances. Paige is realizing that she isn't dealing very well at all and her anxiety is making her self doubt and worry cause panic and it's interfering with a lot.
This is just a great book that really shows how much pressure some can have when they are in their late teens and having to face college and those major life changes that follow.
I'm trying not to give the story away but there is so much more to this book then just worry and stuff. It has great friendship vibes, family time is terrific, and the teens are really rather good with a few wild times that sneak in there every so often. It's a great second book and one that I think is nearly as good as the first one if not as good.

Guys... I'm torn. I really enjoyed The Start of Me and You. I loved Paige and Max. I loved Paige's friend group. I loved the tough things that Paige had to work through. Unlike most fans, I didn't have to wait for this book to publish since I don't think a sequel was originally planned, and I was able to just jump right into this book.

Here are my issues: this book felt much more political than the previous. I almost felt like we had a checklist going for political correctness (which would be fitting for Paige's list-making character). Paige's dad writes political pieces in his journalism column, although thank heavens we aren't subjected to reading them. We now have two gay couples--one female and one male. We have the feminist, again not subjected to much rhetoric but still present. We have a character intent on sex education reform, mostly because she has a feminine health issue (most likely PCOS). And we have an intense focus on the absurdity of planning college/after high school plans around people we strongly care about.

The beginning and very end felt like the true story of The Map from Here to There was actually about friendship. And while I really loved this group of friends, my preferences always revolve around romantic relationships. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with stories about strong friendships. I love those too. But I guess I just expected it to focus on Paige and Max.

Don't get me wrong, Paige and Max dominated the middle of the story, but mostly in the conflict areas and not in the happy-we-are-so-in-love kind of way. It totally makes sense that they might struggle with where their relationship is heading after high school. It wouldn't be smart to plan their futures around each other, especially considering that Paige's dream job is leading her toward one coast or the other. New York or LA. Despite Max being the bigger nerd between the two of them, he didn't seem to apply to any big-name schools until pressured into it. I struggled with how I felt about their conflict and how they approached dealing with it.

Paige herself was a little bit of a struggle for me as well. I've only really dealt with anxiety that I didn't feel in control of for one short period in my life when I was on a medication that didn't seem to be the right fit for me. I did feel like I was out of control and weak compared to what I saw myself being capable of handling. So I feel torn because that's not something I have dealt with outside of the period I was on that medication. So in some ways, I could relate to her anxiety and in other ways, I couldn't. I honestly felt like she'd been through worse trials and come out on the other side stronger than what she was facing in this book. Granted, anxiety isn't always logical. So I guess it's realistic.

From a personal level, I get frustrated with characters that are so against planning their futures around people they care about. Certainly, there are plenty of circumstances where one would regret following someone versus following their own dreams. But couldn't the same be said about the opposite? Couldn't one follow their career dreams and end up regretting leaving those they love behind? Because in the end, what is life without people we love to share it with? I just mean that it isn't so irresponsible to consider those we love when we are making giant life choices that will affect our futures.

I guess in the end I felt torn. I read it quickly. But I don't know that I truly enjoyed the experience. The issues Paige and Max faced didn't seem as difficult as what they have handled in the past. I also felt The Map from Here to There was much more PC than the prior, which I don't enjoy. The Map from Here to There gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read The Map from Here to There? What did you think? Let me know!

**Thank you to Bloomsbury YA, Netgalley, and Emery Lord for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review**

In the second installment of Paige's story, you get to see how her senior year of high school goes after everything that happened with Max. Paige is going through the age old struggle of trying to balance school, her future career, and a boyfriend. No matter what she does, one starts to fall and she can't bear to see it be her boyfriend. Mix in mental health issues causing severe anxiety to flare up - it's a roller coaster ride of a year. Of course, she's got her friends, but for how long? Who knows where everyone will end up at the end of the year and she is terrified of making the wrong choice.

I was super into the first book, The Start of Me and You. Watching Max and Paige's friendship and relationship blossom was beautiful, and so reminiscent of high school. I was less invested in the second book, because I don't feel like it really WENT anywhere. Things happened for sure - ups and downs, twists and turns. Paige puts herself out there in ways she didn't in the first book and grew up a ton. But it also came with some sacrifice and sadness as well.

I was not a fan of the ending. I almost felt like I read that whole book for... nothing? The ending doesn't really explain what happens or what Paige chooses - which is a pet peeve of mine for books. If you love a cliffhanger ending that leaves it up to you to decide what happens - I highly recommend. That just isn't my favorite writing style and I wanted oh so much more from my fave guy and and gal.

This duo is so beautifully written though. I love how LGBTQIA and mental health themes were added into the second book, because it's important to remember that these issues will affect teenagers. It also provided some good character definition for the characters who were affected.

Overall, a good ending to Paige's story, but I wish it didn't have to end. I'd read a play by play of Paige and Max's relationship for the next ten years if I could.

I think I'm going to have a love hate relationship with this book...unless Emery Lord decided to write another...I will GLADLY follow Max and Paige to college! Okay so things I LOVED: MAX, MAX and MAX. Also I loved that a YA book talked about endometriosis and mental health. I seriously cheered out loud when this happened. Bravo Ms. Lord!
A great YA book can talk about real issues and still be rooted in heart and love. The Map to Here and There does exactly this. It's charming, messy and real. It was hard for me to read about one my favorite couples have issues, but alas you want a sequel you're going to get a little bit of drama. This book is an absolute GEM!