Blog Tour of "Here" by Denise Grover Swank - review and giveaway!

Here by Denise Grover Swank

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Review copy for this blog tour~ thanks a Tale of Many Reviews!
Genre: YA Dystopian and Science Fiction

Description from Goodreads: Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before. 

Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.


My thoughts: I've often contemplated the idea of parallel universes. A reality that could go on if a different decision is made. That's the basis behind this story.

What if the Cuban Missile Crisis was not averted? What if nuclear bombs were unleashed on the United States in the 1960's?

Julia is struggling with life. Six months ago she was in a car accident which killed her best friend. She exists with survivors guilt. She feels that she should have been the one to die. She exists, but she does not live.

She begins to have a new lease on life when the very popular Evan starts to pay attention to her. He becomes her tutor because she is failing school. He begins to wake her up emotionally as she begins to have feelings for him. She tries to be alive again. He has helped her in the healing process and given her something to hope for.

Unfortunately, the euphoria doesn't last because Evan is hiding a big secret. It's big and it's dangerous. His secret will forever change both of their lives.

This is a great YA book. It falls into both a sci-fi and a dystopian genre. The romance between Julie and Evan is sweet and fun to read. I always love when the non-popular girl is noticed by the popular boy who sees beyond the social aspects to the person that she really is. Yea, I root for the underdog. There becomes a love triangle when Reese enters the picture. I liked both boys.

This book is clean and interesting.

About Denise:   Denise Grover Swank lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. She has six children, three dogs, and an overactive imagination. She can be found dancing in her kitchen with her children, reading or writing her next book. You will rarely find her cleaning. Denise is represented by Amanda Luedeke of MacGregor Literary.
You can find out more about Denise and her other books at www.denisegroverswank.com or email her at denisegroverswank@gmail.com You can also follow her on Twitter: @DeniseMSwank or  friend her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deniseswank


eBook Giveaway!   You have the opportunity to win an eBook copy of "Here".  You must be 13 or older to enter.  I will be forwarding the winner's information to another party to send out the book. Entry is through the rafflecopter.  There isn't a mandatory entry.  You may get an extra entry if you follow Denise on twitter.  The contest ends on April 18th.  Good luck!

To find out more about this blog tour and see the posts of other bloggers.  Please go to this link!


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