You Were Here
Readers rate it 4.5 (2 on Hardcover)
382 pages · Released Mar 1, 2016 · Sourcebooks, Inc.
Content report card
You Were Here parent’s guide: what’s inside
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
You Were Here is a character-driven YA novel about grief and healing following a suicide, told through prose, graphic panels, and poetry. The central plot involves dangerous urban exploration and self-harm impulses, making it emotionally mature content best suited for teens who can handle heavy themes with nuance. The book emphasizes friendship, vulnerability, and recovery rather than glorifying risk-taking, but the subject matter is serious and may trigger sensitive readers.
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From the publisher
You Were Here is a gripping, emotional novel perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, Jennifer Niven, and Adam Silvera, that moves seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panels and word art poetry. Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn't: live past graduation. Jaycee is dealing with her brother's dea... You Were Here is a gripping, emotional novel perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, Jennifer Niven, and Adam Silvera, that moves seamlessly from prose to graphic novel panels and word art poetry. Jaycee is about to accomplish what her older brother Jake couldn't: live past graduation. Jaycee is dealing with her brother's death the only way she can—by re-creating Jake's daredevil stunts. The ones that got him killed. Jaycee doesn't expect to have help on her insane quest of urban exploration to remember Jake. But she's joined by a group of unlikely friends—all with their own reasons for completing the dares and their own brand of dysfunction: Natalie: the ex-best friend Bishop: the heartbroken poet Zach: the slacker with Peter Pan syndrome, and... Mik: who doesn't speak, but somehow still challenges Jayce to do the unthinkable-reveal the parts of herself that she buried with her brother. From the petrifying ruins of an insane asylum to the skeletal remains of the world's largest amusement park, You Were Here takes you on an unforgettable journey of friendship, heartbreak, and inevitable change. "You Were Here is wrenchingly beautiful in its honest and achingly accurate portrayal of grief and how it breaks us—and the way unconditional friendship puts us back together."—Jo Knowles, award-winning author of See You At Harry's and Read Between the Lines "The urban explorers of You Were Here dive deep into the forgotten man-made spaces all around them—and their own feelings of loss, love, and fear. McCarthy deftly intertwines the characters' stories, filling them with authentic pain and heartache as well as soaring moments of grace and humor. I dare you to read it!" —Maggie Lehrman, author of The Cost of All Things
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Fiction
- Young Adult
- Adventure
- Children's fiction
- Brothers and sisters, fiction
- Grief, fiction
- Friendship, fiction
- Building, fiction
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ISBN 9781492617051 · Sourcebooks, Inc.