ARC Review: The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi HeiligAuthor:  Heidi Heilig

Genre: Young adult, historical, fantasy

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Publication Date: February 16, 2016

464 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Greenwillow Books for letting me read this!

This book, you guys. Heart eyes all the way over here. The Girl from Everywhere is full of magic and myths and beautiful writing. It’s got fantastic, strong, swoony characters and so much life. It’s magical – the story, the characters, the places, the actual magic. So so good.

I’ve got to start by talking about the world building which is utter perfection. Heidi is able to beautifully describe each of the (many) settings in such a way that they are all distinct. You can actually picture each of them, and this is a big feat. We’ve got New York, Hawaii, ancient China, a version of Africa only seen in myths.

And the characters are just as wonderful. Nix is independent and smart, and I was rooting for her the whole time. I loved following her on this journey, and I really appreciated her growth. I really loved all of the characters in the book (and I think that every single one of them was well-developed – like, seriously. I could picture them all), but after Nix, my favorite character is hands down Kash. You guys, Kash is bae. He’s from a fictional version of Arabia (it’s kind of impossible to not think of him as Aladdin), and he’s wonderful and swoony. But the best part to me? The romance wasn’t really the focus in this story. It’s there, sure, but not in the foreground, and I really appreciated that.

My favorite part though has just got to be the idea of travel like this – through time and space and myths and legends. It was absolutely fascinating, and I could read 100 more books like this and never get bored. There are so many places they could travel. I’m excited that this is the start of a series!

If I had to voice a small complaint, it would be that the book is a bit confusing once or twice because of the vast amount of information and stories we’re given. But it all makes sense in the end, and it obviously didn’t hinder my enjoyment much.

The bottom line: Read this if you like fantasy books. Read it if you like magical, amazing worlds and characters. Read this if you like great writing and fantastic stories. You know what?  Just read it, okay?

Rating: 8 – freaking fantastic

Waiting on Wednesday: The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine in which we share a book that we are eagerly anticipating!

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi HeiligPublisher: Greenwillow Books

Author: Heidi Heilig

Release date: February 16, 2016

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Heidi Heilig’s debut teen fantasy sweeps from modern-day New York City to nineteenth-century Hawaii to places of myth and legend. Sixteen-year-old Nix has sailed across the globe and through centuries aboard her time-traveling father’s ship. But when he gambles with her very existence, it all may be about to end. The Girl from Everywhere, the first of two books, will dazzle readers of Sabaa Tahir, Rae Carson, and Rachel Hartman.

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

In The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility with witty, fast-paced dialogue, breathless adventure, and enchanting romance.

Why I’m excited: I’ve already been talking about this one on Twitter, and I was lucky enough to be approved for an e-ARC of this one on Edelweiss, but I’m just so excited about this one that I had to do a WoW post too! I mean, did you guys read that synopsis?! The Girl from Everywhere sounds incredible – it’s got time travel, ships, charming thieves; I mean, what else could you possibly want? And honestly, another draw for this one is how absolutely sweet Heidi is! You should all go follow her on Twitter if you don’t already. T-minus just over 3 months until release!

S.F.D. Mission: Open Letter to Janet B. Taylor, author of Into the Dim

Just in case you missed my post yesterday all about what S.F.D. is, you can check it out here. Basically, we’re a team of debut author supporters started by Talina from Sassy & Dangerous, who’ll be going on a series of missions to help promote some seriously amazing authors. Today I’m super pumped to be going on a mission for Sassy’s Fangirl Debuts – my mission, which I’ve chosen to accept, is an open letter to a debut author, and I have been assigned Janet B. Taylor, author of one of my most anticipated 2016 releases.

——————————

Janet B Taylor

Dear Janet (can I call you Janet? I’m going to call you Janet),

I know you already know how freaking excited I am for your book. I’ve already got a review of it on Goodreads (all in caps) and I’ve done a Waiting on Wednesday post about it and I’ve told you on Twitter a few times, but, if it’s cool with you, I’m going to talk about it a little more.

I don’t know if you know, but I lived in Scotland for over a year. I’m completely in love with that country, so as soon as I saw the setting of your book, I was super intrigued. BUT then you added in freaking TIME TRAVEL, and, like I said on Goodreads, I realized there couldn’t possibly be a more perfect book for me.

Let’s just see. Some things I know about you and your book:

  • Favorite things to do (other than reading): Travel. And um…let’s see…did she mention travel? [from your Meet the Author post] Let’s go on a trip together, okay? I LOVE to travel, and I take at least one road trip a month. I love that you enjoy travelling and that you travel to all the places your book is set because, though I haven’t read Into the Dim yet, this makes for seriously amazing and well-developed settings. I can’t wait to travel to Scotland again in your book.
  • You’re a Whovian. Enough said.
  • “[Hope’s mother is] also a member of a secret society of time travelers, and is now trapped in the twelfth century during the age of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine.” Now Hope has to travel back in time to rescue her. I mean, are you kidding me? Plus there’s a “mysterious boy” and romance and effing SCOTLAND. I want to read this book SO BADLY. Here’s hoping your book takes places sometime around when Scotland rebelled against Henry’s rule along with Henry’s kid, “Young Henry”, because that will make for some interesting conflict. Even if it doesn’t, freaking time travel and Scotland added together makes for a very excited Stefani. I’m really looking forward to reading this. Not like you couldn’t tell or anything. I’m not even usually a big fan of historical fiction, but this? This I KNOW I will like.
  • Into the Dim got two amazing covers. The first one, with the mountains and the snow and the girl in a fur cape and the font, is what made me click on this book on Goodreads. It’s what initially drew me in. It was absolutely gorgeous! And then you got a new cover and I’m kind of in love with the font on that one too and the tagline – “Her future is a thousand years in the past.” Color me intrigued.
  • Your Into the Dim Pinterest Board. YES. Love all the characters’ looks and that picture of Glencoe (which I’ve been to and which is absolutely gorgeous). I usually prefer imagining the characters’ appearances myself, but if your boys look like THAT? Yeah, I can deal.

I could probably keep going, but I’ll stop there. Basically, I just wanted you to know that I am REALLY excited to read Into the Dim. I honestly don’t know if there could be a more perfect book for me. Scotland and time travel mixed together? Could there be anything that appeals to me more? I really don’t think so. Like I said in my WoW post, could I time-jump to March 2016, please and thank you?

Sincerely,
Stefani
Into the Dim fangirl

——————————

What to know more about Janet B. Taylor’s debut Into the Dim? Of course you do.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers // Publication Date: March 1, 2016

Add the book to your Goodreads shelf!

When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing. Addictive, romantic, and rich with historical detail, Into the Dim is an Outlander for teens.

ABOUT JANET

Janet B. TaylorJanet Taylor lives in such a small town in Arkansas that if you happen to sneeze when you pass by, you’ll totally miss it. (Cause, you know, you can’t sneeze with your eyes open. For real–try it–it’s impossible)

Her debut novel, INTO THE DIM (coming 3/1/2016 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) is about a 16 year old girl who travels through time. Totally on purpose and stuff.

She’s a reader/fan first and a writer second. She lives with her fantastic husband, two hilarious sons, and Dorda the diabetic dog who won’t win any beauty contests, but has a “nice personality”.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Pinterest | Goodreads

——————————

Check out the full S.F.D. team and head to their blogs to see who they wrote a letter to!

Talina, our fearless leader // Emily // Heather // Eileen // Karina // Deanna
Claudia // Kaitlin // Jasmine // Angel // Bex // Melissa // Kaitlin S. // Aila // Jess // Jaime
Lauren // Lizzie // Erin // Aimee