I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; May 17, 2011
Paperback, 392 pages
Borrowed from library

Emily Bell believes in destiny. To her, being forced to sing a solo in the church choir--despite her average voice--is fate: because it's while she's singing that she first sees Sam. At first sight, they are connected.

Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father. That is, until Sam sees Emily. That's when everything changes.

As Sam and Riddle are welcomed into the Bells' lives, they witness the warmth and protection of a family for the first time. But when tragedy strikes, they're left fighting for survival in the desolate wilderness, and wondering if they'll ever find a place where they can belong. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a gripping story that explores the complexities of teenage passions, friendships, and loyalties.

- Description from Goodreads.com

I'll Be There is a book that I've been wanting to read for a while now and I'm so glad I got to it! It was amazing! I have never read a book so intricate and so movie-like! Every second spent reading this book went by gorgeously because the description that went into this book was brilliant! 

The thing about I'll Be There is that it's written from a third-person perspective which allows the author to travel between characters, which is quite useful, considering that one of the themes of this book is that we are all connected. Holly shows the connection between each character wonderfully and the way she writes little, mundane details into their lives makes it so realistic. However, the third-person perspective also distances us from the characters which can make it hard for me to connect to what the characters are feeling at times, for example, when Riddle and Sam were stuck in the woods. 

I actually really loved this book and I still have no idea why I gave it a three on Goodreads. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I took so long to read this - not because I was bored, but because of an overload of school work. That might have sucked the emotion out of me when I read this, but truthfully, if I were REALLY connected to this book, I don't think the connection would have been lost so easily. It would've reconnected as soon as I picked up the book again, or at least, that's what I think would happen. 

Although I do have some mixed feelings on this and am still trying to screw my head on correctly, I'll Be There is a wonderful book you have to read. It will change your life and I promise you, the fact that it's written to play like a mini movie in your head is not a bad thing. 

Plus, you have your own little theme song to listen to when you read this. I'll Be There by Jackson 5. I'm listening to it as I type this, and I can tell you that it fits perfectly with this book. Sweet, slow, reassuring.

PS A Seeing Double feature will be made for this book. Stay tuned to find out what it is! Told you I loved features, haha. :)