Here So Far Away

By Hadley Dyer

George Warren (real name: Frances, but nobody calls her that) is well aware that she’s sometimes too tough for her own good. She didn’t mean to make the hot new guy cry—twice. And maybe she shouldn’t have hit the school’s mean girl in the face. George’s loyalty and impulsiveness are what her friends love about her—they know she’s got their backs.

On the cusp of her senior year, though, everything starts to change: a fight with her best friend puts an irreparable rift in George's social circle, George’s father can no longer work as a police officer, and the family’s financial problems threaten her dream of going away for college. The year is turning out nothing like what George envisioned, but unfortunately, life’s a bad writer.

Then George meets Francis, an older guy who shares her name and her talent for sarcastic banter. In him, she—the queen of catch-and-release—has finally found someone she wants to hold on to, when lately it seems like she’s only been pushing people away. And with him, she falls hard and recklessly in love in ways she never thought herself capable. In short, it’s the year George nearly loses everything, including herself, in secret and utterly alone.

With brilliant humor and heartbreaking truth, award-winning author Hadley Dyer tells a story of finding love—and the road back from unthinkable loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Mar 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781443451215

Hadley Dyer

Hadley Dyer is the award-winning author of Here So Far Away and Johnny Kellock Died Today, among other books for children and young adults. She worked in the children’s book industry for more than twenty years. To learn more about her, visit her online at www.hadleydyer.com.

Reviews for Here So Far Away

[girlwellread · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A special thank you to Edelweiss and HarperCollins Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.I don't like to give negative reviews, especially to a Canadian author. My mother also taught me that if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. But here is my dilemma...as a reviewer, I am obligated to provide feedback. So here goes...I couldn't relate to the main character, George, at all. The dialogue was trite, and the story itself was simply not engaging and at times bordered on ridiculousness. For me, it was a struggle to even finish. Dyer really needs to up her game in this genre. There are so many outstanding YA novels out there that are deserving of your time. Here are some of the ones that have left me completely gutted and honoured to have read them: The Hate U Give, All the Bright Places, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, A List of Cages, One Half From the East, and Andrew Smith's Winger and Stand-Off. That being said, Dyer is a champion of literacy here in Canada, and I admire her efforts and contributions to the children's book industry.

[heatherlinc · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Oh dear, this was a bit of a train wreck, and it was quite painful to read. The plot was slow, the dialogue shallow and George, the main character, was extremely annoying. Except for being a whiny brat, she had little personality and was always fighting with her friends, and there was little character growth throughout the book. Also, I was uncomfortable with the fact that a seventeen-year-old was dating a twenty-nine year-old man, who was replacing her father at work. I skimmed through the second half of the book and found the end totally unsatisfactory. All in all, Here So Far Away wasn't for me.