ARC Review: The Girl from Everywhere



Title: The Girl from Everywhere
Author: Heidi Helig
Series: The Girl from Everywhere #1
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Time Travel
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication Date:  February 16th 2016
Pages: Kindle, 464
My Rating: 4 Stars
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  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.

  I was given an ARC by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. 

  Eeep, the first 2016 book I've read!

  When I first read the synopsis of The Girl from Everywhere, I was immediately intrigued. As a lover of time travel books, I found this one interesting and different from any other. Nix, her father and their crew used a ship in their travels, and not only can they travel to any place in the world, they could travel to mythical places as well! Which is why I was so happy when I was approved by Harper Collins and I'm so glad that I finally had the time to read it.

  The Girl from Everywhere is a very interesting tale of adventure, love, family and friendships. Slate, the captain of the ship, will do anything to get the map of 1868 Honolulu in order to save the love of his life from dying. His daughter, Nix, is in charge of planning routes for him. However, she is worried about what might happen to her existence if Slate ever finds an authentic Honolulu 1868 map because her mother died giving birth to her. Even though she's hesitant to help Slate, she still does because he is still her father after all.

  The Girl from Everywhere has a unique plot, and I really enjoyed reading it. It made me feel as if I visited so many places and took a lot of adventures because the imagery in the book was vivid, while still not being too wordy. I had fun in following their travels and misadventures, and the book was able to evoke all the correct emotions in me. I was really happy how the author was able to incorporate what happened in Hawaii to this story. It must've took a lot of thinking to weave all those stories together!

  My favorite character from this book is Kashmir. Although he is sometimes pushed to the side, you can't deny that he's really clever and street-smart. He's quick to think on his feet and he never backs down. He sure knows a lot, and I can just imagine being friends with him in real life! Just imagine all the adventures that we would take and all the trouble that we would get into! But still, one thing is for sure - we would certainly have a lot of fun!

  I really loved the ending of this book. It almost made me teary eyed because of how beautifully everything wrapped up together. All the ends flowed seamlessly and all the mystery was resolved. Gosh, I really loved how the author created Auntie Joss' story! It's so complicated that it almost made my head hurt, and I can just imagine the amount of thought put into it! I'm glad that everyone was able to resolve their issues in the end, and I just feel like this is one of the best endings that I've read so far.

  I really enjoyed the book, and the only reason that I won't be giving this 5 stars is because it lacked this pull that would keep me from putting the book down. I read this book in a span of 2 weeks, and I was just looking for that hold that the mystery and adventure would have on me, but it didn't come. Other than that, however, I really liked the story and I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the next book!


4 adventurous stars


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