REVIEW: Where I Find You, by Tracee Findlater

Greetings all! It's a gorgeous day here in Iowa, and on gorgeous days such as these, a young girl's mind gently turns to (what else)  tasty reads! A lovely story you can read in a deck chair or on the beach or wherever you find yourself, completely ignoring the boring, old world. Today, for your reading pleasure, I bring you an urban fantasy with a dash of mystery, or maybe a mystery with a dash of urban fantasy. You decide.

Where I Find You
by Tracee Findlater
After the death of her mother, fourteen year old Anna goes to live with her aunt. She is struggling through adolescence, grieving, and out of her element. Although she seems a fairly normal, level-headed sort of girl, she initially has some difficulty relating to her aunt and finding her place in her new life. Then, one evening, while strolling in a beautiful garden, she meets Matthew. Anna is aware that she is dreaming, but Matthew insists that he is real and she is in his dream. 

Over time, through recurring dreams, Anna and Matthew form a friendship. Each encourages the other's creative passion – writing for Anna, and art for Matthew. But which of them is dreaming the other, and can a friendship that only exists in dreams survive?

What I liked about the dynamic between Anna and Matthew was that I was kept guessing until the end about who was dreaming whom, and that some meetings were dreamy and blissful, while others were angry and they argued. It brought so much more depth to the relationship than if Matthew had just been a cute, dream boy Anna was infatuated with.

I would have liked to know more about both characters, and how the ending came to be, but I realize it's not that kind of book. I actually loved the way it ended in the art gallery.

When I first began to read 'Where I Find You', I took note that this book was written in 1st person, present-tense. I'm not a fan of first person, present-tense writing. However, it is such a delight to read a piece of work that challenges what I think I like, and 'Where I Find You' was one of those books. Ms. Findlater's execution of the first person-present tense was excellent. It flowed so smoothly that I honestly didn't think about it again once I started reading. 

'Where I Find You' by Tracee Findlater would make a great summer read at the beach (or anytime/anywhere else), and I highly recommend you check it out at Amazon. I hope to see more from this author soon!

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