ARC Review: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

The Girl From Everywhere
by Heidi Heilig

Genre: YA Time Travel, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure

Publication: February 16th 2016 by Greenwillow Books

Series: The Girl From Everywhere #1

Length: 464 pages

Format: eARC from publisher

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It was the kind of August day that hinted at monsoons, and the year was 1774, though not for very much longer.

Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times – although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix’s father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix’s existence rather dangerously in question…

Nix has grown used to her father’s obsession, but only because she’s convinced it can’t work. But then a map falls into her father’s lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it’s that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever.

Thank you to HarperCollins / Greenwillow Books for providing me with this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading my first pirate book, BLACKHEARTS, and my first real time-travel book, THE LOVE THAT SPLIT THE WORLD, and loving both of them, I was really quite excited to read THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE. Unfortunately, unlike BLACKHEARTS and TLTSTW, I was not a huge fan of this one.

This novel tells of the story of Nix Song, the daughter of a captain who Navigates, or travels through time, with their ship and loyal crew. After the death of Nix’s mother and the captain, Slate’s, wife, they attempt to obtain a map from the time period in which Nix’s mother died in order to be able to go back in time and save her.

I wasn’t fully happy with this novel. I felt as if the plot was hazy and that there wasn’t a really good reason for the characters’ actions. There were a few parts in the book where I was really excited to see what was going on, but ultimately, this did not strike the pitch with me. A lot of the action fell flat with me, and I ended up skimming several chapters.

Although I wasn’t satisfied with the story, I did recognize the well-done aspects of this novel. For one, the plot was so wholly original; I’ve never read a book like this one. It contains a biracial main character whose aspirations are developed clearly and beautifully. To add on, the relationships that Nix makes with Kashmir and Blake are definitely swoon-worthy. I know many people say that there was a love triangle in this book, but I don’t think so. I believe Nix forms these relationships to fully understand herself as well as the people she’s formed bonds with, and those, undoubtedly, are hard to break.

Overall, THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE was a disappointment to me, but it did contain praise-worthy aspects throughout. Essentially, I believe this book had a lot of potential to be amazing, but it just didn’t work for me. If anything, buy the book for its pretty cover and the detailed maps inside.

Rating: ★★½ / 5

Have you read this book yet? What was your opinion on this one? If not, are you planning to read it? Let me know in the comments below!