I'm not sure why I read this? Like, setting myself up to be upset, then being upset.

At the end of the day, I guess I just didn't buy it--that Robert was anything special enough to be worth the risk to a guy 6 years older, that their relationship transcended the normal teacher-student boundaries and was "worth fighting for."

I mean, it wasn't bad--everything with Robert's father hurt a lot to read, in a good way--Andrew's past trauma felt a little shoved in. But at the end of the day I don't feel like I can say that this was anything but harmful for both of them, really. ( )

I had so many mixed feelings about this story. Andrew as a teacher should have known that what he and Robert had started was going to blow up and take them, at least him, down with it...but love is truly blind, deaf and dumb. Robert lied to Andrew about his age and that wasn't found out until after things were spinning out of control. Andrew thought that Robert was 18 which would have made him an adult, then finds out he wouldn't be 18 for two more months. Andrew is only 6 years older. I felt drawn to their dilemma and found myself rooting for them when I realized that the ups and downs in the relationship was all created entirely by others. It deals with such a controversial subject but is done in such a way that the sexual aspect of the forbidden teacher/student relationship is secondary. The story is strong and realistic and oddly provocative without being vulgar. It's compelling, romantic and if like me you are a sucker for a happy ending you'll love Andrew and Robert. These two deserved happy ever after in spades. ( )

Yep! Definitely a YA book, very PG-13. I mean, there's mention of sex happening between the MC's, but we don't see that. Which is okay, cause the story is amazing.

Usually I'm not into student/teacher stories, because a lot of the time the age gap is more than a couple of years (and therefore the older guy must be tough, and the younger must be innocent, right? NOT), and there's always this cat and mouse game, where the student is running after the teacher, tries to pursue him, and when he finally does catch him, the teacher goes from shy and distant to kinky commander. (cliché much?)

But in this case there's only a couple of years separate Andrew and Robert from each other. And I didn't get the feeling that Andrew (the teacher) is more mature then Robert. In some ways yes, since he is a teacher, but emotionally I felt that they're on the same level. And yes! there is maybe a little pursuing from Robert's side, but it's more like he's trying to find something normal in Andrew' friendship while his mourning a father he never really had.

A got frustrated a couple of times, mostly with Andrew. Cause, you know, he's suppose to be the smarter one. He's a teacher but only 24 years old, he doesn't really have much experience, and he makes a lot of mistakes, but that's the beauty of it, they're both trying to navigate in this "relationship".

It does have a HEA, but it didn't actually felt like it, cause Andrew lost his job, which he enjoyed very much. And I did cry a little. :)

Aaand that's the longest review I wrote so far. :) ( )

I had to stop for a bit when the whole phone fiasco started and scream in my pillow.
And then again when that little selfish prick took the flowers Andrew left and pretended they were his.

I could really relate to Robert, since I was in a similar situation a few years back (minus the overbearing aunts)
What bothered me is how the whole "hating your dying father" issue was dealt with. It all came down to "he was a bad father, and a selfish bastard, so it okay to hate him".
Robert's whole family on his father's side is painted very negative, as if to give the reader the permission to sympathise with him. When the fact of the matter is, when you have someone close to you dying, and doing it for a very long time, no matter how much you love them, and no matter how ashamed you might feel, and no matter how much you know how irrational it is, you will still hate them sometimes. But you're human and that's okay.
In my opinion this whole point was shot down when his father was made "the bad guy" with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Other than this issue, I liked the book. It was engaging and I liked the characters very much (Robert more than Andrew). I would like to see the story after they got together publicly and how they dealt with it. ( )

J.H. Trumble’s Where You Are tackles the delicate and controversial topic of a romance between a teacher and his student in a sensitive and thought-provoking manner. The student is of legal age in the state where the story takes place, and the teacher is seven years his senior. Both of these points make Where You Are easier to read, but it does not lessen the ethical questions raised by their relationship. To read my review in its entirety, please click HERE. ( )