Synopses & Reviews
Eighteen-year-old Skylar Evans has lived her entire life in the small town of Creek View, California, a wasteland of trailer parks where most people are lucky to graduate from high school. Skylar is determined to leave town, and shes nabbed a ticket out: a full scholarship to San Francisco State, where shes going to major in art and meet the perfect boy in Russian 101.But with less than three months to go, Skylars careful escape plan starts to derail. Combat veteran Josh Mitchell walks back into her life, and hes nothing like the obnoxious party boy she remembers. For one thing, hes lost a leg in Afghanistan, and his wounds go far beyond that—hes haunted by the memories of the war abroad. Something about him speaks to Skylar, but she knows this is no time to be getting attached. As if that werent enough, Skylar's mother starts drinking again. With her home life falling apart and escape from Creek View looking less and less likely, Skylar has to wonder: Is it possible that two broken souls can heal each other?
Review
Praise for Something Real: "Chilling satire . . . Thought-provoking ideas wrapped in an engaging plot." —Kirkus Reviews "[An] addictive yet thoughtful debut." —Publishers Weekly
Review
Praise for I'll Meet You There:"Demetrios again focuses on timely issues, interpersing Skylar's account with short chapters in Josh's anguished voice that relive his painful wartime memories . . . A heavy, page-flipping romance." - Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Something Real: "Chilling satire . . . Thought-provoking ideas wrapped in an engaging plot." —Kirkus Reviews "[An] addictive yet thoughtful debut." —Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
If seventeen-year-old Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing standing between straightedge Skylar and art school are three minimum-wage months of summer. Skylar can taste the freedom—that is, until her mother loses her job and everything starts coming apart. Torn between her dreams and the people she loves, Skylar realizes everything shes ever worked for is on the line.Nineteen-year-old Josh Mitchell had a different ticket out of Creek View: the Marines. But after his leg is blown off in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be. What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off Californias dusty Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and soon, something deeper.
About the Author
Heather Demetrios is the author of the critically acclaimed YA novel Something Real. When she's not traipsing around the world or spending time in imaginary places, she lives with her husband in New York City. Originally from Los Angeles, Heather is part of the Summer 2014 Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA class at Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the Susan P. Bloom PEN New England Discovery Award for Something Real.