Shorty I can take you there

Maybe it's just me, but every time I see this book title I immediately think of Sean Kingston's Take You There. Again, could be just a me thing. :p

Finished Take Me There by Carolee Dean and felt it was worthy of a blog post. The book was published last year, but because I was browsing shelfari randomly (insert nerd joke here) I stumbled upon this book by accident. By the description on the back I assumed it was one of those dark and mysterious wannabe books about a kid who is messed up, finds a girl, falls in love, and drastically changes everything to be with her. Although there is some truth in that, the book is definitely worth a second glance.

Dylan has a broken family. His father is on death row in Texas for murder, his mother is an alcoholic who constantly plays the helpless victim, and Dylan just can't stay out of trouble. He failed to finish high school and spent some time in juvie. Juvie was an experience Dylan would rather not repeat, considering he and his best friend, Wade, were almost killed. He decided he needed to get his life on track and try to start over.
After leaving Texas, Dylan never expected to see Jess again. But when she comes into the mechanic shop, he can't help feeling he's in a dream. Jess is too good for him, he knows that, but there is something about her that is intoxicating. He would give anything to be with her and be apart of her future.
However, a 'bad boy' can never really stay out of trouble for long. Dylan is forced to hit the road and leave everything he dreams of behind. On this journey out of California, Dylan decides now is the time for unfinished business to be handled and questions to be answered. Once faced with his past, he realizes that perhaps the questions he was asking were the wrong ones. Maybe it was better to leave the past behind.
This story is a great coming of age journey. The reader is taken through the main character's thoughts, but it almost seemed like everything around me melted away and I was in Dylan's world. I could feel his struggle with staying sober and remaining on good terms with his parole officer, and I felt the way his heart was breaking when he decided he had no choice but to abandon his dream filled future. Dylan eventually visits his father in prison, which begins to stir old memories, but also brings about more problems. This story really was able to show Dylan's growth from the beginning of the novel. The decisions he made forced different outcomes; some outcomes brought tear jerking results. The ending was a surprise; it was not at all what you would expect. But, I feel it does fit. Even though a lot of things happened a little too coincidentally, the ending did not reflect a typical happy go lucky teen romance novel. Not all stories can have happily ever afters, and this novel was definitely a good dose of reality.
Take Me There is definitely a novel for mature audiences. Had I known about this book before I would have easily recommended this to some of my eighth grade boys who were in a constant struggle with themselves. Dylan is a character teenage boys can relate to easily, but also the novel gives a little peek at what prison life is.
It is a quick read, but enjoyable if you have a moment. In short, the story is about a young boy who is struggling to find himself, which most of us can relate to.