Review: The Girl from Everywhere

girl fromTitle: The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere #1)
Author: Heidi Heilig
Genres: fantasy
Pages: 464
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review copy: Library
Availability: February 16th, 2016

Summary: Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination. As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day. Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence. For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters. She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love. Or she could disappear. [Image and summary via Goodreads]

Review: When I first read the premise of The Girl From Everywhere, I was at once intrigued and baffled. Sailing across the centuries? Mythical lands? Time travel? That’s an awful lot going on. Given my love of fantasy and myth, I was more than ready to give it a try, even so.

The whole ‘sailing through the centuries to possibly mythical lands’ business works, once you decide to go with the flow and accept it — which is admittedly a little difficult, given that the book jumps into Nix’s seafaring, time-traveling life with very little explanation. But when you do get with the program, it’s a fun ride. Nix and her father’s ship crew sail to lands both real and mystical in a variety of times. The colorful descriptions of each place — little details such as the spread of New York food — bring each destination to life.

The casual interweaving of the mythical with the realistic is definitely one of the story’s strengths. The storytelling does take on a flowing, lyrical tone — which might or might not be your thing. At certain points, though, this takes an unfortunate turn as the vivid, descriptive style of the book manages to skip over actual, crucial plot details and set-up. There were several times when I was left flipping back through the book, baffled at a plot development that came out of nowhere. To be fair, I may not have been paying attention enough.

Though the novel’s perspective is that of the heroine, Nix, sometimes it didn’t feel like it. This may have been why several plot points seemed to come out of nowhere. As things happen and Nix makes crucial decisions, her thought process was occasionally left out of the equation. Even though Nix is surrounded by a cast of fascinating characters — diverse in their backgrounds, ethnicity, and sexuality — it was hard to get a sense of who they were. The varying settings of the story outshone the characters — all except Kashmir, ship crew member and one corner of Nix’s love triangle. He was a lot of fun, and his moments with Nix were pretty cute.

The one thing about the many locales of The Girl From Everywhere that I enjoyed the most was its honesty. While it definitely did not go into Colonialism 101 (if only), certain truths weren’t avoided — such as the destruction of Hawaii’s sovereignty in the past and other historical injustices. This, more than anything else, won me over. I’d love to see more unflinching looks at history in YA lit.

The premise alone makes The Girl From Everywhere worth reading. If you’re a big fan of adventures on the high seas and time travel, then check this book out!

Recommendation: Get it soon if you’re into the premise of time travel via sailing. Otherwise, maybe just borrow it someday.

4 Replies to “Review: The Girl from Everywhere

  1. This sounds like my kind of book – – time travel adventures? Sign me up!
    I also appreciate its honesty about colonialism in Hawaii.

    I’ll be buying this book this year for sure.

  2. I was really looking forward to your review of this book. I won’t be able to read it for awhile but it’s been on my radar since I’m always looking for books that are set it or discuss Hawai’i.

    Mahalo for the work you do!

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