Never Thought I’d End Up Here is an uplifting rom-com for teen / young adult readers.
Leah makes a faux-pas at her cousin’s wedding because her mastery of her second language is not as it should be: she wishes the couple a disastrous marriage. Mother and aunt decide something must be done and she is sent on a trip that will not only deepen her knowledge of Chinese culture but will also improve her language skills.
And who should be on that trip but her nemesis, Cyrus.
The story is told in first person and Leah teases us a little. We know that she has been expelled from one school but we only find out why about half way through the book. We know that she suddenly quits modelling but are only told why much later. It’s clear that she really dislikes Cyrus but again it is a long time before she actually tells us why. Also a mystery is why exactly she changed so much after she was expelled. All of this keeps us reading.
Ann Liang draws her characters well. We grow to love Leah even though we might be a little irritated that she insists on wearing high heels when trainers would have been a much better option. Leah is the main character but we may also become fond of Daisy, Leah’s timid roommate, Cyrus who is quite complex, the handsome and flirtatious Oliver, Cyrus’s roommate, the strict and slightly stressed teacher, and Leah’s mother and aunt, both of whom are feisty but caring women.
There is plenty of plot and a plethora of sub-plots that hurtle towards a very satisfying end as relationships and attitudes change.
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