Review of Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Title:  Where I Belong
Author:  Gwendolyn Heasley
Published by:  HarperTeen
Pages:  289
Source:  Borrowed from Library

From Goodreads:  When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.

This novel was a really fun and cute read.  It has a common storyline of rich girl becomes poor and moves from the big city to the country.  


One of the things I thought was really neat about this book is that at the beginning there is a letter from Corrinne to the reader.  She says that at first the readers may hate her, but she grows and eventually they might change their mind.  I thought that was a great way to start the novel...it was almost a forewarning so we knew what was coming.


Another aspect of the novel that I really enjoyed were the characters.  They were very down-to-earth (well at least the Texas ones) and believable.  They kept the story fun and light; especially Bitsy and Corrinne's grandpa.  


Corrinne definitely had to grow on me as a character.  At the beginning of the story I didn't really like her and I was appalled at the way she treated her little brother.  By the end though I really grew to like her.  This is a definite princess to rags story with a reality check that landed Corrinne on her butt (figuratively and literally).  


This is also a story of friendship and how people change.  There was a very important undertone in the novel about true friends and staying true to who you are.  I only wished there was a little more romance in the novel.  I felt as if there were love interests but no love going on.  


If you're looking for a fun, light, read pick this one up.  Overall I give this novel ★★★ and 1/2