Books I've Read - Antipodes

This is a fun one.  The author is the sister-in-law of one of my oldest and dearest friends and that's what prompted me to pick this up off the library shelf.  Then reading the blurb, I discovered it's set in New Zealand!  I knew Liz's brother and his wife had lived in Christchurch, and when she visited me last year, she said his wife was a YA author....

Anyway.  The book.

It's about a super-driven girl called Erin who takes an exchange to Christchurch to escape a humiliating event back home.  Erin's mother is incredibly controlling and Erin's entire life has been micro-managed to groom her for the Ivy League.   Getting kicked off the swim team and going viral vomiting pink goo while half naked at a party weren't part of the plan.

So to try and claw back something of merit for her college applications, Erin agrees to go on the exchange.  She thinks it will be a breeze.  They speak English in New Zealand, and her mother has already arranged a cello so she can keep up with her practicing.

When she arrives, Erin is surprised by how different New Zealand is.  Firstly, it's winter.  People drive on the other side of the road.  Houses are cold except for the room people are in.  Kids wear uniforms to school and jewelry and make-up isn't allowed.  

Erin thinks she'll hate it, but after she's invited to go rock climbing and discovered the awesome views one gets from the mountains, she starts to change her mind.  And there's that sexy climber too, who might just have a little to do with her appreciation for the new sport...

I quite enjoyed this book.  It was fun to see my country through the eyes of an outsider.  It was funny because I'd had a conversation about how horrible New Zealand heating is with my German friends just a week or so before reading this.  The book is told with flashbacks to Erin's childhood, and the night of her humiliation and various other snippets from her life at home between each of the sections set in Christchurch.

Unfortunately I didn't really like Erin as a character, especially at the beginning of the book.  And the flashbacks to her past made me like her (and her mother) less.  I started to warm up to her a little toward the end of the book, but it was a little too late to make me change my mind about her.

But I can say one thing...  I'm certainly never going to be that kind of mother!

But don't just listen to me. Here's the blurb.

When Erin Cerise steps off her plane in Christchurch, New Zealand, she is focused intently on her mission: do something unique that will erase the mess she made of her life on her 17th birthday. She’s already lost her swim team captainship, her boyfriend Ben, and her reputation. Her mother is certain studying abroad will regain Erin’s chances of a good future. Once Erin sees her uninspiring host family and city, though, she’s not so sure.

Before Christchurch, Erin wasn’t always intense and focused. Years ago, a mission sounded like a fun adventure, and the only ivy she cared about was the stuff growing around her grandparents’ back porch at their peaceful Upper Peninsula home. When had her priorities gone upside down?

Now Erin balks at NZ’s itchy school uniforms, cold houses, and her hosts’ utter inability to pronounce her name correctly. Christchurch does boast amazing rock climbing, gorgeous scenery, and at least one guy who could make her forget Ben if she lets him. With months ahead of her, Erin slowly begins to draw on the years behind her, one step back into her memories at a time. As she rebuilds her life from the other side of the world, she finds that when life turns your world upside down and you’re far from home, every way you move takes you closer to where you came from.