Blog Tour + Review: Please We’ve Never Been by Kasie West

A sweet and swoony contemporary Young Adult novel about a cross-country family road trip that puts one girl and her childhood best friend on an unexpected road to romance!

Norah hasn’t seen her childhood best friend, Skyler, in years. When he first moved away, they’d talk all the time, but lately their relationship has been reduced to liking each other’s Instagram posts. That’s why Norah can’t wait for the joint RV road trip their families have planned for the summer.

But when Skyler finally arrives, he seems…like he’d rather be anywhere else. Hurt and confused, Norah reacts in kind. Suddenly, her oldest friendship is on the rocks.

An unexpected summer spent driving across the country leads both Norah and Skyler down new roads and to new discoveries. Before long, they are, once again, seeing each other in a different light. Can their friendship-turned-rivalry turn into something more? 

• Title: Places We’ve Never Been
• Author:  Kasie West
• Publisher: Delacorte Press
• Publication Date: May 31st, 2022
• Genre: Contemporary, Romance 
• Source: Digital ARC via Netgalley / Publishers
• Targeted Age Range: YA
• Content Warnings: Sexism (challenged), strained relationship with a parent, underage drinking, mentions of bullying, catcalling (challenged), cancer, mentions of acrophobia
• Rating: ★★★☆☆

A huge thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I just finished Places We’ve Never Been, and as I’m still processing my thoughts, I wanted to highlight the things in the book that I particularly enjoyed!

Norah and Skyler

I thought that Norah and Skyler were very cute! I love childhood friends to romance stories, and I do think that Places We’ve Never Been really delivered on that! I liked that they both loved art and drawing, and that as kids they had a joint notebook where they shared their thoughts, feelings, and art. That was really adorable, and I thought it was a great way for the two to reconnect during the road trip. Because both Norah and Skyler have struggled to fit in with other kids their age, it was really nice to see the two of them be open and honest with one another, even as they were still rebuilding their friendship. 

Also, I must point out that Skyler telling Norah that she is “like sunshine” was maybe one of the cutest things I’ve read in recent memory and it brought a huge smile to my face. We should all have someone in our lives who sees us as sunshine. 

The Road Trip

Okay, have I actually been on a road trip that is not from my home to Disneyland or Ashland, Oregon? No, I have not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be completely obsessed with road trip stories! The road trip aspect was what initially drew me to Place We’ve Never Been, and I really enjoyed it. Although the road trip was cut short — for absolutely understandable reasons — I loved hearing about the different places that they visited and I’m now dying to go on a road trip of my own!

Paisley Hutton

It may be because I am the youngest sister myself, but I do tend to find myself gravitating to the younger sisters in books (well, mostly, it depends on the character) and Paisley was no exception. She was fun, clever, and kind — she had some great one liners and really funny moments with Norah and Skyler, especially towards the beginning when Norah and Skyler were still pretty awkward around each other. I loved the relationship that she had with her brothers, and how even though she teased them, and they teased her back, the love they all had for each other was very obvious. I also really enjoyed her relationship with Nora, and appreciated that while Nora was four years older than Paisley, she never treated her as though she was a nuisance or bother..

I haven’t read many of Kasie West’s stories before, but I think that if you’re a fan of her previous books you’ll enjoy this one as well!

Links for Places We’ve Never Been: Goodreads | TheStoryGraph | Bookshop | IndieBound | Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble | Indigo