Author: Lisa Graff
Genre: Contemporary, Middle-Grade
Series: N/A
Hardcover, 272 pages
Publication: March 19, 2019 by Philomel Books
Source: I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for a honest review.
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CJ lives and travels with her Aunt Nic, a famous psychic medium who tours the country communicating with her audience’s deceased loved ones at sold-out theaters. Together, they give people closure and forgiveness, and pass important messages on from the Spirit world. While CJ doesn’t have her aunt’s same ability to talk to the dead, she enjoys playing a crucial role in connecting others with their dearly departed. After all, she knows firsthand what it’s like to lose someone she loves—the only way she can talk to her mom, who died hours after CJ was born, is through Aunt Nic.
But when a magician bent on proving that Aunt Nic is a fraud shows up at their shows, CJ learns an impossible truth—that her mother is actually still very much alive. Now CJ no longer knows who to trust. As she learns more unsettling family secrets, CJ must grapple with the lies she’s been told and the lies she’s helped perpetuate. And in the end, she must decide how to reconcile what it means to find her true family and home—and what it means to forgive.
Far Away by Graff is a heart-warming story about a young girl in search of answers about her mother and the power of belief and determination.
Caraway June ‘CJ’ has never met her mother, but she talks to her all the time. How you may wonder? Well, her aunt is a psychic medium that communicates with spirits. As long as CJ can remember she has always been surrounded by spirits; on the road with her aunt going from place to place doing readings. But then one day her aunt tells her that her mother is leaving this plane and going ‘far away’ and that unless they had a tether, she won’t be able to speak with her mother anymore. With the guidance of spirits, CJ embarked on a mission to find her mother’s tether and along the way she discovered something so shocking that it will change her life forever.
At first glance, Far Away seems like a light paranormal read with ghosts but oddly, there wasn’t anything paranormal about it at all. Far Away was purely a mystery. CJ received clues after clues pointing her in the direction of her mother and as the story progressed CJ not only received the answers she’s been searching for, but she found her mother, literally. The book took an unexpected turn and I didn’t see the twist coming a mile away. I was honestly a little perplexed as the truth was revealed but it turned out a lot better than I expected. I loved that the book ended on a high and happy note.
CJ was a tough as nail tween. I liked that she always had faith and determination in getting what she wanted. But sometimes she made selfish and poor choices that affected others and she didn’t care about the consequences. Speaking of choices, half the things CJ said and did weren’t realistic. I have a nephew who is also twelve-years-old, and I can’t see him doing half the things CJ did. For example, CJ tricked a much older kid into driving her to Bakersfield and convinced him not to call the adults and another time CJ colluded with an adult to ruin her aunt’s career. It was unrealistic, or CJ was just a real good master manipulator. Remember, she’s only twelve.
With that said, overall, I thought Far Away was an enjoyable read. It teaches us to always believe, have faith and determination to do what we want despite what others say. And that no matter what happens, it always does get better in the end and that we’re meant to be exactly where we are at that moment.
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