High school senior, Claire Goodnight, has nothing left to keep her in her small town. Her best friend moved away, and the grandmother who raised her is dead. Claire is biding her time until graduation so she can escape her alcoholic mother, who has never wanted anything to do with her.
Everything changes when her long-time crush, Finn, asks her out. Their first date under the stars is the best thing to ever happen to herâmaybe her wishes are worthy after all.
Yet, tragedy strikes when Finn suddenly dies, and Claire is left alone once more. But when Finn magically appears as a ghost who only Claire can see, she gets a second chance at love, and they begin their romance againâin secret.
Finnâs reason for staying and an unexpected connection between Claire and Finnâs families ultimately unravel everything Claire thought she knew about love, loss, forgiveness, and herself.
High school senior, Claire Goodnight, has nothing left to keep her in her small town. Her best friend moved away, and the grandmother who raised her is dead. Claire is biding her time until graduation so she can escape her alcoholic mother, who has never wanted anything to do with her.
Everything changes when her long-time crush, Finn, asks her out. Their first date under the stars is the best thing to ever happen to herâmaybe her wishes are worthy after all.
Yet, tragedy strikes when Finn suddenly dies, and Claire is left alone once more. But when Finn magically appears as a ghost who only Claire can see, she gets a second chance at love, and they begin their romance againâin secret.
Finnâs reason for staying and an unexpected connection between Claire and Finnâs families ultimately unravel everything Claire thought she knew about love, loss, forgiveness, and herself.
Wishes donât come true.
Not the ones made on candles pushed into birthday cakes or those whispered in the dark with hands pressed together. Especially not the ones made on dandelions. Yet here I wasâonce againâbeing pulled forward by my ache for something more. I stepped onto the grass, my shoes sinking into the soft dirt, still moist from the recent and rare California rains, and reached for the puffed-up dandelion just off the path.
I spun the soft green stem around eyeing the perfection of the individual spores. Raising it to my mouth, I pictured Finnâs familiar face then twisted the stem between my fingers and blew until all the tiny white parachutes spun away on the breeze. Once again, my hope was in the hands of the universe to do or not do with it as it wanted.
With the empty stem tucked between my fingers, I returned to the sidewalk. Absence floated beside me like a shadow as I followed the splintered cracks in the pavement on the way to my locker. The sound of Finnâs voice calling goodbye to someone drifted in my direction, interrupting my thoughts. Before I could catch a glimpse of him, he was beside me.
The dandelion in my hand was barely cold from my wishâone wrong move could jinx everything. I pretended not to notice him.
âGoodnight?â
Finn was the only person who called me this and had since third grade. When the teacher called âClaire Goodnightâ during roll call, Finn had turned in his seat, searching for the girl with the strange last name. Later at recess he told me my last name was cool and asked if he could call me that instead of Claire. With a slight nod, Iâd granted him permission. A crooked-toothed smile filled his face and as he ran away to the playground, he pulled a piece of my heart with him.
Now, after nearly ten years of avoiding each otherâs eyes, we stood face to face.
He smiled and my heart somersaulted. âAre you alone?â
âUm, yes?â
âI meant are you meeting someone?â
I shook my head.
He glanced to his feet then back up again. âDo you mind if I walk with you?â
âNo.â Goosebumps raced over my skin and, even with the cool breeze, sweat rose from my pores.
âYouâve been alone this year.â His long legs fell into pace with mine as I began to walk again.
His words stung and I didnât reply.
âI mean Julia moved awayâright?â
My face relaxed. âYou noticed that?â
âI did.â
My best and only friend moving over the summer had knocked me off balance and now, halfway through senior year, I still hadnât found my center. Iâd give almost anything to have her back, but without her Iâd rather be alone.
âDid you have a question about the English homework?â I asked. That was the only class we shared.
âEnglish homework?â He scrunched his eyebrows. âNo.â
âOh?â
âIâm on my way to meet someone. It looks like weâre going the same way.â
In the curious expressions and low whispers fluttering around us I imagined everyone wondering why Finn Peterson was with me instead of Kelly McIntyreâmy least favorite person. Up until a few days ago, sheâd been Finnâs girlfriend. My stomach twisted whenever she pranced around, all bubbly with her shiny blond ponytails, wearing his lettermanâs jacket like she owned him. If someone like her was his type, then my introspective ways and wavy brown hair didnât stand a chance.
I stopped at my locker. âHere I am.â
âCool,â he said, but didnât turn to go.
With shaking fingers, I turned the combination lock right, left, right and pulled open the door, pretending to look for something deep inside.
He knocked, three soft taps on the metal, and I jumped, banging my head. He quickly pulled the scratched-up door all the way open, exposing me. âI didnât mean to scare you. Are you okay?â
I rubbed my head. âYeah. Did you forget something?â
âSort of. Actually, it was you I was looking for. I wanted to ask if youâd go out with me.â
It was entirely possible this was just another one of my daydreams about Finnâbut the hot flush that rushed up from my neck to my cheeks was very real.
âUm.â I wanted to jump up and down, screaming Yes! Or more properly just smile sweetly and say âyes.â Every wish Iâd ever made for Finnâthe boy whom Iâd known, practically my whole life, but didnât really know at allâflashed through my mind. My long-time wish was finally coming true, and all I could say was âum?â
He stood still, eyebrows slightly raised, an awkward, unsure smile on his face. Had I not sensed his fear of being turned down I mightâve assumed I was being punked.
âYouâre not gonna make me ask you again, are you? The first time was hard enough.â Again, his eyes shifted to his feet.
âIf I promise to say yes, will you ask again?â My boldness shocked me.
His eyes brightened and he cleared his throat then, in a rush, asked. âClaire Goodnight, will you go out with me on Saturday night?â
âOkay,â I said.
âThatâs a yes, right?â he asked.
âI promised, didnât I?â
âCan I pick you up at six?â
I had a shift Saturday night, but I wouldnât let that be an obstacle to my wish coming true.
âOkay.â I wanted to smack my hand against my head to shake some more words loose.
âOkay.â He laughed, volleying the word back to me.
As we exchanged numbers, our fingers touched, and prickles of electricity ran all the way to my elbow.
He walked me to my car. An uneasy silence hung in the air, but a heat radiated between us. I looked at my watch. In twenty minutes, Iâd be late to work.
âYou need to go?â he asked.
âWork.â
âIâm headed to practice. Gotta get ready for the game tomorrow night.â
âOh, yeah,â I said. âLet me text my boss real quick so he doesnât worry,â I said.
Iâd never been late before, and Tyler would wonder what was up if he didnât hear from me. I sensed Finnâs eyes on me as I typed.
âThatâs a thing to text your boss?â
âHeâs a friend too,â I said, sliding my phone into the back pocket of my jeans and noting the cloud that passed over Finnâs face. Was that jealousy?
By now the parking lot was practically empty, and the white lines of the parking spaces stretched out around us.
He touched his finger to my nose. âSee you at school tomorrow, Goodnight.â
âYes.â I ached for him already. Saturday was only two days away, but that felt like forever.
He opened the door for me, and I got inside. As I drove away in my grandmother, Mimiâs, old white Honda, I was reminded that this was yet another thing I wouldnât be able to tell her.
After I waved goodbye to Finn, I turned on the radio to drown out the unsettling voice telling me this was too good to be true.
I havenât read a Young Adult book in a long time and was hesitant to do so with Somewhere Between Dandelions given my lack of reviewing novels within this genre, but something about the synopsis spoke to me and I knew it was a book I had to read. Somewhere Between Dandelions by Trisha Larson Harmon follows the story of Claire who is grappling with loss. The loss of her grandma, the loss of a mother who has never been present, the loss of a friend who has moved away and more recently, the loss of a new boyfriend who had passed suddenly. However, not all is lost as her boyfriend soon returns to her as a ghost, and Claire gets the opportunity of a second chance. The reason I picked up this book is because of its overarching theme of grief. Having lost my grandma, a hugely important presence in my life, I thought this book would resonate with me in some way and it truly did. Itâs been a while since a book has made me cry, and had my heart flutter at the same time.
This book, outside of the harder parts, is a love story. Itâs about first loves, missed opportunities, and what ifs. I loved experiencing Claireâs journey of falling in love and all the exciting emotions that come with it. To me, it was very nostalgic of my own experiences and it was easy to relate to her character. Trisha Larson Harmon does an amazing job of describing the emotions of her characters throughout the book. This makes it easy to resonate with their feelings and feel empathy towards them. I was part of their journey. Additionally, this book overall is beautifully written. Trishaâs ability to describe in detail the environment and setting pulls the reader right into the book as if youâre experiencing it yourself. There were a number of amazing metaphors used throughout that paint a colourful picture of emotions.
This book is also about grief. Trisha manages to capture grief in its multiple forms; describing its pure intentions while also exploring its darker effects. She explores themes of intergenerational trauma, and the wounds we can inflict on others if we arenât open to healing. This book does an outstanding job of diving into these themes in a palatable way that doesnât leave the reader overwhelmed, but more so with a better understanding of how we all experience grief in different ways.
There arenât too many negative things to say about this book. What could have made the book stronger is if there were more details towards the secondary characters within the book. As we follow the story of Claire and see her emotional response to certain events, they feel less impactful because the secondary characters donât have much of their own story. This made it feel a little rushed in parts where there could have been a stronger emotional pull.
Overall, Somewhere Between Dandelions is a beautiful read. While the book is categorized as a Young Adult novel, it really is for anyone. Grief is a hard topic to write about while also trying to keep your reader hopeful, and yet Trisha does a fantastic job of taking a hard subject and exploring it through different lenses. I would recommend this book to anyone who has experienced grief and is familiar with those feelings of moving on, or trying to.