The Girl From Everywhere

I checked this book out from the Barry-Lawrence Regional Library so I could read and review.

THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE

By Heidi Heilig

Greenwillow Books

Description of book from: https://www.goodreads.com

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crew mates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

Review:  As I mentioned in my teaser, this book really was an adventure.  The descriptions, action, secrets, myths, and characters made this book a great debut novel.  BRAVO, Heidi!!!!

When I first scanned the book jacket, I was hooked.  I fell in love with the whole idea of this book.  It had all the things I treasure in a good story:  mystery, time travel, beautifully described characters and locations, and undiscovered love.  I felt as if I were aboard the Temptation experiencing the adventures along with Nix and the crew.

Nix, the narrator, is a character that at first you want to feel sorry for.  You know, stuck on a ship with her father and crew as they sail the endless seas.  “Farmers may rise to roosters, but sailors rise to swearing.” What kind of life can a girl like that leave?  Well, let me tell you.  It is now a life that every reader of this book wants to lead:  waking to the gentle rocking of the ship in the swaying hammock and traveling wherever the maps take you to search for treasures and answers. Nix views life very differently than most young girls.  Her narration of her life makes it so inviting.

Other characters will touch your heart strings or make you want to grab a knife and slit their throats.  Their actions and descriptions are perfect in every way. There is just a hint of love, which I hope will be continued in the second book. In THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE the characters make the difference between liking the book or loving it.  

The unique way the Temptation time travels will also draw the reader into this new world.  I don’t want to cause any spoilers, but you will look at maps in a whole new light.  Time travel is not always calm seas, but it is also strong winds and unforgiving oceans.  To keep great secrets has negative as well as positive consequences.  The crew of the Temptation experience both.  There are several plot turns that will surprise and keep the reader very intrigued.  The “paradise” they discover is beautifully written and will make the reader want to add it to her bucket list. Heidi’s childhood in Hawaii served her well.

One of my favorite aspects of THE GIRL FROM EVERYWHERE is the “mythological items” seamlessly woven into the story.  Heilig’s use of such a wide variety of these including sailor superstitions, legendary creatures, unexplainable magic, and myths from around the world and from forgotten times adds to the mystery and the “impossible” adventures aboard the Temptation.

I am waiting very patiently for the second book, THE SHIP BEYOND TIME, to pop up as available at my public library.  I can’t wait to see what is next for Nix, Slate and the rest of the crew.