Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Return to Me
    Unavailable
    Return to Me
    Unavailable
    Return to Me
    Audiobook9 hours

    Return to Me

    Written by Justina Chen

    Narrated by Therese Plummer

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    And there it was again, the troubling notion that I barely knew the people I loved.

    Daddy's girl Rebecca Muir has long known exactly what she wants to do after high school: attend the prestigious architecture program at Columbia University, 3000 miles away from her home. But as the end of school nears, things are no longer so clear cut—she's just fallen in love with the perfect guy, Jackson; her dad has gotten a new job in New York, so her whole family is following her to the east coast; and she's having trouble ignoring her premonition that something terrible is coming.

    And it soon becomes clear why: shortly after the move, her father reveals that he's leaving them, and Rebecca is left to pick up the pieces of her former life. When everything can change in an instant, Reb doesn't know what path to follow or whom to trust—and she must begin to search for what she really wants to do with her life.

    Justina Chen, the acclaimed author of North of Beautiful, has created a moving and powerful story about the struggle that comes from betrayal, the uncertainty of life after high school, and the joy that ultimately comes from discovering what's truly in your heart.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateJan 15, 2013
    ISBN9781619692947
    Unavailable
    Return to Me

    More audiobooks from Justina Chen

    Related to Return to Me

    Related audiobooks

    YA Family For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      For May, 3 Romances About Staying True To Your Passions, Whatever They May Be

      May 22, 2021

      This month, Romancelandia brings us three tales of staying true to what you love, whether that's old cars, wedding dresses or even a grade school crush — while still pursuing the future you want.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Scene And Heard

      Dec 4, 2020

      Baby ROME is growing up so fast! Locnville muso BRIAN CHAPLIN and his partner, SIMONE DE KOCK, welcomed their bundle of joy in May. While initially he had fans divided over who he most resembles, he’s the spitting image of his mom these days. And we

      1 min read

    • Article

      Colour And Motion

      Feb 22, 2024

      Colour And Motion
      3 min read

    • Article

      My Country Childhood

      Oct 15, 2020

      IT’S CRAIG ZONCA’S fourth year of ABC breakfast radio in Brisbane and his enthusiasm for the role remains as strong as ever, despite the 3:15am alarm each day. “There’s no greater feeling than having the mic on and the sun coming up, with orange and

      5 min read

    • Article

      Two Worlds One Family

      Jan 4, 2024

      Two Worlds One Family
      5 min read

    • Article

      The One Who GOT AWAY

      Feb 22, 2022

      The One Who GOT AWAY
      4 min read

    • Article

      It GiRL Of The Month

      Sep 3, 2020

      AGE: 9 NICKNAMES: Luce, Lulu and Lucy Goosey SIBLINGS: two sisters, Carrie and Harlow PETS: a goldfish called, Goldie FAVE COLOUR: Purple FAVE SINGERS: Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa FAVE ANIMALS: Otters and penguins FUN FACTS: • I love fai

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Letterbox

      May 1, 2019

      Dear Everybuggy, Last time I wrote to you, I lived in North Carolina, but we have moved. We live in Virginia now. I love Cricket! I like space. I’m homeschooled and like to look at our map. I’ve discovered towns like Philadelphia in Mississippi! Phil

      7 min read

    • Article

      Shocking Exposé

      Jul 10, 2020

      I didn’t really have any desire to read anything more about the Parktown Boys saga but when this book landed on my desk I picked it up, only meaning to read the first chapter to see what the writing was like – but before I knew it I was so hooked tha

      1 min read

    • Article

      Winning Letter

      Feb 2, 2024

      JUST as thousands of first-year students prepare to embark on a new chapter in their lives at tertiary institutions around the country, news broke about alleged horrific initiation practices taking place at Wilgenhof, the oldest men’s residence at St

      5 min read

    • Article

      Santa Barbara

      Jan 9, 2020

      Santa Barbara
      3 min read

    • Article

      Inspiring The Next GENERATION

      Mar 3, 2021

      Joan Haig, 41, lives near Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, with her husband and two sons, who are aged 12 and 10. Two things made me decide to write a book; my Aunt Lilian was diagnosed with dementia and was unable to write the story she’d always d

      3 min read

    • Article

      Time Is Not A Healer

      Feb 24, 2022

      SO WE WENT TO A dinner party the other day (I know! Come back Omicron, all is forgiven!) and talk turned to the way public schools are expanding across the world. So you have Harrow Beijing, or whatever. This man kept saying it was ‘like Starbucks’ a

      2 min read

    • Article

      George Clarke

      Jan 29, 2024

      George Clarke
      6 min read

    • Article

      Lloyd Cole

      Mar 14, 2022

      Lloyd Cole
      5 min read

    • Article

      Love’s Long Memory

      Jul 21, 2023

      Love’s Long Memory
      2 min read

    • Article

      Perfect Casting

      Jul 11, 2019

      Perfect Casting
      5 min read

    • Article

      How a ladder LED TO LOVE!

      Aug 20, 2020

      How a ladder LED TO LOVE!
      3 min read

    • Article

      Under That New York Spell

      Jul 8, 2019

      Under That New York Spell
      6 min read

    • Article

      Love Songs

      Feb 1, 2020

      Love Songs
      6 min read

    • Article

      Will Linley

      Feb 4, 2022

      Will Linley
      2 min read

    • Article

      Rainbows From Gram

      Jul 25, 2018

      Rainbows From Gram
      2 min read

    • Article

      Sofia Coppola

      Sep 14, 2023

      Sofia Coppola
      18 min read

    Reviews for Return to Me

    4/5

    19 ratings5 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Return to Me is an emotional insight into the life of a college bound female who has accepted - and embraced - the idea of her life changing, only to find that the alterations that are coming at her are unexpected and unwanted. Laced with intriguing aspects of magic realism, this character driven story shows us how quickly plans can fall apart, and how unexpectedly amazing picking up the pieces can be. Rebecca Muir is getting ready to start her freshman year at Columbia, just about as far away from home possible while staying in the continental U.S.. Her parents' announcement that they are moving with her (to New Jersey) is just the beginning of the destruction of her carefully thought out plans. In addition, Reb has spent most of her life suppressing a part of her that could have saved her from the emotional roller coaster of her move, but knowing this fact doesn't make embracing it any easier. I had some ups and downs with this one. I was immediately interested, as I can relate to the getting ready to spend freshman year at a NYC school. However, some of the middle lost me here and there. I kept looking for that aspect that made the book different from any other contemporary story dealing with the same issues. I did find it, but it took me a little while. That aspect I am referring to is a slight interweaving of magical realism. Reb comments a few times that the women in her family are "cursed" to spend their lives alone. While this could just be a figure of speech, is it really? Throughout the novel Reb hears this wailing noise and she is not quite sure of what to make of it. She also knows there is a part of her that her mother has taught her to suppress, a part that her grandmother (who they stopped hearing from) has embraced. I liked watching this almost magical part of Reb emerge and learning more about it as she stops trying to detach it from herself. There are two other facets that add a unique spin to this story. I really enjoyed how Reb is into architecture, especially that of tree houses and fairy villages. There are so many job descriptions that can be tied to a certain character from YA, but this aspiration seems entirely her own, which was refreshing to read. I will not spoil anything, but I also loved how this book puts a positive spin on a post high school option that not many americans take seriously. On aspect that I really did not like was her boyfriend from home. He seems very perfect and with an absence of real character flaws. He always says the "right" thing (with one exception), yet, I am never convinced by his words or actions. Reb has a deep attachment to him, but again, it never feels real. I really wish he was just taken out of the plot entirely. All in all, Return to Me is a nice read. The ending really pulled the book up a few notches for me.
    • 5/5
      Justina Chen writes amazingly beautiful prose.
    • 4/5
      Rebecca is getting ready to experience freedom. She'll be leaving soon to attend Columbia University in NYC, giving her some space she desperately needs because her family is smothering her. Even though she'll be creating a 3,000 mile gap between herself and her first real boyfriend, Jackson, taking this risk is worth the possibility of the relationship failing to survive. Maybe, once she's free of her parents, Rebecca might be able to be herself the way she wants to.Dad and mom blow her plans up in a hurry when he takes a job in Manhattan and they decide to move to New Jersey. Things get a lot worse when they make the move and Rebecca discovers her father is in the midst of a full-blown affair and is going to dump his family for a much younger woman. Not only does this threaten her college plan because the family finances begin to look really precarious, but her plan, adopted reluctantly in the first place (to follow in her father's footsteps and become an architect designing big box fancy projects), starts to fall apart as well, when her interview for a summer internship at a prestigious architectural firm, results in her being humiliated.Rebecca inherited the family gift, or is it a curse, which both her mother and her grandmother have where they can 'experience' things that predict the future. Rebecca had it hit her for the first time when she realized her best friend's dad was going to die of cancer well ahead of when everyone else expected him to. She shared that with her friend who became so freaked, it severely strained the friendship. Since then, she's tried to hide her ability, even from Jackson, for fear she'll have another disastrous experience. Besides, she saw how the 'gift' hurt her grandparent's marriage.When her grandfather arrives and hauls Mom, Rebecca and her younger brother off to his place in Hawaii, it's the beginning of an amazing journey of self-discovery, one that allows Rebecca to learn what she really wants and how her passions can meld with the whole architecture thing, develop the courage to take a year off to discover what her passions truly are and realize how important her feelings for Jackson are, despite her fears about the fragility of relationships.I admit that I was put off early in the book by the seeming illogic of having the family move all the way across the country if Dad planned to dump them. Why not just make the break while they're in their familiar home and lessen the trauma. However, by the time I finished the book, this wasn't nearly as big an issue because what happened after the move was a very interesting voyage of growth and self discovery. Teens who like offbeat romances, stories with a dash of magical realism, or who have had soured relationships (either their own or their parents) will really like this book.
    • 3/5
      A little too dramatic for me, and I didn't find the MC to be that likable or to even have much of a personality. Characters could have been more developed, and I think it could have done without the epilogue. But it was okay.
    • 5/5
      There is nothing that upsets me more than a broken family. Coming from one myself, I found this book to be both hopeful and enlightening. The plot of the book faces a broken down family. Reb is torn between her parents and their divorce. She thought she knew her father and the image she has of him image shattered before her. It moves quickly between shock to hurt to hope. Each chapter the broken family faces a new dynamic that, what you think may tear them apart is actually making them stronger. Reb is going through changes and trust issues. Now being upchucked from her home, Reb is questioning everything she thought she knew. I mean, who wouldn’t? Reb is discovering that no matter what her parents go through she can still have her life. She doesn’t have to be afraid of it. The ending of the book is what places the hope in reader. No matter what crossroads Reb faced by herself and with her family, she made it. She lived her dream. And that’s what counts. Return To Me is an compassionate story of love and hope. Remember no matter what your parents go through, you don’t have to follow that. You can live your dream and find love. A touch of hope that proves you can accomplish anything, Return To Me is wonderful.