Fieldnotes:
Tokyo, Japan, Contemporary (p.2013)

1 Self-Absorbed Entitled Grieving Boy
1 Devastating Loss to Cancer
1 Adopted Sister Coming to Terms with Her Identity
1 Sudden Miserable Break-up (Past)
1 Unnecessarily Dramatic Secret

Grieving Through Rage and Destruction (Self- and Otherwise)
Belief that Having Lost a Parent Gives You a Free Pass
Entitled Conviction that His Mother's Friend Should Fix Everything He Screws Up Because...She Can?

Japan
Utter Disregard for Visa and Other Laws
1 Manic Pixie Not Harajuku Girl
1 Mystical Tea House

1 Blonde California Ex Desperate to Rekindle Their Friendship For Inexplicable Reasons
3 Keepsakes that Provoke Temper Tantrums

1 Very Good Dog
Hachiko

The Short Version
All the reviewers seemed to love the "raw emotion" in this. And the main character is grieving the devastating loss of his mother right before his graduation from high school. I understand that. But can we please be honest? A lot of times when people are grieving - they're self-absorbed assholes to other people (including others who are grieving).

So, first off, Danny acts like a self-absorbed asshole - he destroys his sister's stuff because he thinks she "quit the family", he rams a neighbors car because the bumper protruded into his driveway. He takes painkillers and shags a woman probably a decade his senior (ew, ew, ew) and holds loud, irritating parties at his house all the time. He expects his mom's best friend to take care of him - fix any fall-out from his self-destructive (or just destructive) behavior while he sulks and lashes out at anyone and everyone. Is this realistic? Quite possibly. Is an entitled, miserable, raging, destructive teenage boy someone I want to spend 250 pages with? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

On an impulse, Danny decides to go to Japan - run away from his problems and his memories, learn some more stories about his mom, throw a temper tantrum at her doctor because she chose to stop taking meds...

He apparently has no fixed return flight (which drew me up short because I'm pretty sure immigration in Japan needs proof of a return/onward flight), but ok. He does have a family apartment in Shibuya that has caretakers. He meets with the teenage daughter of the caretaker who Manic Pixie Friend Girl teaches him how to not be Sad Boi (thank goodness this isn't a romantic arc), but all his time in Japan, we're also getting him sulking about his ex-girlfriend he's still hung up on but is angry at because they broke up when she left for college even though they said they wouldn't... right...
But instead of it just being a case of them breaking up because Holland discovered the wild world of college and realized a bratty high school student wasn't her best option even if they had a nice summer, there's a DRAMATIC SECRET REASON just in case we needed additional trauma to pile on the main character.

I didn't like this. I didn't like the main character who never did get any reality check that the world doesn't owe him just because his mom died and that in much of the world most people won't pat him on the head when he throws a temper tantrum like a toddler because his life has been hard and/or other people have emotions and make decisions NOT centered around how HE feels. I had no interest in Holland getting back together with him and I got angry in what was meant to be the happy end when once again everyone decided to circumvent immigration laws so he could spend the summer with his dog without quarantine... UGH. ( )

"When You Were Here" is a gentle, touching book dealing with death, grief, forgiveness and moving forward. When the reader first meets Danny he is an angry, bitter seventeen year old, struggling with his mother's recent passing. It was only when he moves to Tokyo, to learn more about his mother, that I really started to empathise with him. For me, the Japanese setting of the novel is an added bonus, I just loved being immersed in this culture as I moved through the book with Danny and Kana.

Even though I grew to really like Danny and enjoyed his narration, my favourite character, other than Danny's dog, was Kana. She is funny, eccentric, outgoing and a wonderful friend. It was so nice to have a platonic relationship between a boy and girl, without a hint of romance in sight, so rare in YA novels. Although, I must confess, I found myself secretly hoping Danny would transfer his feelings for Holland, his ex girlfriend, to Kana. The one character I didn't like at times was Holland, I thought she treated Danny horribly, even though I could partially understand her reasoning.

"When You Were Here" is an emotional, uplifting book that makes you realise the importance of enjoying, and making the most, of every day. ( )

Danny’s dad died five years ago, his mom lived with cancer for five and his sister went on a journey in China. Danny is having having the hardest time getting over his mom’s death because she kept telling him she would hold on until his graduation,but let go just days before his high school graduation when he would give the valedictorian. He had other people taking care of him and watching out.but he hadn’t felt anything in months. Holland his ex girlfriend and he had a complicated past. Kana is a Japanese friend who watches over Danny’s apartment in Japan while he isn’t visiting Japan.Kana emails Danny saying she found a lot of unused pill bottles and asks him what he wants her to do with them. Danny decides it has been awhile since he has been to Japan so buys a ticket without warning anyone. He wants to talk to his mom‘s last hope Dr. Takahashi. He knows that this doctor is the only person who could possibly have the answers. He learns so much more about his mom than what he is expecting. She started believing in Buddha and she was ready to die when she did. She didn’t want to take drugs, she wanted to when it was time to go. Holland comes to visit and he finds out that she was pregnant with his daughter but she died two days later. He learns to love Japan is finally happy and accepts everything he couldn’t before.

The author, Daisy Whitney did an extraordinary job developing her ideas and bringing them to life. The characters came alive and you could vividly imagine what his life was like. It showed real emotion and all that you feel when you lose someone. The book hooked me as I read more and more of it. It was like a path was unfolding with every page. I have liked other books better, but this was definitely one story I will remember.I really liked the smooth ending and Kanya added a lot of character to the story. I would really recommend this book to anyone. ( )

This review originally appeared on Book.Blog.Bake.

This book was both sad and beautiful, but it felt different than most of the other grief books I’ve read.

I was surprised by how much I liked Danny as a narrator. At the beginning, he’s quite angry, and while I understand why, it’s hard to sympathize with someone who can do things like hit cars and get away with it because the insurance and money can just take care of it all. At the beginning of the story, Danny is parent-less soon after turning eighteen, legally an adult, but because of his family’s moderate wealth he doesn’t have to worry about the type of things a lot of teenagers in his situation would. I thought this would alienate me from the story, but this plot line is handled well. Danny realizes his unique position, even when he’s being a jerk at times, so while I can’t say I always liked him, I definitely felt him.

And as the story went on, I did grow to like Danny a lot. I felt a lot of his pain in my own experience, and I understood the feeling of wanting to get away. I liked that there was actually a reason for Danny to go to Japan–it was impulsive, yes, but it had a reasoning behind it. And I really loved the Japan setting. Whitney really utilized the setting of most of this book to it’s fullest potential.

This book was just filled with little things that made me love it even more. When You Were Here just had such heart behind it, which is the kind of thing that’s hard to pinpoint in books but also can really make a book special. Once again, the setting was so well-done, and I loved the mutual friendship in this book. Also, Sandy Koufax, the dog in this book, just made me so happy. I love when main characters are pet owners.

As much as I loved this book, there was one subplot I thought really distracted from the main story. It deals with Holland, Danny’s ex-girlfriend, who comes back into his life after his mother dies. Throughout the book, Danny learns the truth, and why I understand why this subplot was included, I just felt it wrapped up too quickly and either needed to be completely cut or explored better. There’s more to the story than that, but it’s quite spoilery. ( )

Danny has recently graduated high school, two months after his mother passed away from cancer, This book details his emotional and actual journey to come to terms with losing a parent while being so young. Excellent writing and a hopeful ending make this book a good choice for older teen readers. ( )