Natalia Lopez wants nothing to do with love. After seeing her father divorce his fourth wife, she has had enough. She moves from Spain to Florida with her stepmother to finish school and maybe start a life away from the influences of her rich and overbearing parents. She only plans to stay long enough to help her stepmother adjust and overcome depression, but she senses God calling her to stay and wait. Natalia makes new friends who share her faith and care about her, and pretty soon she realizes that maybe God has placed her right where she belongs.
This book came at a very convenient time in my life. I’ve had it for a couple of months now waiting to be read, but I didn’t actually get to it until now. However, once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. Many of the things that Natalia was experiencing were very relatable to me and some things in particular are relevant currently. I was very pleased with the character development that occurred throughout the book, in major and minor characters. Natalia’s relationship with God is inspiring, and it speaks to the reader. The plot moved along at a nice pace and it was engaging to the very end. I would be comfortable saying that Right Where I Belong is my favorite out of Krista McGee’s books so far. I appreciate that the story moved away from stardom and television shows (as the previous books have focused on) and was centered around an ordinary girl who was dealing with change. This made the story more relatable but still enjoyable. Plus, there was a little bit of Spanish and Puerto Rican culture thrown in, which I was a huge fan of. Having read her other two works, I can see her development as a writer manifested in each new episode back in Tampa. (I appreciated how we were able to reconnect with some previous characters.) I would definitely recommend this book to any teenager or above who likes fiction about teenage life or about growing in their faith. It’s definitely on the top of my lists for this year.
Thanks to Booksneeze.com for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for a review.
