I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest

A debut young adult rom-com about an African American ballerina who finds love on the road to an audition.

"In a world where it's easy to lose faith in love, I Wanna Be Where You Are is a brilliant burst of light. A dazzling debut." -- Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin and Odd One Out

When Chloe Pierce's mom forbids her to apply for a spot at the dance conservatory of her dreams, she devises a secret plan to drive two hundred miles to the nearest audition. But Chloe hits her first speed bump when her annoying neighbor Eli insists upon hitching a ride, threatening to tell Chloe's mom if she leaves him and his smelly dog, Geezer, behind. So now Chloe's chasing her ballet dreams down the east coast--two unwanted (but kinda cute) passengers in her car, butterflies in her stomach, and a really dope playlist on repeat.

Filled with roadside hijinks, heart-stirring romance, and a few broken rules, Kristina Forest's I Wanna Be Where You Are is a YA debut perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon.

Kristina Forest grew up in Lawnside, New Jersey, a little village that also happened to be the first self-governing African American community north of the Mason-Dixon line. She began dancing at the age of seven and aspired to be a backup dancer for Michael Jackson. She discovered she preferred writing to dance by the time she was seventeen, so she enrolled at Rowan University and majored in Writing Arts, followed by an MFA in Creative Writing from the New School. Kristina works in the publishing industry for children's books and resides in Brooklyn, New York, with two massive bookcases. Her debut novel was I Want to Be Where You Are.