As the saying goes, "Nice guys finish last." Hudson Wheeler expects that to be his fate when he signs up for a yoga class and an art class for his senior year of high school but otherwise plans on home schooling. He has two businesses to keep up with, a dog walking service and Distress Dial a service for lonely seniors that, as one would expect, ends up becoming a far greater commitment than he'd planned. Add two girls for whom he is "just a friend," and drama ensues.

Male protagonists are relatively rare in YA fiction, and nice guys who get taken advantage of even more so. That's what makes Going Places a fresh and valuable read. It's a character-driven story with relatively low stakes until the end, when a mystery involving Hudson and one of his seniors, a former Marine and WWII hero who helps the teen come to terms with his father's death in Iraq, threatens them and one of Hudson's female friends. Read if you like complex characters and relationships, including the gamut of boy-girl relationships and intergenerational friendships, and characters who try your patience but make you think about your own life.

Hudson Wheeler feels the weight of his mom's and teacher's expectation to "go somewhere" in life, and spends the majority of his senior year trying to gain traction. Unfortunately, this book wallowed almost as much as Hudson, with the first 2/3 spent delivering an aimless storyline with no indication of what the overarching plot was supposed to be (other than bewilderment, which it nailed, but in the wrong way). The last third pulled it up to three stars for me, as we finally see some of the story threads pull together, including his attempts at romance, new friendships, and half-business/half-mentorship interactions with an elderly veteran in the neighborhood. It's the final point that was particularly compelling for me, and if the whole book had been written with the poignant heart and emotion of Hudson's last chapters involving Mr. Pirkle I would have enjoyed it much more.

4.5- This book was much more than I thought it would be. Hudson is a teen on the edge of growing and not sure where he is going, or who he really is. I am in love with the way the author made the reader follow along into adolescence and the heartache and difficulties they face. Thank you for allowing me to read and write about this.

I could not finish this book. The story and writing weren't very interesting.

In Going Places we meet Hudson, who meets Fritzy and Alana. We grow with him, his businesses and his relations. We figure out how annoying some particular ladies can be and we see Hudson transform from an independent guy into a puppydog following the person he likes and back to a man who takes his responsibilities.

The story is quite nice, it reads quickly and gives you a good laugh. I didn't feel like there was much grief involved, eventhough there was supposed to be some?
The characters are simple in the beginning, but grow as the story evolves. Just the way we all like it. They were realistic and sweet. It was amazing to read about how caring everyone in this novel turned out to be.

I'd recommend this book if you are looking for a cute in-between read, looking for something heartfelt and honest or looking for a story that tells you about the best that people can be.

Hudson Wheeler wants to be homeschooled instead of attending his senior year of high school. As his chosen career path does not dictate college necessarily, Hudson would just like to bypass the stress. After his dad died in Iraq, it took a long time for Hudson and his mom to feel normal again. High school is just not on his list of priorities, especially considering that he really has no friends there. With stipulations from his mom to take two classes and pay rent, Hudson embarks on his senior year, though he soon realizes that life has a funny way of getting complicated when you least expect it.

Going Places is a good YA story from a teenage male's perspective. Hudson may not be typical, as his level of compassion for others is exaggerated more than what might be considered normal behavior, but he is interesting and worth getting to know. The book is not exceptionally long, but enough to get a clear picture of Hudson and his character traits and flaws. I would have liked a little more regarding the past, as his relationship with his dad helped shape what Hudson became. I would highly recommend Going Paces to readers of YA realistic fiction and I look forward to reading more by author Kathryn Berla in the future.

I wasn't sure about this book when I read the excerpt but decided I would try and win it and give it a go. Well, I was surprised! It was actually pretty good and not just about a kid trying to get out of high school! It was about a kid trying to get out of high school, trying to find his way, and growing up. There was a LOT of different things happening in this book and it could've been incredibly confusing but it all flowed pretty well and the end result was good. I knew SOMETHING was going to happen, I just didn't know what or when! I didn't know where things were going with Mr. Pirkle, I didn't know where things were going with Alana, I didn't know where things were going with Fritzy, I didn't know where things were going with Hudson's graphic novel! But the point was that they all went into shaping Hudson! Great culmination.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Hudson Wheeler is going places -- or so his 4th grade teacher had declared. That was before his died in Iraq. Now he is about to start his senior year and is determined to be homeschooled to avoid the memories of the best friends who are no longer able to join him at his high school.

As Hudson navigates the school year he thinks his ultimate goal is to get Alana Love to leave her jock boyfriend Bryce, but along the way he meets some new people who teach him lessons about life. There are humorous moments including his attempts to explain his senior assistance business to potential clients and his encounters with Fritzy the beautiful basketball Amazon. Also included are a mystery surrounding his WWII veteran client, reminders about the challenges our veterans and senior citizens face and aha relationship moments for Hudson. Recommended!

Going Places is the best YA book this year.

Hudson has decided to reinvent himself - as a homeschooler with only two classes a day on campus. But Hudson is not your typical stereotypical teenager.

Hudson falls for the unavailable Alana who is happy to pal around with someone safe when her boyfriend is off playing football. An artist herself, she feeds Hudson's muse as he works on his own passion project - a graphic novel. Enter Fritzy and unlikely friend who is the sister he never had. And balancing these very different friends, your future and two different businesses can be a lot to handle.

With characters so real and so wonderful, this amazing read is one that can be thoroughly recommended to YA readers.

Everything about Hudson that makes him "normal" is what makes him so unique. A good guy with real motivations, temptations and relationships. Sitting down with going places is like catching up with an old friend.

Kathryn Berla has captured the essence of a good kid growing up and the nuances of our many different relationships. Five stars!

A YA novel about a teen whose is ultimately looking for his place in the world. Through interactions with two girls and his senior clients, Hudson is forced both to grow up and to reconsider his life and future plans. I enjoyed Hudson as a character and the story is a nice read.

The writing style of this book is so fluid and fun that I caught myself falling in love with the story before the end of the first page. I had to know more, and know what great things were going to happen for this character to warrant there being an entire book. That part took a little longer than I would like -- was it his confused and misplaced desires, or his business gone awry? I sat clung to the metaphorical edge of my seat so long, I actually started to slow right down, which is not something I enjoy in reading. That said, when I finally got to the meat of the story, I felt both heartbroken for the characters I'd come to love, and thrilled to finally have made it to that point. The story ended with a sad but beautiful realization as all good stories do, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is in store for a heartfelt feel-good story.

I often read young adult novels in order to find new books to recommend to my students. If this were a movie, it would be rated PG-13 due to repeated use of strong profanity and though not graphic, teenagers having sex. This is definitely NOT a book I would recommend to my middle school students, nor would I recommend it to high school students without parent approval. The coming of age theme of the story as well as the main characters relationship with a WW II veteran warranted my three star rating rather than one star I would have given.

Really solid young adult book. I look forward to reading more of her books. Would love to see a sequel to this one about his college life.

This book was really good, a little slow to start, but once I got into it I liked it. The main character, Hudson, also narrates the story and he seems so sweet and gentle. I love how this book integrates different generations, the young and older characters conversing, helping each other and realizing the differences they can make in other's lives. That part was beautiful. The story flowed well with great writing, a little humor and interesting characters. Plus a nice surprise at the end--definitely worth reading! Thank you!!!!

I enjoyed this story! There was a sense of dejavu that came over me and this reminded me of when I was young and desperate to find that one person who gets me. I

Hudson is a teen who is 'going places', and decides that he wants to largely learn from home, only attending school for two lessons. He falls for a already taken tattoo "Alternative chick" which reminded me of falling for a taken alternative boy who loved Pearl Jam. Then there is Fritzy, who becomes his best friend
There is no crazy twists, no who done it in this book. It is a beautifully written book that really allows the reader inside a teens head, especially as they experience falling in love for the first time.

Very Very well written and I enjoyed this very much

There is a lot to like about this book, but it felt a little flat to me, in the sense of character depth, I never felt strongly attached to any of the characters. Enjoyed Hudson's adventures with the dogs, and his forays into romance, friendship, eldercare, sports, and graphic novels. 3.5 stars.

While there were points of interest and realism to the story, I found that the focus on Hunter and Alana's romance fell into cliche writing and stereotypes of both teen boys and girls that I would have hoped YA storytelling would have moved away from. The ending also felt slightly rushed.

What I really loved about Going Places was the chemistry between Fritzy and Hudson, they were partners in crime - kind of literally. Their friendship came in so natural and they really cared for each other.

Another thing that hooked me up was Mr. Pirkle; his background story and his mental illness really added some deep meaning to the plot. It also depicted how the company of someone who cares about you can improve their quality of life. If it wasn't for Hudson, Mr. Pirkle could have injured himself, or maybe never even visited a doctor.

All the characters within this book went through a major development, and it was something nice to read about.

This was a really interesting glimpse into the life of a boy called Hudson, who has always been told he was 'going places.' In reality, going places didn't work out. I liked how well Berla captured the feeling of being lost in what you wanted to do with your life. I wasn't too keen on the relationships and it definitely felt like Hudson was romanticising Alana and kind of ignoring Fritzy. The subplot with Pirkle was really heartwarming, however. Altogether a decent read and exploration of the tail end of adolescence.

If ever there was a young man who was going places, it’s you Hudson.


3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Another NetGalley find I was really excited about, but couldn’t really get into for a while. The book really took off for me in the second half of the story, and that was when I started to enjoy it.

I struggled a lot with the narrator here, I just don’t think I like male narrators in YA very much. The writing style felt a little dry and cold and I really didn’t enjoy Hudson’s personality, which is why I couldn’t enjoy the book as much as I wanted to.

However, I did enjoy the second part of the storyline a lot more, I thought Mr. Pirkle was intriguing and I loved finding out more about him. The story’s twist came a bit too fast and I wished there had been more attention paid to the details.

All in all, a bit of a disappointment, but a quick read nonetheless. I probably won’t be seeking out more books by this author, although I’m not opposed to reading something else by her (especially if there is a female narrator as I’d like to see her handle that).

Would recommend for: fans of coming-of-age YA like The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, maybe even John Green without the sarcastic young voices.