​Review: The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.


Favorite Exerpts:

Page 20:

“If a man kills a tiger, that’s inhumane,” Slate muttered. “If a tiger kills a man, that’s just inhuman.”

Page 108:

“Where are you going?”

“Out. Like you.”

He raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t press for more information. “One should always make one’s own mistakes, instead of the mistakes of others, amira.”

“Out like me then.”

Page 170:

“Its illegal,” he corrected. “There are a lot of things that are illegal but not wrong. And probably more that are wrong, and still legal.”


My Review:

I’ve had this book sitting in my TBR backlist for quite a while, so when I realized the February theme for Diverse Reads 2017 was POC/Biracial/Multiracial Main Character/Lead, I had the extra excuse I needed to pick it up. And wow am I glad I did!

The characters are all really well-developed and multidimensional. Right away, I cared what happened to Nix (and disliked her father). I really enjoyed her as a character, especially how she feels more stable on the boat than on dry land. I also really enjoyed reading about Kashmir. He reminded me of a guy I was good friends with who inspired me to start learning Farsi, though I ended up putting that on the back burner. Their personalities are so similar that I felt like I already knew Kashmir before reading The Girl From Everywhere.

The world….well it’s a time traveling pirate ship. While it’s explained that the ship isn’t necessary, it does make things a great deal more convenient. For the majority of the story, the ship is docked in historic Hawaii sometime around the 1860s. The world building was very thorough and it was easy to imagine myself in it, even though I’ve never been to Hawaii.

The story is absolutely beautiful and flows very well, albeit in a strange pattern compared to what I’m used to. I have to assume this is because of the time travel that takes place throughout the story. It’s fun to put the little pieces together as Nix figures them out, but I did find myself often frustrated by her father’s refusal to answer any of her questions.

Regardless, the story is just complicated enough that it sucks you in. I had a book coma for days afterward. Honestly, I kind of still have it. Because time traveling ships plus mystery plus maps plus these characters just… there’s so much yes and it deserves all the stars.

I really enjoyed this gorgeous debut from Heidi Heilig and I can not wait to read more from her. Which, thankfully, I won’t have to wait long for because the sequel to The Girl From Everywhere comes out on 28 February 2017! Yes, that was me squealing with excitement. I regret nothing.

Overall, I rate The Girl From Everywhere 5 out of 5 bookworms.

Don’t just take my word for it. Order a copy of The Girl From Everywhere and enjoy it for yourself! A few places you can go to get your hands on a copy are:

For more information about Heidi Heilig and her work, visit her website.

Have you read The Girl From Everywhere? What might you recommend to someone who enjoyed it?

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