Thank you Buzzfeed, because an ad for this book was embedded in an article I was reading on the site. I quickly located it on Goodreads, and then asked my sister to track it down and she special ordered it for me. The story of a young woman moving from the USA to London because she loves the city’s history, culture, and landmarks was a story I hope to have myself. Since I knew I was headed to London for graduate school, I figured reading this story would possibly prepare me.
Synopsis
Your flight is now boarding! Join Alex Sinclair for a life-changing, trans-Atlantic journey. London Belongs to Me is a coming-of-age story about friendship, following your dreams, and learning when to let go … and when to hang on.
Meet Alex, a recent college graduate from Tallahassee, Florida in love with London, pop culture, and comic cons. It’s not easy being twenty-one-years-old, and Alex has never been the most popular girl. She’s an outsider, a geeky fangirl… with dreams of becoming a playwright in a city she’s loved from afar, but never visited. Fleeing America after a devastating betrayal, she believes London is where she’ll be understood, where she belongs. But Alex’s past of panic attacks and broken relationships is hard to escape. When her demons team up with a jealous rival determined to destroy her new British life, Alex begins to question everything: her life-long dream, her new friends, and whether London is where she truly belongs.
Review
While rather predictable, I loved this book. While I did not connect as deeply with the main character, Alex Sinclair, as much as I thought I would, I found her to be extremely relatable. Alex leaves for London after graduating college with plans to rent a room in her friend Harry’s apartment, whom she had met when he studied abroad at her college. Alex has the comfort of knowing her father is in Manchester, but she intends to work as hard as she can to become a successful playwright. Alex faces moments of self-doubt and suffers from panic attacks, all of which seemed so wonderfully ordinary in the story. And I do not mean that as a criticism. No path to success is easy, and Alex’s struggles, and at one point, plans to give up and move back to the USA, were some of her most relatable actions and circumstances.
Shortly after arriving in London, Alex runs into an old friend, Lucy, who quickly becomes Alex’s best and truest friend. With Lucy, comes Freddie and Mark, the latter of whom is Alex’s dishy Irish new crush. The story takes place over the course of about a year and chronicles Alex’s journey of self-discovery and inner strength. I found Alex’s responses to difficult situations completely realistic. Sometimes, I just want to run away and not deal with embarrassing situations. And other times, I know that it’s best to stick up for myself because it could lead to wonderful opportunities. Alex employs both strategies throughout the story so it was very easy to relate to her character and actions. Overall, London Belongs to Me is a charming coming-of-age story that is worth reading by anyone in the early years of adulthood and just trying to figure it all out. And learning that they are not alone with their doubts, fears, and dreams.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
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