Review: Take Me There by Carolee Dean

“People look at me and walk across the street
So tired of the suspicious eyes
On all the faces that I meet
And tell me, if i try
To be a different guy,
Will you be the girl
To rearrange my world?
You take me up,
You take me down,
Take me to the sky,
Take me to the ground,
I'd go anywhere
If you would only take me there.” 
― Carolee Dean, Take Me There





With only a 3.8 average rating on Goodreads, and those ratings either being 1 or 5 stars I was apprehensive about this book, seemed like a love or hate kind of thing. But the description sounded like something I'd enjoy, and boy did I ever.

Dylan leads a troubled life and by the looks of it, it's rarely his own doing. He wants to believe that it's because of his father that he is the way he is, and is desperate to know if change is possible for men like them. And after an accident puts Dylan and Wade on the run from the police, a vengeful gang, and leaving behind Dylan's love, Jess, to find his Father and learn the truth about what put him in prison and get an image of the man he hasn't seen in 11 years.

With the minutes ticking by towards Dylan Sr's execusion Dylan Jr reconnects with his grandmother and searches for clues in the home town he left at 6 years old with his mom. Dylan learns the truth of what happened to put his father in jail but is to late to save him.

On the same day as his fathers execusion Dylan's past comes back to get him. The gang members track him down, threatening the lives of his mother or Jess as revenge for the leaders brothers death. The night spirals out of control yet everything lands in the right place, except Dylan.

Jess is at Stanford for Pre-Law as well as continuing her singing dream.
His Mom bought a music studio where she now teaches.
His Grandmother is still on the family farm with her two pets, a three legged pig, and Dylan's now three legged dog.

As for Dylan, he lands exactly where he had expected. In Jail, awaiting a trial while people spin stories and gossip of the gang members who died being poor unfortunate souls with no criminal record, slaughtered by a fugitive. In the end you don't learn of what happens for sure, but I believe that's exactly how Carolee Dean intended it, you can either picture the perfect happy ending where Dylan goes free, back to Jess. Or you can face the truth, that he may suffer the consequences of a corrupt system that believes what lawyers and witnesses spin as "fact". As much as I wish for a happy ending it's not always how it turns out.

“I'm Writing my story. 
But i'm also plotting my escape from this prison cell.
This is my plan.
I will do it with words.
I will write them by day.
I will write them by night.
I will write them on the walls,
the stalls, the halls.
I will write them in big bold ink
on posters i hang on the concrete blocks.
I will write them on little pieces of paper
I stuff on the mattress and the pillow.
I will write them with fingers
bent and cramped from use.
I will write them in blood
if i have to,
but only my own.
And i will keep writing them,
again, and again, and again,
until i fill this prison cell so full of words,
that the bars bend and buckle and burst
because they cannot contain them
And then
I will
be free.” 
― Carolee Dean, Take Me There

For an inspiring story and creative characters with an extremely talented writer telling this story I'm happy to give this books a perfect rating.

Thanks for reading :)