To Get to You

By: Joanne Bischof

Narrated by: Nick Powers

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's Summary

2016 Christy Award Finalist and Grace Award Winner

To get to the girl he loves, Riley Kane must head off on a road trip with the father he never knew. Then pray for a miracle.

Most teens would love to have a pro surfer for a dad. Just not Riley. Abandoned as a kid, he hates the sound of the ocean and the man who gave himself to it. When the 18-year-old learns that his best friend is stranded at a New Mexico hospital as her father fights for his life, Riley hits the highway to head east. But when his Jeep breaks down before he even leaves California, he must rely on the one man he despises to get to the girl who needs him the most. And when it comes to the surfer with the Volkswagen van and dog-eared map, a thousand miles may - or may not - be enough to heal the past.

A story of new beginnings and second chances.

©2015 Joanne Bischof (P)2016 Joanne Bischof

Brokenness, Redemption & Beautiful Romance

This is my second book of Joanne Bischof's and I will continue to hunt down whatever she has written. I thought this was so very well done --- different from the last one of hers that I read (The Lady and the Lionheart <3) because the focus of this story is primarily on a teenage boy.

Riles/Riley stole my heart early on in this story. A girl (Becca) shows up late on Christmas Eve to pick up a leftover Christmas tree from the store where Riley works. He is just closing up but, recognizing that Becca needs help, he offers to help her home with it. Thus begins a precious, heartwarming relationship between this recently 'redeemed' young man and a sweet, quirky young woman whose large loving family draws Riley in.

Fate, or perhaps Providence, provides the perfect situation wherein Riley, in order to come to the much-needed aid of Becca and her family, has to swallow his pride and resentment toward his long-absent father (Jake) and request - and then accept - Jake's time and help in order to get to Becca. This is greatly oversimplifying the situation which was beautifully developed and revealed.

Even though Riley is clearly resentful at times and seems hesitant to forgive and trust, this is fully understandable as we find that Jake was completely uninvolved in his life and, as Jake admits to Riley at one point, it was for wholly selfish reasons.

Jake's friend Saul is the perfect character to provide an avenue of peace and a path to rebuilding a very broken relationship. Saul is a standout character in this story for sure.

Ultimately this a story of brokenness, pain, acceptance, honesty, forgiveness and redemption . . . as well as a very sweet and promising romance or two.

I thought one of the closing lines summed this up well: "...there are some things you can't go back from. You just lay the broken pieces down and then there's grace and its glue, and in a strange way, you're more whole than before..."

The story is a solid 4 1/2 stars for me. I also listened to the full audio book because I loved the narration so very much.

SUCH a sweet story.

SUCH a sweet story. Oh my goodness.

To Get to You is a story of forgiveness and second chances.. of starting new and giving others that opportunity as well. It’s about seeing the best in others and embracing who they are deep down rather than judging who they might appear to be at a glance.

At a glance, this story is stereotypical mohawk-wearing, skateboard-riding, former troublemaker kid-from-a-broken-home meets stereotypical sheltered, mom-reads-her-texts, Christian homeschool girl. But truly, it goes so much deeper than this. These characters are so very alive and developed… and they are their own people. Not cast from a mold. Not stereotypical. At all.

Riley’s bitterness toward his long-absent dad is understandable but really tugs at the heart. When he ends up having no other option but to call his dad for help after major car trouble, Riley must confront the lack of history they have together.

An adventurous road trip story, it incorporates themes of reconciliation and sweet love. And it brought tears. Joanne Bischof gives new meaning to the word heartfelt.

This book kept me wanting to keep listening to just one more chapter, it left me continually wanting to know what comes next. I’m so looking forward to finding out when the next book is coming.

Nick Powers did an excellent job with the audio book, as he brought out the many emotions found within these pages.

This book, for me, is reminiscent of a freshly-baked batch of homemade cookies. The kind that aren’t yet cool, the kind that you find yourself reaching for another without even looking up. Because it’s natural. This story is natural too, it’s real.

This Was So Fun To Listen To!

If you could sum up To Get to You in three words, what would they be?

Journey of Healing...or perhaps...Dads Are Important

What was one of the most memorable moments of To Get to You?

One of Riley and Jake's discussions when they really began to break down some walls between them.

Which scene was your favorite?

I don't want to have spoilers, but the part relating to the food allergy was riveting.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I just loved it! I had already read the story about a year earlier. But it was so great to LISTEN to this book. The narrator did such a good job, especially with the voices of Jake, Saul, and Riley. They were EXACTLY the way I imagined them as I read the book. It's a little harder to relate to the women's voices in the story as they are read by a man, but he did a fine job with those, too, and the book definitely has more of men talking throughout it.

Any additional comments?

This is a great story for all ages, wherever it is listened to. However, this book is about a road trip and listening to it while I drove is the way I enjoyed it and it was really fun to be reading about their driving trip as I was going about town.

Great story and fabulous narrator!

I really enjoyed Riley and Becca's story. Haging a story that shows there can be more to a high school relationship besides a sexual side is very refreshing. I thought I might not like this book because I read a lot of historical fiction but I was so wrong! Read it!
Nick Powers did a phenomenal job narrating this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the many accents that he did. Great diction and I inflection. I'm going to have to go look for more books narrated by him.

Beautiful Story, Incredible Voice Over Narration.

What about Nick Powers’s performance did you like?

Nick's enthusiastic delivery is great for novels, but if you’re after a warm, natural, conversational voice or something more dramatic…or fun… he can go there too! Nick really adds to the story. He is extremely talented and am looking forward to more of his work.

Love This Book!

Great story! Excellent narration and fascinating characters, with good pacing throughout. When can we expect a sequel?