What do you think?
Rate this book
This Is Nowhere
Jake Morgan has never been scared of dying. It's living he can't quite commit to. Homeless, jobless and aimless, he thinks he is happy. Then one night his estranged sister Gina calls him back to the home he ran away from as a teenager. Their father is suffering from dementia and she thinks it is about time Jake grew up. With nowhere else to go, and loan sharks on his back, Jake returns to the small village he grew up in. He goes back to help his father, but ends up being forced to face the question he ran from. What really happened to his mother who vanished in 1996? Jake decides it's time he had some answers, if only to stop himself constantly wondering what the point of his existence is. Will he be able to get Gina on side to uncover the truth? Will his confused father be able to help him work out what was wrong with his mother? And when he finds it, will Jake really be able to handle the truth? This Is Nowhere is a story about a family blown apart by untold truths. A mystery that must be solved in order for a fragile young man to find some meaning in life.
440 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2014
3 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Chantelle Atkins
46 books78 followersI have been writing stories since I was a very young child, and I write for the same reason I read a lot; I have to! It is always the character that comes to me first, usually a unique and persistent voice with a particular dilemma or circumstance. The rest of the story and plot will flow from there, but I will have had many conversations with the character before I start to write! I love writing dialogue, and personally wince when I read dialogue that seems unrealistic or false. I think my work is character driven,and falls under the gritty contemporary fiction genre.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 17, 2018
This book drew me in as soon as I started reading it. The mystery surrounding Jake’s mother, a tortured soul who doted on him, and his unhappy relationship with his Father and Sister, made me want to keep turning the pages. What was his mother’s past? Why did his father and sister seem to hate him so much?
Jake himself came across as a confused boy, growing up, then running away from his past and the mystery behind his childhood days.
I’ve given this 5 stars because of the captivating and compelling story that kept me turning every page excited to find out what came next. More please!
Jake himself came across as a confused boy, growing up, then running away from his past and the mystery behind his childhood days.
I’ve given this 5 stars because of the captivating and compelling story that kept me turning every page excited to find out what came next. More please!
December 14, 2014
I’ve read all Chantelle Atkins’ books and in my view this is her best ever. Her previous novels, The Boy With The Thorn In His Side and The Mess Of Me, are excellent but probably best defined as belonging to the Young Adult genre, if only because in them the protagonists are variously disturbed teenagers.
In some ways it’s a similar scenario with This Is Nowhere – couldn’t-give-a damn, workless and shiftless young man is made so as a result of growing up in a dysfunctional family (big sister Gina, for her own reasons, is terrible!) But there’s a lot more depth to Nowhere. I felt that in this book the writer’s work had really come of age. There was more tenderness and a fuller and more diverse spectrum of characters of various ages and personalities which, speaking as an oldie, I could really relate to and care about.
Jacob (Jake) is persuaded back home after many years away by said Gina to help care for their father, who is succumbing to dementia. At first things are fraught; Jake resents the unaccustomed burden of responsibility and (still) hates Gina, who doesn’t bother to conceal her contempt for him. But then the mystery of why Jake’s mother Kate – the relationship between the two is painted really touchingly – who mysteriously went missing fifteen years earlier, begins to loom ever larger, and Jake is increasingly caught up in the need to know why. As the mystery unravels and answers emerge the tension mounts, carrying you breathlessly along to the shocking denouement, when all is revealed. The final scene made me cry.
I really liked the structure of the book; the way Ms Atkins tells two stories in alternating chapters: Jake in the present uncovering the dark hidden truths of the past; and his back story as a child and teenager and the traumatic events that led to his leaving home.
You can enjoy this book on several levels, according to taste, I feel: as an unputdownable mystery but also at a deeper one, exploring the human psyche, the way in which personality is formed by experience and how events of the past can come back to haunt. Chantelle Atkins shows this with great sensitivity and humanity.
I thought This Is Nowhere a terrific read on any level though, and recommend it most highly.
In some ways it’s a similar scenario with This Is Nowhere – couldn’t-give-a damn, workless and shiftless young man is made so as a result of growing up in a dysfunctional family (big sister Gina, for her own reasons, is terrible!) But there’s a lot more depth to Nowhere. I felt that in this book the writer’s work had really come of age. There was more tenderness and a fuller and more diverse spectrum of characters of various ages and personalities which, speaking as an oldie, I could really relate to and care about.
Jacob (Jake) is persuaded back home after many years away by said Gina to help care for their father, who is succumbing to dementia. At first things are fraught; Jake resents the unaccustomed burden of responsibility and (still) hates Gina, who doesn’t bother to conceal her contempt for him. But then the mystery of why Jake’s mother Kate – the relationship between the two is painted really touchingly – who mysteriously went missing fifteen years earlier, begins to loom ever larger, and Jake is increasingly caught up in the need to know why. As the mystery unravels and answers emerge the tension mounts, carrying you breathlessly along to the shocking denouement, when all is revealed. The final scene made me cry.
I really liked the structure of the book; the way Ms Atkins tells two stories in alternating chapters: Jake in the present uncovering the dark hidden truths of the past; and his back story as a child and teenager and the traumatic events that led to his leaving home.
You can enjoy this book on several levels, according to taste, I feel: as an unputdownable mystery but also at a deeper one, exploring the human psyche, the way in which personality is formed by experience and how events of the past can come back to haunt. Chantelle Atkins shows this with great sensitivity and humanity.
I thought This Is Nowhere a terrific read on any level though, and recommend it most highly.
June 9, 2018
This Is Nowhere
By: Chantelle Atkins
5 out of 5 stars
The story This Is Nowhere by Chantelle Atkins is a coming of age/mystery book. The story centers around Jake Morgan and his need to find out answers as to why his mother left and never came back. He has drifted and is now in a situation that could turn dangerous. Then a call from his estranged sister Gina saying that he needs to come home and take care of their father seems to provide him with both somewhere to stay and also the chance to find answers to questions that he has always had. Sometimes not everything is as it seems and secrets are kept. Will Jake find out the truth? What will his reaction be if he does? Jake Morgan is a character that I felt empathy for as he seems to be drifting in life. He has a lot of anger and frustration which is directed at his sister and his father. He has a lot of unresolved issues that caused him pain in the past and that pain has never gone away. He shows no sign of giving up once he begins to learn about the past and things that he never knew. It almost could be called an obsession. Jake is a character that I enjoyed reading about and wanted him to find the answers that he seeks. The other characters that you read about in this story are not always the most sympathetic however as the story progresses I found my impression of them changing. This is a book that has plenty of mystery and had me wondering what would happen next. Once I started I didn’t want to put it down. I found my emotions going up and down like a rollercoaster. A well-written story with characters that are hard to forget. I look forward to reading more books by the author. I voluntarily reviewed this book.
By: Chantelle Atkins
5 out of 5 stars
The story This Is Nowhere by Chantelle Atkins is a coming of age/mystery book. The story centers around Jake Morgan and his need to find out answers as to why his mother left and never came back. He has drifted and is now in a situation that could turn dangerous. Then a call from his estranged sister Gina saying that he needs to come home and take care of their father seems to provide him with both somewhere to stay and also the chance to find answers to questions that he has always had. Sometimes not everything is as it seems and secrets are kept. Will Jake find out the truth? What will his reaction be if he does? Jake Morgan is a character that I felt empathy for as he seems to be drifting in life. He has a lot of anger and frustration which is directed at his sister and his father. He has a lot of unresolved issues that caused him pain in the past and that pain has never gone away. He shows no sign of giving up once he begins to learn about the past and things that he never knew. It almost could be called an obsession. Jake is a character that I enjoyed reading about and wanted him to find the answers that he seeks. The other characters that you read about in this story are not always the most sympathetic however as the story progresses I found my impression of them changing. This is a book that has plenty of mystery and had me wondering what would happen next. Once I started I didn’t want to put it down. I found my emotions going up and down like a rollercoaster. A well-written story with characters that are hard to forget. I look forward to reading more books by the author. I voluntarily reviewed this book.
May 27, 2018
A gritty tale of a hidden family secret and its devastating effect. One of the best books I've read this year.
Gripping from the start, this is not just another family drama. It is the story of Jake and how his mother's disappearance affects him. Jake, first seen as an 'endless child' living hand to mouth in London, should be an unsympathetic character, but he draws you in. How did he end up like this? As the story of his difficult childhood unfolds, you feel for him and his precarious existence away from his family.
Through flashbacks, we find out that his beloved but troubled mother had a habit of disappearing throughout his childhood. His family, wanting to protect him, would never tell him why. What happened to make him flee? Will he find out what more about his mother and how will he cope if he does?
Jake's friends and family really come to life. His father, strict and distant when he was a child but now in decline, down and out Sully with his wicked sense of humour, stressed sister Gina, bohemian friend Rod and others are skilfully fleshed out.
Great characterisation, a plot that zings along and an unexpected, dramatic conclusion make this book a must read.
Gripping from the start, this is not just another family drama. It is the story of Jake and how his mother's disappearance affects him. Jake, first seen as an 'endless child' living hand to mouth in London, should be an unsympathetic character, but he draws you in. How did he end up like this? As the story of his difficult childhood unfolds, you feel for him and his precarious existence away from his family.
Through flashbacks, we find out that his beloved but troubled mother had a habit of disappearing throughout his childhood. His family, wanting to protect him, would never tell him why. What happened to make him flee? Will he find out what more about his mother and how will he cope if he does?
Jake's friends and family really come to life. His father, strict and distant when he was a child but now in decline, down and out Sully with his wicked sense of humour, stressed sister Gina, bohemian friend Rod and others are skilfully fleshed out.
Great characterisation, a plot that zings along and an unexpected, dramatic conclusion make this book a must read.
May 20, 2018
Week 31 of the 2018 Reading Challenge: A book set in a country you'd like to visit but have never been to.
I am torn on my review and would give it 3.5 stars if I could. It was a good read but I have so many questions about why the characters behaved the way they did and I don't feel as I really got answers. I found a couple of them totally unlikable and couldn't sympathize with anything they did. With that said, the story was told well and it was easy enough to follow as timelines switched back and forth between present day and Jake's childhood. There was a bit of a mystery but it's very much a character study, not a traditional "mystery" novel. It was a page turner and kept me engaged throughout.
I am torn on my review and would give it 3.5 stars if I could. It was a good read but I have so many questions about why the characters behaved the way they did and I don't feel as I really got answers. I found a couple of them totally unlikable and couldn't sympathize with anything they did. With that said, the story was told well and it was easy enough to follow as timelines switched back and forth between present day and Jake's childhood. There was a bit of a mystery but it's very much a character study, not a traditional "mystery" novel. It was a page turner and kept me engaged throughout.
May 19, 2020
Excellent, truly excellent! This is a very touching and suspenseful story. As with all of Ms Atkin’s books, it’s impossible to put down. Full of emotion and pearls of wisdom... it will pull at your heartstrings in many ways. Highly recommend!
October 4, 2015
This book is stunning, but then I shouldn’t be surprised having already read ‘The Mess Of Me’ by the same author. I believe this is the author’s third book and the writing has matured, while maintaining its raw intensity. The characters are complex and alive, the setting vivid, and the writing and plotting very accomplished.
Jake Morgan is called in the middle of the night by his condescending older sister, Gina, who Jake’s not had any contact with for years. Family tensions are exacerbated by a family crisis as their father, now suffering with dementia, has also had a fall and Gina needs Jake to go home and help look after him. Gina has responsibilities: a family, a home, a job – none of which Jake has – and she thinks it’s time he ‘grew up’ and did his bit. Jake is also shortly to become homeless because he owes money to the thuggish Brandon brothers whose property he rents. He hangs out with other colourful characters such as Old Man Sully, a homeless Big Issue seller who imparts his homespun wisdom and his neighbour May who shares a penchant for strange newspaper headlines. In fact it is Sully who urges Jake to go back home. The trouble is, Jake is torn – he doesn’t want to go back to a family that he left years before, but at the same times he wants answers about his beloved and mysterious mother. And Jake needs answers regarding his mother. What happened to her? Where did she go when she kept disappearing from the family home? As readers, we desperately want these answers too.
What follows is an alternating structure between the past and present, woven very skilfully, and driving the tension as the story unfolds. There are lovely descriptions of his childhood home, the beautiful cottage gardens created by the loving hand of his mother, their shared love of nature, flowers, feathers and birds, and on through his disturbed adolescence with a growing sense of moodiness and menace and the presence of his stern and God-fearing father. The interplay between father and son is expertly handled.
There is something very endearing about Jake and his vulnerability We feel his sadness and confusion through the rawness of the writing, through his internal angst about the pointlessness of his life and his desire to keep on running, like the family’s dogs.
As I got to the last seventy pages or so I could feel the momentum gathering and so many unexpected twists and turns, which I didn’t see coming and I just couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end. This should be snapped up by a traditional publisher and would have been back in the day. It’s up there with the best in my view. Highly recommended.
Jake Morgan is called in the middle of the night by his condescending older sister, Gina, who Jake’s not had any contact with for years. Family tensions are exacerbated by a family crisis as their father, now suffering with dementia, has also had a fall and Gina needs Jake to go home and help look after him. Gina has responsibilities: a family, a home, a job – none of which Jake has – and she thinks it’s time he ‘grew up’ and did his bit. Jake is also shortly to become homeless because he owes money to the thuggish Brandon brothers whose property he rents. He hangs out with other colourful characters such as Old Man Sully, a homeless Big Issue seller who imparts his homespun wisdom and his neighbour May who shares a penchant for strange newspaper headlines. In fact it is Sully who urges Jake to go back home. The trouble is, Jake is torn – he doesn’t want to go back to a family that he left years before, but at the same times he wants answers about his beloved and mysterious mother. And Jake needs answers regarding his mother. What happened to her? Where did she go when she kept disappearing from the family home? As readers, we desperately want these answers too.
What follows is an alternating structure between the past and present, woven very skilfully, and driving the tension as the story unfolds. There are lovely descriptions of his childhood home, the beautiful cottage gardens created by the loving hand of his mother, their shared love of nature, flowers, feathers and birds, and on through his disturbed adolescence with a growing sense of moodiness and menace and the presence of his stern and God-fearing father. The interplay between father and son is expertly handled.
There is something very endearing about Jake and his vulnerability We feel his sadness and confusion through the rawness of the writing, through his internal angst about the pointlessness of his life and his desire to keep on running, like the family’s dogs.
As I got to the last seventy pages or so I could feel the momentum gathering and so many unexpected twists and turns, which I didn’t see coming and I just couldn’t stop reading until I got to the end. This should be snapped up by a traditional publisher and would have been back in the day. It’s up there with the best in my view. Highly recommended.
April 7, 2015
A Guaranteed Great Time Read!
I am a fan of Chantelle Atkins. I read her book The Mess of Me by chance, having liked an article she wrote for Authors Publish. I was so taken by the quality of her writing – in both the article and the novel – and particularly in the development of her deeply empathetic characters, I now recommend her highly. This is Nowhere once again involved me in the lives of people I just assume exist; they are that real, that well developed, and that well revealed. (As a reader, I know you want to hear the plot, but that is covered best by others.) The mystery around which this novel hovers is like a circling dog looking for an opening – that is how it feels. Impressively, the mystery does not drive the story; the characters do. That they do so in both the present and the past is a technique of storytelling that Ms. Atkins handles masterfully and is perfectly suited for this plot. Add to that the wonderful sense Ms. Atkins has for rhythm and momentum, and you are guaranteed a great time read! Never comfortable, but compelling and unavoidably engaging. Warning! The book does end, leaving you to miss even the minor characters to whom you’ve become so attached. Like Sully and May.
I am a fan of Chantelle Atkins. I read her book The Mess of Me by chance, having liked an article she wrote for Authors Publish. I was so taken by the quality of her writing – in both the article and the novel – and particularly in the development of her deeply empathetic characters, I now recommend her highly. This is Nowhere once again involved me in the lives of people I just assume exist; they are that real, that well developed, and that well revealed. (As a reader, I know you want to hear the plot, but that is covered best by others.) The mystery around which this novel hovers is like a circling dog looking for an opening – that is how it feels. Impressively, the mystery does not drive the story; the characters do. That they do so in both the present and the past is a technique of storytelling that Ms. Atkins handles masterfully and is perfectly suited for this plot. Add to that the wonderful sense Ms. Atkins has for rhythm and momentum, and you are guaranteed a great time read! Never comfortable, but compelling and unavoidably engaging. Warning! The book does end, leaving you to miss even the minor characters to whom you’ve become so attached. Like Sully and May.
October 22, 2016
Wonderfully written!
I am a big fan of Atkin's work, having read a lot of her books, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one, as well. She had an interesting way of telling a story, and it keeps this reader hooked to her words. Reading it is like putting together a puzzle of past and present to understand the nuances of Jake and his relationship with his family. Her characters are far from perfect and that makes up the perfect story. I will read anything that she writes.
I am a big fan of Atkin's work, having read a lot of her books, and I thoroughly enjoyed this one, as well. She had an interesting way of telling a story, and it keeps this reader hooked to her words. Reading it is like putting together a puzzle of past and present to understand the nuances of Jake and his relationship with his family. Her characters are far from perfect and that makes up the perfect story. I will read anything that she writes.
April 23, 2017
My Review of This Is Nowhere by Chantelle Atkins.
Wow this story has so many layers and emotions running through the characters. I found this story emotional to read with adult themes, but written in such a way that I couldn’t help but read on and hope that Jake finds the truth that he’d longed for deep down since his mother suddenly disappeared when he was a little boy.
The story itself follows Jake as he gets a call from his Sister Gina. She demands he comes home and look after their father who is unwell. Jake doesn’t want to return to his father, to the life he’d left behind full of wondering where his mum went? And why she’d left him all those years back? But life has its way of leading him back home, but with those unanswered questions coming to light. Will Jake finally discover the honest truth? You must read this emotional journey to find out.
I loved how this story flitted from Jake as a man to his memories of his childhood, because it was really easy to picture those scenes in my mind while reading this book. Also I feel I got a greater understanding of Jakes mother and the things she’d had to face in her life, as Well as why Jake’s life turned out the way it did. I also really loved Sully: his wisdom and how even though he had not much in the world he was happy.
I thought the author Chantelle did a great job at showing, even through the darkest of time true friends can be a caring support. There were really touching moments of this throughout this book.
I would recommend this book if you like to read an emotional journey fulled with great characters and a search for the truth, a place to belong and an ending that you’ll never see coming.
Wow this story has so many layers and emotions running through the characters. I found this story emotional to read with adult themes, but written in such a way that I couldn’t help but read on and hope that Jake finds the truth that he’d longed for deep down since his mother suddenly disappeared when he was a little boy.
The story itself follows Jake as he gets a call from his Sister Gina. She demands he comes home and look after their father who is unwell. Jake doesn’t want to return to his father, to the life he’d left behind full of wondering where his mum went? And why she’d left him all those years back? But life has its way of leading him back home, but with those unanswered questions coming to light. Will Jake finally discover the honest truth? You must read this emotional journey to find out.
I loved how this story flitted from Jake as a man to his memories of his childhood, because it was really easy to picture those scenes in my mind while reading this book. Also I feel I got a greater understanding of Jakes mother and the things she’d had to face in her life, as Well as why Jake’s life turned out the way it did. I also really loved Sully: his wisdom and how even though he had not much in the world he was happy.
I thought the author Chantelle did a great job at showing, even through the darkest of time true friends can be a caring support. There were really touching moments of this throughout this book.
I would recommend this book if you like to read an emotional journey fulled with great characters and a search for the truth, a place to belong and an ending that you’ll never see coming.
June 12, 2018
This is a beautifully written book that draws you right in. A great plot and some brilliant twists and turns make for a very engrossing read.
June 15, 2018
This is a book that got better the more I read.
Alternating between the past and the present, it tells the story of Jacob Morgan, as a child who was perpetually confused by his parents relationship and his mother's disappearance, and as an adult who is simply going through the motions of living.
Jake is forced back home after 13 years by a call from his sister, telling him their father needs to be cared for.
As he begins to pick up the pieces of his life again, we see the events in his childhood that made him what he is.
Determined to find out where his mother went and why, Jake starts asking the questions no one would answer back then.
The answers make him wish he hadn't!
This coming of age story is very well written. It flows smoothly between past and present until the two merge to solve the mystery.
Very interesting read.
Alternating between the past and the present, it tells the story of Jacob Morgan, as a child who was perpetually confused by his parents relationship and his mother's disappearance, and as an adult who is simply going through the motions of living.
Jake is forced back home after 13 years by a call from his sister, telling him their father needs to be cared for.
As he begins to pick up the pieces of his life again, we see the events in his childhood that made him what he is.
Determined to find out where his mother went and why, Jake starts asking the questions no one would answer back then.
The answers make him wish he hadn't!
This coming of age story is very well written. It flows smoothly between past and present until the two merge to solve the mystery.
Very interesting read.
June 17, 2018
This is nowhere by Chantelle Atkins.
Jake Morgan gets a call from his sister Gina. Their dad has had a fall and he needs to go and look after him. What will he do?
This was a very good read with likeable characters. Full of twist. Didn't expect that. 4*.
Jake Morgan gets a call from his sister Gina. Their dad has had a fall and he needs to go and look after him. What will he do?
This was a very good read with likeable characters. Full of twist. Didn't expect that. 4*.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews