This is a series of disparate short stories, not a novel. Author couldn't seem to choose a narrative structure or any type of consistent tone. Two stars for some areas of beautiful prose spread throughout.

I have won exactly one goodreads.com giveaway, 1 year ago. Unfortunately, the mailing coincided with an uncharacteristic week-long snow/ice/snowstorm - I think the pansy mailman didn't want to shuffle through the drifts to drop the book off at my door and just left a note in my faraway mailbox saying I wasn't home when he tried to deliver it. 'Come snow' my ass!

From what I understand of goodreads.com's secret formula for awarding these freebies, my lack of review for this book (that they believe I possess and should have read&reviewed) dropped my chances of winning again to nothing. Evidence: a year of not winning.

Let the giveaway famine end. I wish I could have read my own free, pristine copy a year ago. I imagine I would have at least liked it. I posit I would have written an acceptably postive review.

Please let me back in the pool for the giveaways? Please? ( )

Well, I didn't hate the book. It is beautifully written, but I just cannot get into books where I have no sympathy for the main character. I started to when they talked about her relationship with her parents, but in the end I couldn't really get into it. It's a quick read and I did feel bad for these people, but it just didn't hit home for me. Maybe I'm just heartless. ( )

The thirteen-year-old Korean narrator of this episodic novel runs away from home, living hand to mouth on the streets of New York City. Joon moves into the world of runaways - living in shelters, becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol, inhabiting the world of the hopeless. Yet through it all, she maintains her resilience, honesty and even honor in her search for something better than what she has known.

Miles from Nowhere is a depressing if realistic book, but there were times when Joon's innocence and the people she encountered made me smile.