I am not a huge non-fiction reader, so I want to make it very clear that my enjoyment of this book may very well be down to struggling with the genre rather than this book specifically.

If You Were There follows the tale of people who go missing. García has lived his life in the shadow of a missing father, Christobal, who left their family home one day, never to return. As he walks in the footsteps of the missing, will he find his family?

This was a bit of a mixed read for me, I found some of it really interesting and did learn a few things. I particularly loved the aspects of García’s personal life, they added a wonderfully personal touch to this book. However, other parts felt dragged out and a little repetitive, although they did give me much to ponder. I loved the bravery with which García told his families story, and all of those who contributed to the book with their personal stories.

My biggest issue was that after a while, I had no desire to pick the book up. However, I can often experience this with non-fiction as I read to get an escape from everyday life! I had hoped that the topic would interest me enough to keep me hooked but unfortunately that was not the case. That being said, I do not want my review to put off potential readers, I feel that those who love non-fiction will appreciate this more than I was able to.

I would recommend this to fans of non-fiction. I want to thank Netgalley, HarperCollins UK and Francisco García for sending me a copy of this book so I can give my personal thoughts.