The Setting

If you've read the book and you're from anywhere else in the world, all you know is that the story is set in a city approximately two hours' drive from Boston. Only those people from Portland, Maine will recognize their town as the setting of book, mostly by the names of the coffee shops, restaurants and planetarium.  (The name of the high school is fictional — didn't want to play favorites — but it does have some meaning.  Can you figure out what?)

Jenny's Aunt Maggie, being the organic, free spirit that she is, resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Jenny's diary entries of December take you to The Cross of Martyrs and Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs, as well as a mini-tour to the Grand Canyon and the haunted El Tovar hotel.

Boston is where the real action is.  Although Jenny's visit there is only brief, she loved staying at a boutique hotel, dining at a wide range of restaurants (including the incredible Deuxave), hearing a lecture at Northeastern University, seeing the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Old North Church, where the famous "one if by land, two if by sea" was said to have originated.

Here are links to all the real life places mentioned in the book:

Arabica Coffee, Portland, ME
Artemisia Cafe, Portland, ME
Boston Shawarma, Boston, MA
Boston University, Boston, MA
Café Pasqual, Santa Fe, NM
Deuxave, Boston, MA
El Tovar Hotel, Grand Canyon Village, AZ
EnVision Hotel, Boston, MA
Flatbread Company, Portland, ME
Grace Restaurant, Portland, ME
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Museum of Fine Art, Boston, MA
Maurizio's Restaurant, Boston, MA
Ojo Calienté Mineral Springs, Ojo Calienté, NM
The Old Havana, Boston, MA
Old North Church, Boston, MA
The Robinwood Café, Boston, MA
Southworth Planetarium, Portland, ME