Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Confession – I knew that there was a sequel to If I Stay before I actually read it, so in a way I already knew that she was going to live. However, what I didn’t expect was Where She Went actually was.

Three years is a long time, I know because I like using the number three (days, months, years) in my writing, but for Adam it’s an eternity. The man who narrates this novel is not the guy who you saw during If I Stay. Things have changed. His band has become huge. He’s fighting with the band. He’s smoking. He’s got anxiety issues. And what a lot of readers will probably find the most important change of all, he’s dating a woman named Bryn who is a famous actress.

Yeah, that’s right. Bryn. Not Mia, but Bryn. After getting through the twenty pages that make up the first chapter, I had to wonder: what the hell happened to Adam? Answer? Well, you have to read the rest of the book to figure it out.

Adam is stuck in New York, a layover day to take care of some last minute business (plus he hates to fly now, because of his anxiety) and he needs a break from everything. So he wanders the city and as usual, Fate intervenes, sending him past a concert hall where Mia is playing. He goes in and listens to her concert and afterwards she calls him back to meet with her; starting the longest night of his life.

I loved this book, possibly even more than the first one, which is probably really odd. The original is always supposed to get the most love, right? But this one…this one was amazing. I loved the fact that after the events in If I Stay there wasn’t a happy ending…at least not right away. I loved that Adam and Mia went through so much, it made it somehow sweeter when they did finally get together at the end of this book. Did it happen a little too quickly? Possibly, but after the lengthy conversation that they had that night and morning… Well, I’m not sure what else there was to say.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5 stars. Another quick read. Another amazing book about pain and loss and how what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, even if you don’t realize it right away.

Bookshelf worthy? Support your local library.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

A note to the wise: if you’re ever in need of a good cry and don’t feel like crying for no reason, or you need to prove to yourself that you’re not a robot do either one of the following: A. Read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher and then The Fault in Our Stars by John Green in four days or B. Read Looking for Alaska by John Green and then If I Stay in less than three days. If you haven’t cried after doing one of the above, more power to you. I’ve done both of the above and have yet to find a way to stop the tears. Any ideas?

In retrospect, I guess it was a good idea to read Looking for Alaska and then If I Stay, together. Since If I Stay has to deal with aftermath of a car wreck for the seventeen-year-old girl Mia. Her whole family perished in the car accident except for her, and she is experiencing an outer body experience as she tries to decide whether or not she wants to continue life or move on.

In a lot of books, I am not a fan of flashing back and forth between the present and the character’s back-story, I feel that it takes away from the overall plot, but for this one I think it works out. You learn a lot about what Mia was going through before the car accident, who the major people were in her life and why they are fighting so hard for her now. The only thing I didn’t like about the flashing back and forth was the fact that a lot of the story focused on Mia’s parents and her little brother, who are dead. This just makes the tears fall harder. I really loved Adam’s character and how hard he fought to see her, especially considering the problems that they were having before the car accident. They made such a cute and awkward couple.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Quick and to the point, the character development was smooth and almost flawless. The only question I have is how exactly did Mia survive the car wreck if everyone else in the car died? Or is it just one of those freak things? Curious to see how things end up in the next book.

Bookshelf worthy? Either electronic or support your local library!