Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Published: January 27th 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: Hardcover, 288 pages
Source: Bought
Genre: Young Adult
Find The Author: Website, Twitter
Buy This Book: Amazon, Book Depository
Add It To Your GoodReads Shelf

Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.
 
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
 
I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

I have to admit, for this being my first official review for the blog, I think I cheated a little bit. As in - I’ve loved and adored Gayle Foreman’s writing in the past. I wasn’t feeling too adventurous for my first post and this novel was high priority on my ‘I HAVE TO READ THAT BOOK!!!!!!!!!!’ list. With that being said…

I was not disappointed and neither will you.  

Written in her usual first-person narrative we’re immediately introduced to the best friend of a girl who took meticulous care in killing herself. You learn about their friendship, why and how deep the friendship had impacted Cody’s life, and what brought them apart in the last part of Meg’s life. You’re not treated to the full reality and truth of the suicide until the very end. And yet, throughout the book, there are subtle clues and hints that productively and satisfyingly tie together in the end.

Second to the quality of writing and the subtleness of the world Foreman paints through Cody’s view point I enjoyed the mystery element the most. The encrypted computer file. There are things definitely missing about Meg’s suicide and Cody does not know the full story. She takes it upon herself to find that missing element and when she does - she takes it upon herself to avenge her friend’s death. But is there anything to avenge? The missing element - what was in that encrypted file - was tragic and disturbing. I won’t give it away, it’s for you to discover on your own, but it definitely left some serious questions about Meg’s suicide and who was to blame.

And woven throughout the painful experience of losing a loved one from suicide is Cody’s personal journey. Her life is and was never the easiest. A difficult relationship with her mother, stuck in a small-town cleaning houses, and feeling that she was second-best in comparison to her shining best friend. Its through her journey to resolve her friend’s death, to find peace, that she accesses what she needs to find peace and strength for herself.

The material Foreman’s handles is sensitive and daunting. She’s not afraid to touch on the hard, scary parts but she does it with respect and knowledge. If you don’t normally read after-words or author notes - do it just this once. Her note in the end sheds light on the topic and what brought her to write. Also. She regularly references Buffy. As in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She gets extra kudos to integrating an awesome pop-culture reference.

All in all I rate this four out of five stars with extra sparkles to entice you to put it on your TBR list with the highest priority!

Happy reading,

Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman

Where She Went (If I Stay #2)  by Gayle Forman

Buy This Book | Website

Release Date: April 5th 2011

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Page Count: Hardcover, 264 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.
Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.
Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance. - Good Reads

I loved If I Stay and have been eager to read the companion book Where She Went for a while now. Funnily enough, I picked it up at the library yesterday, a different library than I normally go to. Of course, like it goes, I come home, check my e-mail and there is an e-mail from library letting me now it came in and is now on hold. Figures! 

Where She Went begins three years after the end of If I Stay. Adam is a rock star, he has everything you'd think he want, but he's unhappy and doesn't really seem to want any of it. It was interesting hearing inside the head of a guy. Gayle Forman has a really authentic way of writing. Just like in If I Stay, I felt connected to the character, as if he were real. And she really did a good job at the male voice.

I didn't feel as emotional about this book though. I mean, this didn't drive me to tears at any point. In If I Stay I was bawling like a baby at many points. I think that may have to do with the fact that If I Stay was really about a family, not just Mia, and I'm a Mother and the situation was just devastating. This was emotional, but in a different level to me personally. 

Overall this was an amazing book. I loved both books and strongly recommend them if you're looking for a good emotional read. 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Buy This Book | Website

Release Date: April 9th 2009

Publisher: Dutton

Page Count: Paperback, 199 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Emotional

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands - Good Reads

Pfft, my eyes are still red from crying. What an emotional read! I'd seen this book mentioned before, but never got around to reading it. After stumbling upon a mention of the second book Where She Went last night and then reading some reviews I decided to pick up the first book at the library this morning. I'm glad I did.

As soon as I begun to read the book I fell in love with Mia and her family. The opening scene of the book was powerful in the bonding sort of way. I felt like I knew them. I identified with them. I cared about them. It almost felt like I was intruding on another families personal moments. A real family. All of the characters in the book were well rounded and their interests and personalities seemed realistic. Down to the Grandmother who believes in angels. 

Normally I don't care for books written in the style If I Stay was written. I like first person when it used well, but excessive amounts of flashbacks can get annoying. It didn't bother me at all in this book. I wanted to know Mia and her family more. And somehow for this book it just clicked.

By the end of the book I kept having to wipe away my tears so I could actually see to finish it. And with the way this one ended so abruptly - I can't wait to read Where She Went. Too bad somebody has it checked out right now. Arrrrgh!

 

This definitely was a touching book and I would recommend this to a lot of people.