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A review by readingrobyn
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
5.0
Valentine's Day and I are on the level this year. Maybe it's all that pesky love in the air, maybe my estrogen levels are unusually high, I don't know! Whatever it is I am glad it is so positively affecting my reading choices because I am getting lucky (between the pages at least).
I said this in my review of If I Stay and I'll say it again. If you haven't read If I Stay, but intend to, then don't go anywhere near Where She Went. It will completely and absolutely alter the intended reading experience of If I Stay. There is no such thing as a spoiler free review of Where She Went because it handles the aftermath of the original book. So, shoo shoo potential readers! I do this for your own good.
There. Onward with the review.
Was a sequel to If I Stay completely necessary? No.
Was Where She Went still a really good story in its own right? Yes.
It has been a long time since I read If I Stay and my attachments to Mia have long since faded so I was able to enjoy this book almost as a separate entity all together. A companion rather than a direct sequel.
I was very lukewarm about Adam in If I Stay. I didn't really connect with his character because I was so focused on Mia and I was worried going into this that his character wouldn't have enough meat on the bone to really pull off being the central narrator. However, I was wrong. Adam's narrative (although a little rough for the first 10 pages) was really fantastic overall.
The way Adam bounces back and forth between present goings on and memories of the past was at times totally heart wrenching. You could see the way his grief over the break up was affecting his choices and how he always seemed just two steps from coming undone. I think that was probably my favourite part of the book, the building anticipation for his inevitable breakdown.
Despite all the talk of grief and breakups this is still a romance novel and in that respect it was also really enjoyable. Seeing Adam struggle made the more romantic elements of the story feel that much more like a well earned happy ending. If the book had only focused on the night of Adam and Mia's re-connection, more Nick and Nora esk, then I think it would have felt forced. However, because Adam's past and present are so expertly weaved together it felt like we were experiencing some of what Adam went through over the course of years rather than just one night.
I feel really satisfied with this book and now I can also officially mark this series as read and go on to read more from Forman.
I said this in my review of If I Stay and I'll say it again. If you haven't read If I Stay, but intend to, then don't go anywhere near Where She Went. It will completely and absolutely alter the intended reading experience of If I Stay. There is no such thing as a spoiler free review of Where She Went because it handles the aftermath of the original book. So, shoo shoo potential readers! I do this for your own good.
There. Onward with the review.
Was a sequel to If I Stay completely necessary? No.
Was Where She Went still a really good story in its own right? Yes.
It has been a long time since I read If I Stay and my attachments to Mia have long since faded so I was able to enjoy this book almost as a separate entity all together. A companion rather than a direct sequel.
I was very lukewarm about Adam in If I Stay. I didn't really connect with his character because I was so focused on Mia and I was worried going into this that his character wouldn't have enough meat on the bone to really pull off being the central narrator. However, I was wrong. Adam's narrative (although a little rough for the first 10 pages) was really fantastic overall.
The way Adam bounces back and forth between present goings on and memories of the past was at times totally heart wrenching. You could see the way his grief over the break up was affecting his choices and how he always seemed just two steps from coming undone. I think that was probably my favourite part of the book, the building anticipation for his inevitable breakdown.
Despite all the talk of grief and breakups this is still a romance novel and in that respect it was also really enjoyable. Seeing Adam struggle made the more romantic elements of the story feel that much more like a well earned happy ending. If the book had only focused on the night of Adam and Mia's re-connection, more Nick and Nora esk, then I think it would have felt forced. However, because Adam's past and present are so expertly weaved together it felt like we were experiencing some of what Adam went through over the course of years rather than just one night.
I feel really satisfied with this book and now I can also officially mark this series as read and go on to read more from Forman.