Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Series: If I Stay (#2)
Pages: 264
Publisher: Dutton Juvenille
Published: April 5th, 2011 (today!)
IBSN: 9780525422945

Source: NetGalley

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 Julliard'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.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Scenario: you click the wrong bookmark by accident and end up on NetGalley. You decide to browse the recent Teen & YA titles anyway, and come across a title from Penguin. You wonder since when they started using NetGalley. You see the book is Where She Went. What do you do?

Duh. Request it, because if you're anybody you'd have read If I Stay already and adored it.

If I Stay was heart-wrenching and beautifully written, and I expected nothing less from Where She Went. If anything, Where She Went exceeded my expectations.

I never thought I could understand what would possess Mia to leave Adam, but I did. I even found myself emphasizing with Mia: in her situation, I'd probably leave, too. But at the same time, I completely felt sorry for Adam.

It was nice to get into Adam's head. In If I Stay, I remember often wondering what he was thinking. I usually dislike sequels that come from a different perspective, but Where She Went was an exception to that rule.

The writing style was beautiful and poetic. The lyrics from Adam's band between chapters were written as prettily, if not more so. I found myself trying to put rhythm to and sing them.

The ending was a perfect and satisfying conclusion to Adam and Mia's story. This series is one I could read over and over again, being affected by it each time.

I give Where She Went a 5 out of 5. I'm not doing it justice with my review, but really, read this book. It's even better than If I Stay. If you haven't read If I Stay, read that too. They're both short - make a day of reading them both back-to-back.