Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went (sequel to If I Stay)
Author: Gayle Forman
Pages: 258 (ARC copy)
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: April 5, 2011

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.

My Thoughts: This review was difficult to write. I didn't even know where to start. All I wanted to do was pick up the book and reread it. Because it was amazing, heartbreaking, and beautiful. I loved it even more than If I Stay.

"She kissed me good-bye. She told me that she loved me more than life itself. Then she stepped through security.
She never came back."

I loved reading from Adam's point of view. The writing was so, so good. Some moments were really intense. And I felt like I could feel everything he was going through. His love, anger, loneliness, and anxiety. I just wanted to comfort him and tell him everything was going to be okay. Adam's emotions were so strong that, even though I love Mia, when he got angry and upset at her I couldn't help but to get angry and upset with her too. Like Adam, all I wanted to know was why she left and why she did this to him. When Mia finally told him, I was shocked. I was not expecting what she said, and it hurt so much. But it made complete sense, and I couldn't hold it against Mia.

Like Mia's story, the majority of Adam's story is told in one day and includes flashbacks, which were really great. But Where She Went is a bit different. There are chapters this time. The book is longer. And there is some other things. But I don't want to reveal too much, and I won't say whether or not Adam and Mia have a happy ending. I will say though that I believe Gayle Forman gave us everything we wanted to know and more. Closure being one of those things.

I hope I haven't overhyped the book. I don't want anyone to feel disappointed. (Although, I do think the hype is deserved, and I believe it lives up to it, but this is only how I felt.) If you loved If I Stay, I don't see how you won't love Where She Went. And if you didn't love the previous book, I think you should seriously give this sequel a chance. Where She Went made me appreciate If I Stay even more.

Thanks to Penguin and LibraryThing for the opportunity to read this ARC. And of course, the biggest thanks goes to Gayle Forman! For writing this amazing book that a lot of us readers desperately needed.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars