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

On the Back of the Book

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.

Pre Read Thoughts

I’m choosing this because:

If I Stay is one of my all time favourite books. Maybe that’s part of why I delayed reading this for so long. I didn’t want to ruin what, to me, is a perfect book. However, I’ve decided now’s the time to try to finish all the series’ that I’ve started so I can move on to new ones. So here I am with Where She Went.  I have to admit that I’m eager to get to know Adam a little more. 

Judging a book by its cover:

Now on to the cover... ummm... yea... it’s not exactly standing out to be fair. However, with it being the sequel to If I Stay then that’s its selling point.  Thinking of positives I have to say I do like the font. It’s very pretty. And so is the model on the cover. Okay maybe the cover isn’t bad, it’s just not eye catching.

Pricing the (possible) awesomeness:

Well after looking on Amazon. I can tell you that it’s currently: £5.24 as a paperback and £4.74 on the Kindle. If you have a different eReader or don’t like Amazon then maybe check for yourself because most of my book buying is done there.

Post Read Thoughts

Wow. This book was so good, but I just didn’t love it as much as its predecessor. I tried, really I did. It’s not the fault of the book, which is, I reiterate completely awesome but I just didn’t feel it the way I felt If I Stay. The story is woven together beautifully, the prose stunning, visually I could see it so clearly but it lacked something and I can’t put my finger on what. In this book Adam is our POV and I like this. I’ve read few books from a guy’s perspective and of the ones that I have this is head and shoulders the best. Gayle Forman is just an incredible writer and I salute her.

Adam – In the years since Mia’s survival of the horrific crash that wiped out the rest of her family Adam has also gone through a transformation. I really felt for him. I’m having trouble explaining him without spoilers but don’t fret, I’m trying. He’s broken... I suppose that’s the best way to put it. He has all the success that he’s dreamed of but it feels as though it has a price for him. His vulnerability made me love him just the way his strength did in book 1.

Mia – Mia has moved on as well and in this story we see a different side to her, the side of a survivor. Some of her actions seem harsh and cruel but sometimes surviving means hurting others. I still admire her for overcoming what she has and being determined to live her life to the fullest. 

Overall this is a beautiful, wonderful book but it’s not perfect. The song lyrics at the beginning of some of the chapters were just awful. I’m sorry but they just didn’t feel like anything I’d listen to and I listen to A LOT of different music. I also didn’t feel as emotionally invested and believe me I tried. This is probably my favourite book of the year that I haven’t already read. I really do love it.

My Rating

4 stars – I’d love to give it more but I wouldn’t feel right doing it. It’s an amazing story and I really enjoyed it but for me there’s just something missing, something that stops it from being special. Don’t get me wrong though, I do recommend this and it’s a fabulous read and I think that it’s one of those YA books everyone should read at some point.