Since You've Been Gone

by Morgan Matson

A perfect summertime read for fans of John Green, Stephanie Perkins, and Sarah Dessen:

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um... 

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list.

Who knows what she’ll find?

'Some books leave a very real mark on you and Since You’ve Been Gone is one of those utterly brilliant books' - The Guardian
'A winning blend of touching moments, memorable characters and situational humor takes readers to a surprising revelation at the story’s end.' - Kirkus Reviews
'Morgan Matson is the epitome of YA contemporary.' - Ariel Bissett, Booktuber and blogger

• ISBN10: 1471122662
• ISBN13: 9781471122668
• Publish Date: 3 July 2014 (first published 6 May 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Ltd
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 496
• Language: English

Reviews

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 5 [glimmering, beautiful, OH MY GOD] Stars


HOW HOW HOW is this my first Morgan Matson book?!?!?

THIS WAS SO INCREDIBLE! I literally can’t stop the tears welling in my eyes... aaaaand now they’re falling. Ugh I totally need to let myself deal with all of these feelings, haha! I’ll get back to you guys

[nightingalereads]

It took me quite some time to get into this book, but I did enjoy it by the end. It wasn't anything mind-blowing, but good if you're looking for a light contemporary read centered around friendship, romance, and personal growth.

[readingwithwrin]

“You're so scared of things sometimes, and for no reason," Sloane said, her voice quieter. "And sometimes, I wish..." She didn't finish the sentence, just let it hang in the car between us.
I wished it too - whatever it was that in that moment Sloane wanted me to be, that I was falling short of.”

See reviews first on my blog


Since becoming best friends with Sloane, Emily has been her shadow. Sloane is the outgoing one of them and makes the majority of the decisions on things they do. But because of that Emily never does anything on her own, unless Sloane leaves her with tasks. This summer though everything changes. Sloane leaves unexpectedly, but mails Emily a list of things she needs to do this summer that will lead her to Sloane at the end of it.

With the help of a few new friends that Emily makes along the way she slowly checks things off of the list and gains confidence along the way. I loved seeing Emily make friends without Sloane we really get to see her personality and what she likes and dislikes for herself. Not just ones that are based off of what Sloane wants her to do/say.

“I don't think you have to do something so big to be brave. And it's the little things that are harder anyway.”

Overall I really liked this book. I was a little skeptical going into it, but the farther I got into the book I realized that this is so much more than just another Contemporary. It’s a story about figuring out who you are, and making new friends along the way even if you do need a push in that direction at times to get going. I also surprisingly didn’t mind the romance, wasn’t a huge fan of it at first because he still technically had a girlfriend (you could tell from the start it was failing). This book also touched on feeling like always being second choice and how it can affect you, even when you act like it doesn’t and the other person most of the time has no idea that they're doing it.
I hope to read more of Matson's books in the future and love them just as much as I did this one.

“We were silent for a few minutes, and I realized it was okay. Maybe we didn't have to share every single feeling we were having, and analyze it."

[Chelsea]

Quick Thoughts
1. This was a great book, it just didn't have that special something to make it five stars for me.
2. I liked that the idea behind this whole book was friendship so I was a little disappointed that there was a typical romance happening.
3. I found I just didn't relate to our main character very well. Others might but I didn't click with her.
4. I liked the list that this plot revolved around. It made the book fun and unique!

[Bianca]

Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what. The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home. And real friends never have to tell you that they’re your friends.

[boghunden]

Didn't really connect with either Emily nor Sloane. I guess I'm just not that into Morgan Matson's books.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars
Another great book from Morgan Matson. I became a fan with Amy and Roger, and although, my response to this book was not as strong, it was still very positive. You thought this was just going to be about what happened to Sloane, but it was a lot more. It was about self introspection, growth, taking chances and being grateful for those things you have. Emily's whole life revolved around Sloane, until she was gone. This separation gave her time to evaluate who she was and what she wanted and how, maybe, she lost some of herself at times. The characters were great in this book. Emily's family was so wacky and fun and her newly formed group of friends were an array of interesting characters who all contributed to her finding herself that summer.

[Nessa Luna]

Actual rating: 4,5 - A while ago, I read a book by Morgan Matson titled 'Amy and Roger's Epic Detour', and I enjoyed it very much. When this book was announced, I didn't really pay that much attention to it - other than the fact that 'hey it's written by that author whose book I liked', but nothing more really. That is until I saw it on Bol.com a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't too expensive (for a Bol book). So I decided to order it and read it on my way to Germany (to visit my uncle and aunt).

After reading the summary, I personally thought it would be a bit like John Green's Paper Towns; where a guy goes to look for a friend that's disappeared without a trace. In SYBG, Emily goes and fulfills a to-do list hoping that at the end of that list she'll have found her best friend Sloane who has disappeared without a trace. So yeah, it's similar to Paper Towns, but I personally liked this book a bit more. I am not sure why, maybe it's because the main character is a female and I am too? Because of the to-do list that was in this book? I don't know, but I just really enjoyed reading Since You've Been Gone!

First of all I liked the main character, Emily, because she spoke to me on so many levels. I was like her a couple of years ago - not very good at socializing with other people unless my best friend was with me. I hardly ever went anywhere without her, and when I did, I never talked with anyone. So yeah, I could relate myself to Emily's situation. My best friend didn't really disappear, but we just grew apart and never spoke to each other again (until recently). But that wasn't the end of the world. Emily seemed to think that Sloane disappearing was the end of the world for her, because no one seemed to notice her without Sloane. But in this book she finds out that she's her own person, that she doesn't really need Sloane to be noticed (okay maybe she did, because she kind of got those friends thanks to the list, but still), and I loved that. I also liked Emily's family - her play-writing parents and her climb-crazy brother - and the new friends she made, partially thanks to Sloane's list. I just like how their friendship grew in this book, and I was a little sad when the 'thing' happened that threatened to make a loner out of Emily again.

The list was quite a simple one, though they seemed to play on Emily's fears. Like horseback riding, 'Penelope', going to a party alone and skinny-dipping. I was kind of expecting each task to have a little clue that would lead Emily to Sloane, and I was very anxious to know whether they would find each other again - and how that 'confrontation' would go. (show spoiler)[I wasn't really expecting it to go the way it went, but I am really happy that they were still friends in the end and that Sloane didn't leave because she didn't want to be Emily's friend anymore or something like that.] (hide spoiler)

I wasn't too sure about the romance (which was kind of obvious right from the start), but I guess it kind of grew on me. It was just a bit of a shame that it was so obvious from the start that the whole kissing part didn't really do anything to me.. Oh well.. Then again, the romance wasn't a big part of the book in my opinion. The main plot was still finding Sloane and finishing the to-do list. So yeah, I'm happy with it!

There were also some flashbacks in the book, but that didn't bother me at all because they were a different font and they always had the month and '... years/months earlier' at the top which I think should be a mandatory thing for every book that uses flashbacks (because sometimes I just don't know if something is a flashback or not).

In the end, I really enjoyed Since You've Been Gone, even though I had the song by Kelly Clarkson in my head every time I picked up the book (and basically every time I see the title of the book), and I really recommend it to people who've enjoyed Paper Towns. So go and pick up Since You've Been Gone and read it, okay?!

My opinion on this book in one gif:

[anne]

I am a sucker for "list" books.

This has made the final round of best books for 2014 - wouldn't have picked that, but it is a relaxing read, so maybe this is what is popular on goodreads. It was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, so for me, not a "greeeaattt" book, more a bit of an "escaapppe."

[Amber]

Morgan Matson needs to stop ruining my life. It started with Second Chance Summer a couple of years ago when I cried over Taylor and her dying father, and now she’s done it again with Emily and Sloane and Frank. I’m beginning to think she has some sort of vendetta against me. WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU, MORGAN.

Since You’ve Been Gone is another masterpiece by one of my favourite authors. Amy and Roger wasn’t AMAZING, but her newest two contemporary novels are two of my favourite books of all time.


Morgan Matson writes such wonderful relationships, and the one that really blew me away in Since You’ve Been Gone was the slow burn between Emily and Frank. By the time the two of them finally realised their feelings for each other, I thought I was going to keel over and die from feels. The best thing about their relationship is that they become best friends over the summer before any romance is involved on either side. There’s no insta-love, no initial “holy fuck he’s the most attractive boy ever”, it’s just epic friendship, plain and simple. And then Matson builds upon it, and continues building until you feel like you can’t breathe. So, yeah, Emily and Frank are one of my favourite couples ever.



Read the full review of Since You've Been Gone here.