Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)

by Gayle Forman

The stunning sequel to Gayle Forman's international best seller, If I Stay - Now a major film starring Chloe Grace Moretz.

If you had a second chance at first love . . . would you take it?

It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam’s life. And three years he’s spent wondering why. When their paths cross again in New York, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Perfect for fans of John Green and David Levithan, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

• ISBN10: 1849414289
• ISBN13: 9781849414289
• Publish Date: 26 April 2012 (first published 1 April 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Children's UK
• Imprint: Definitions
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Bianca]

But I'd do it again. I know that now. I'd make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she's somewhere out there. Alive.

[e_rodz_leb]

Wow! I want to kick myself in the behind for not reading Where She Went before! I read If I Stay ages ago, before I even had a blog and I loved it (I rated it a solid 4 stars in Goodreads). A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Florida helping my cousin, I checked this book out in audio format (anyone loves the OverDrive app like me?) and I LOVE IT (notice the caps here people!)

Oh Adam! I fell in love with you in book one because you fought so hard to keep Mia alive! Who would have thought that things would end up this way for you? Adam is such an amazing guy and he feels love so deeply that the breakup almost killed him. Literally. It felt to me like he went through the motions of going on with his life, but without any enjoyment. The stress he put himself under was incredible, I felt jumpy while listening to the book! I like the idea of a love so big that you cannot function without your other half, BUT in reality, it is not too realistic *I’m just saying*

I understood why Mia did what she did, but it is really reprehensible the way it went down. If I were Adam, I don’t think I would have waited that long to confront her. Mia was so crazy in love with Adam that the other part of me couldn’t not comprehend leaving what you love most behind.

Each chapter starts with a quote from one of the songs from the songs Adam wrote after the break up, and they are heart wrenching. You can almost taste the anger, hurt and rawness of Adam’s pain. This set the tone to the story. The plot is pretty much described in the synopsis, but the way it’s executed is exquisite. The story is told from Adam’s point of view, alternating between the present time and flashbacks that explain the present. Where Forman books shine is in their moving writing and their amazing character building. Where she went is a prime example of this. It is, as she herself describes it, ‘full of feels’.

I’ve read Forman’s next two books Just One Day and Just One Year and I adore them too. It is a well-known fact that I will read anything she writes. I cannot wait for her next book (coming out in early 2015).

It was almost impossible to come up with these quotes, because I could transcribe here the whole book, but here you go:

“You dumb-ass,” I crooned, kissing her on the forehead. “You don’t share me. You own me.”

“First you inspect me, Then you dissect me, Then you reject me, I wait for the day, That you’ll resurrect me - “Animate”

“But I’d do it again. I know that now. I’d make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she’s somewhere out there. Alive.”

About the narration: Dan Bittner is the narrator for this book and it’s my fist book read by him. I loved all the feeling that he put on his reading. I could actually hear the anguish in his voice, his desperation and sense of ‘losing it’. I also enjoyed that all the voices were very distinguishable from each other and easy to recognize. The pace was adequate and never boring.

About the cover: I really love this cover, much better than If I Stay. I like the colors and the sense of movement and fluidity it has.

[lizarodz]

Wow! I want to kick myself in the behind for not reading Where She Went before! I read If I Stay ages ago, before I even had a blog and I loved it (I rated it a solid 4 stars in Goodreads). A couple of weeks ago, while I was in Florida helping my cousin, I checked this book out in audio format (anyone loves the OverDrive app like me?) and I LOVE IT (notice the caps here people!)

Oh Adam! I fell in love with you in book one because you fought so hard to keep Mia alive! Who would have thought that things would end up this way for you? Adam is such an amazing guy and he feels love so deeply that the breakup almost killed him. Literally. It felt to me like he went through the motions of going on with his life, but without any enjoyment. The stress he put himself under was incredible, I felt jumpy while listening to the book! I like the idea of a love so big that you cannot function without your other half, BUT in reality, it is not too realistic *I’m just saying*

I understood why Mia did what she did, but it is really reprehensible the way it went down. If I were Adam, I don’t think I would have waited that long to confront her. Mia was so crazy in love with Adam that the other part of me couldn’t not comprehend leaving what you love most behind.

Each chapter starts with a quote from one of the songs from the songs Adam wrote after the break up, and they are heart wrenching. You can almost taste the anger, hurt and rawness of Adam’s pain. This set the tone to the story. The plot is pretty much described in the synopsis, but the way it’s executed is exquisite. The story is told from Adam’s point of view, alternating between the present time and flashbacks that explain the present. Where Forman books shine is in their moving writing and their amazing character building. Where she went is a prime example of this. It is, as she herself describes it, ‘full of feels’.

I’ve read Forman’s next two books Just One Day and Just One Year and I adore them too. It is a well-known fact that I will read anything she writes. I cannot wait for her next book (coming out in early 2015).

It was almost impossible to come up with these quotes, because I could transcribe here the whole book, but here you go:

“You dumb-ass,” I crooned, kissing her on the forehead. “You don’t share me. You own me.”

“First you inspect me, Then you dissect me, Then you reject me, I wait for the day, That you’ll resurrect me - “Animate”

“But I’d do it again. I know that now. I’d make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she’s somewhere out there. Alive.”

About the narration: Dan Bittner is the narrator for this book and it’s my fist book read by him. I loved all the feeling that he put on his reading. I could actually hear the anguish in his voice, his desperation and sense of ‘losing it’. I also enjoyed that all the voices were very distinguishable from each other and easy to recognize. The pace was adequate and never boring.

About the cover: I really love this cover, much better than If I Stay. I like the colors and the sense of movement and fluidity it has.

[ellieroth]

Hermoso, perfecto, ay es la cosa más maravilloso que leí *-*

Reseña no tan fangirl pronto

[rakesandrogues]

So I basically thought it was too good to be true when just about all of my bookish friends told me that WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman is better than the first book, If I Stay. It was impossible, I thought to myself.

Then I was proved that the impossible is possible.

WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman is all kinds of awesome. I read it in two sittings – I only stopped to cook and eat dinner, which was something I almost forgot to do because this book is so hard to put down.

Fast forward three years later after the accident. Adam is a famous rock star, and it’s been three years since he last saw Mia when she left for Julliard in New York. Despite the fame and money and a celebrity girlfriend, Adam still cannot let go of Mia. Their paths collide in New York when Adam stumbles upon her first concert at Carnegie Hall.

First of all, I loved reading about Mia and Adam three years later. Despite the fact that Adam is pretty much miserable and still heart-broken, I was so proud of what Mia and Adam had accomplished in the last three years. I almost wanted to do a happy dance because they were both able to live their dreams.

I really enjoyed the change of perspective in WHERE SHE WENT, which is told entirely from Adam’s perspective. I feel like male protagonists are so rare in young adult – so it was a refreshing change of pace.

WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman also involved tears and sniffles. I cried a few times while reading when all the emotions and feelings just got too overwhelming. My heart went out to Adam and Mia. They’ve gone through so much. A sign of a talented author, for me, is the ability to make me cry through words on a page.

Gayle Forman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I’m basically going to get my hands on every book she publishes. I’m a fan. WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman will not disappoint fans of If I Stay.

[Stephanie]

This book picks up 3 years after Mia's car accident, and instead of Mia's perspective, we get Adams. I felt so heartbroken for Adam. His life is such a mess when we first start reading, it made me want to shake him because I just wanted him to walk away from it all, but I knew he couldn't, and had no where to go.

I wasn't sure where this book was going to go until it actually happened. When Adam and Mia finally see each other again, I was so happy for Adam, but then as I continued to read, I wasn't sure if it was a good thing. They both danced around each other because they were both afraid to say anything. It was frustrating.

I felt like this book was much sadder than [b:If I Stay|4374400|If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)|Gayle Forman|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1347462970s/4374400.jpg|4422413]. Mostly because of the state Adam was in for the majority, but I feel like that's why I ending up loving this books also.

This book and If I Stay definitely made me a fan of Gayle Forman. I borrowed both books from the library, but I'm definitely going to buy my own copies as well.

[Kelly]

I absolutely loved this book. The first, [b:If I Stay|4374400|If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)|Gayle Forman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347462970s/4374400.jpg|4422413] was tragic and sadly beautiful. 'Where She Went' was even more emotionally charged, as it told the story of Adam's memories. Definitely one that I would read again and again.

[Jyc]

★★★★★ // that mix of anger and love pulsating through every page of this book. the fact that all of these happened in one night, and every second of it you just know that they still love each other so intensely just as much as they did back in high school. god, this book, what an experience.

[Amanda]

Where She Went is intense. Intense is probably the best way to describe it. This stirs up plenty of emotions - just as If I Stay did -- but they are different emotions. With Adam as the narrator, everything is edgier and sharper. Filled with despair. If you read If I Stay, Where She Went is a must read. It won't tear you apart the way If I Stay did, but it will involve emotional upheaval. But it's an upheaval that is vital; almost as if you must first tear down everything in order to build it back up.

Gayle Forman has a way with writing stories that are hard to talk about because the stories stir up so much emotion and reaction that it is best when experienced, and there aren't enough words to properly express the journey from start to finish.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

If I Stay was an enjoyable, thought-provoking book, and readers will naturally expect the same from its sequel. To a large degree, they will not be disappointed. Where She Went is written in a very similar style, following a present storyline interspersed with lots of flashbacks—this time from Adam’s point of view. And Adam has to make some decisions nearly as life-changing as the ones Mia faced before. Shooting Star has made it, and Adam is an internationally famous rock star, but he finds little joy in music anymore, and he is developing the bad habits that come with a stereotypical rock star lifestyle.

Both Adam and Mia have changed in the years since her accident, and as Adam’s life suggests, not all the changes were for the better. Where She Went is a troubling book in that some readers might find it difficult to like the characters as much as they did before. Adam’s problems are more obvious, but Mia has also done something terrible. Both of them have reasons, and the right readers will understand what drove them to such destructive decisions. But the love readers experience will be the tough kind, the kind where they love what the characters were before and what they can be—but not what they are now. This makes an interesting reading experience, but certainly not a fun one. Readers who dislike disapproving of nearly everything a character does will doubtless be frustrated.

Naturally, Mia and Adam do come to an understanding by the story’s end, and readers are not left dangling, sitting staring at the pages and screaming, “You idiots!” Yet the final pages are like that of If I Stay, just conclusive enough that there is really nothing to complain about, but still a little more open than some readers might like. I, for one, would not mind a third book, in which Forman presents Mia and Adam in a truly positive light, showing what they can accomplish when they make the right decisions. As it is, I am proud of them, but still waiting for them to shine.