Where She Went (If I Stay, #2)

by Gayle Forman

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

First I would like to thank both Gayle Forman and her publishers for the digital advanced copy of this book that I obtained through NetGalley. I was truly excited the moment that I received the little email notification in my inbox; I think I sort of scared the rest of the patrons in the library that day.

I feel like I need to talk about If I Stay for a minute, because it was such an emotionally heartbreaking beautiful story that was told completely through Mia’s eyes. It was her world, her story that she had to tell. And with Where She Went, the hat sort of tips to Adam and we finally get to see “where he went” in all of this.

It’s strange seeing the title Where She Went, when in my opinion, so much of the book was where he went, where Adam Wilde went when Mia left and how he found himself on a downward spiral slogging through his wasteland of heightened emotions and anger, grappling with the loss of her, falling out of love with the joy and electricity that his music once gave him, fighting with his band, dealing with being a famous rockstar and the obnoxious L.A. tabloids that he’s become fodder for.

It was easy connecting with Adam and his pain, because I felt it with him. His despair, that aching emptiness that he felt; I felt it with him too and it hurt. It was easy to see how he had become so angry, a ball of frustration that was wound so tight he was about to snap. But amidst all of the sorrow and the pain, there was a tiny sliver of hope lying just below the surface. It was sort of a breath of fresh air, a breath of life.

I love the beautiful job that Gayle Forman did, in the way she so eloquently wove the past and the present together, piecing them just so that you could see how Mia’s devastation and pain reflected in Adam’s own pool of sorrow. What’s so wonderful about both If I Stay and Where She Went is the fact that both of these books were written differently and could each be read as a standalone easily.

But, if I were you, I would read them both honestly. Start with Mia’s story in If I Stay and then finish with Adam’s in Where She Went. You will not be disappointed, I promise.