Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

After I read If I Stay, I read the synopsis of Where She Went and was instantly horrified. Freaking out, I read the entire thing in one day, because I needed to know that everything would turn out okay.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman 

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. 

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Two words can sum up Adam Wilde since the tragedy three years ago: Screwed Up. Ever since Mia recovered from the crash and walked out of his life, he's been empty, despite his growing fame, his rock-star life and his beautiful movie star girlfriend.


I was really excited when I found out that Where She Went would be from Adam's point of view. What I wasn't expecting was for this book to be so SAD. Adam was crushed by the choice Mia made, the one I was not expecting her to make. The choice only Adam knows he gave her.


Just like in If I Stay, music was a big part of Where She Went. Of course, that's to be expected, as Adam is a famous rocker and Mia is a cello star. I really loved the lyrics from Adam's songs opening some of the chapters. I'd love to actually hear them, I bet they sound heartbreaking.


This book kept me reading and reading, desperate to find out if everything would work out for Mia and Adam.


Does it?


I guess you'll have to find that out yourself.


This book gets <*><*><*><*>


(:D)
~Mag

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I've got to tell you guys, I was kind of terrified to read this book, because I knew it was going to be sad. If you've known me a while, you know I tend to avoid sad books. I'm a worrier by nature, so it doesn't do me any good to read books about people who have terminal diseases or get kidnapped or something. But I'd heard so many good things about this book, I had to give it a shot.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman 

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces - to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time. 

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One second Mia's hanging out with her family, looking forward to dinner with her grandparents and spending time with her boyfriend. The next she's hanging between life and death.

She can see her body from the outside as it's taken from the wreckage of the horrible crash to the hospital, where doctors and nurses fight to keep her alive. She can see her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins in the waiting room, tensely waiting for any news. And slowly, bit by bit, she begins to realize that the choice of whether she'll live or die rests solely in her hands.

I can't even begin to imagine how horrible a choice that would be. How can you stay without some people, or go without others? How can you decide which is more important? That's the root of Mia's problem. 

But beyond that choice, there were two major parts of If I Stay that I absolutely adored: Adam and Kim. Those two were incredible. Their loyalty and devotion to Mia was beautiful, especially Adam's. I absolutely loved Adam. I would have loved him even if the whole book had taken place in the days surrounding the accident. As it was, the flashbacks only made me love him infinitely more.

The flashbacks were, in a word, interesting. I've heard some people talk about flashbacks in general being annoying in books, but I've never minded them, especially when they tie so flawlessly into what's going on in the present of the book, which was certainly the case in If I Stay. 

This book made me happy, sad, and scared. It made me hold my breath and hope that everything would work out in the end for Mia  and the people who love her. And it made me desperately want to read Where She Went, which is (luckily) next on my TBR list.

Altogether, this book gets <*><*><*><*>

(:D)

~Mag

Teaser Tuesday: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play, and the rules are simple:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teasers come from If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I'm really liking this book so far!

1.
     I kept fingering the Popsicle-stick good-luck talisman Teddy had presented me with before we left. "Break an arm," he'd told me.
     -Page 50
2.
     His hug was strong and tight, and I knew it was his way of telling me he'd had a wonderful time.
     -Page 51

 (:D)
~Mag

In My Mailbox (2/19/12)

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by The Story Siren for talking about what you got in your mailbox each week!

Here's the info on it, copied from The Story Siren.

How IMM works:

1. Make your own IMM post! I post every week, but you don’t have to. You can do one week out of the month or every other week it’s up to you. Be sure to link back to The Story Siren blog, so that other people wanting to participate know where to get the information to do so!

1. I post my IMM on Sunday, but choose a day of the week that works for you.

1. Once you have your IMM posted, come back to The Story Siren on Sunday and add your link to the list.

1. Try to post a comment on other bloggers IMM posts. I don’t expect you to post a comment on every single one, but pick a few!

1. All book bloggers are welcome, while I’d like to keep the theme to YA literature it’s NOT a requirement.

IN MY ACTUAL MAILBOX

-This week I received a copy of Someone Else's Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts for review, so look for that coming soon!

-I also got some lovely bookmarks from Rachel over at Fiktshun! 

FROM THE LIBRARY

-If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I've heard lots of good things about this one. It's next on my TBR list.

-Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz. I've already read and loved this one! Can't wait to check out the next one.

-Pulling Princes by Tyne O'Connell. My sister found this one for me. It sounds pretty funny, so...

-Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Blake. This one looks creepy. I'm excited. ;)

Please excuse the glare on the picture!

So, what's in your mailbox this week?

(:D)

~Mag