Reviews with content warning for Death - Where She Went

Title: Where She Went
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay, #2
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.0
Pub Date: April 5, 2011

T H R E E • W O R D S

Emotional • Raw • Beautiful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Fast-forward three years since the devastating accident, Mia and Adam are living on opposite coasts. She a rising star at Julliard, he settling into new rock star status. With Adam in New York, they are brought together for one night, revisiting the past and opening their hearts to the future.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Where She Went is a solid continuation of the love story first started in If I Stay. I appreciated this one being from Adam's perspective. Forman's writing is so in depth I really felt like I was inside Adam's mind. I'll admit rekindled love stories aren't always my cup of tea, but getting some of the backstory allowed for seeing some huge growth in the characters, and the dialogue felt so authentic. The musical aspect also added a little something extra to the experience, as did that extras at the end of the book. Overall, a little too predictable for my liking.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• those who enjoyed If I Stay
• fans of Sarah Dessen

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'It would've been easier to die. It's not that I want to be dead now. I don't. I have a lot in my life that I get satisfaction from, that I love. But some days, especially in the beginning, it was so hard. And I couldn't help but think that it would've been so much simpler to go with the rest of them.

*Bonus material*

"Happy Birthday"
Prepare for Landing, Track 4

Another day, another year
To light the candles, without you here
It's still the day that you were born
She says we laugh as we mourn

Nothing, she tells me, is ever really gone
Not you, not me, not him, it all just rolls along
An object never disappears without any trace
In its absence, there still exists a kind of negative space
Fill it up, she says, with love, with song, with candles on a cake
Light the darkness, take my hand, it will all be okay

So happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday, we sing
Then plunge our fingers into cake with neon sweet frosting
Hand slick with sugar icing, we feed each other cake
Like a wedding we'll have someday, the family we create

Nothing, she tells me, is ever really gone
Not you, not me, not them, so long as we carry on
So light a candle, take a breath, blow deep now, blow strong
Because after darkness, there always comes a dawn

Content Warnings

mlleelora's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

regalreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

ahopper7's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ve had this book on my shelf for over 5-6 years. I bought it right after I first read If I Stay, but then never got around to reading it. Usually it’s hard for me to get into a sequel of a book I haven’t read in a long time, but If I Stay was a book that always stayed with me (excuse that horrible unintentional pun, it’s the only words coming to mind right now). I loved the story of Mia, loved how unique it was and that ending broke me. So reading Where She Went brought me right back in, and I loved reading from Adam’s POV. I also really love that the majority of this book is set in one long beautiful emotional sad intense night out in NYC with Mia and Adam finally getting their reconnection. I also really enjoy the way that Gayle writes, it’s poetic and the words flow as I read, it easily creates the movie in my head as I watch these beautiful characters cry and scream and laugh. The ending was just right for me. I’m so glad I picked this up finally.

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