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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Spoilers for If I Stay.
It's been three years since the accident that left Mia Hall as the only survivor. Three years since Mia walked out of Adam Wilde's life and disappeared to continue her life at Juilliard. Now Adam is living the rock star life. Celebrity girlfriend, paparazzi everywhere he goes, fans clamoring for an autograph. It was supposed to be everything he want, but all he can think about is her. When a chance encounter brings her back into his life, they explore the NYC Mia has grown to call home and the past and present weave together, leading them towards what could be the end and the goodbye they never said.
I actually preferred this book to the first. I didn't know what to expect going into it. It's completely from Adam's POV. He's struggling with the guilt of asking Mia to stay, the grief of losing her family, and the pain of losing her. He's also trying to cope with the fame that isn't really what he wants. Music and touring with the band isn't bringing him the joy he thought it would. It was a very poignant and emotional story.
It's been three years since the accident that left Mia Hall as the only survivor. Three years since Mia walked out of Adam Wilde's life and disappeared to continue her life at Juilliard. Now Adam is living the rock star life. Celebrity girlfriend, paparazzi everywhere he goes, fans clamoring for an autograph. It was supposed to be everything he want, but all he can think about is her. When a chance encounter brings her back into his life, they explore the NYC Mia has grown to call home and the past and present weave together, leading them towards what could be the end and the goodbye they never said.
I actually preferred this book to the first. I didn't know what to expect going into it. It's completely from Adam's POV. He's struggling with the guilt of asking Mia to stay, the grief of losing her family, and the pain of losing her. He's also trying to cope with the fame that isn't really what he wants. Music and touring with the band isn't bringing him the joy he thought it would. It was a very poignant and emotional story.
Ewww. Awful. And the first book was so good. Disappointing.
This book is perfect for anyone who has ever felt that they didn't find closure in a past relationship. I loved it, and I found it to be much better than If I Stay. It could be a standalone as there is enough background information that the reader needn't have read If I Stay and that in itself makes a good writer.
When I read If I Stay I was not fond of Mia. I also felt that the book was too drawn out because the essential information was given to us early in the book and the rest of the book was just Mia trying to figure out if she should wake up and live or not. But Where She Went was different.
This book is from the perspective of Adam, Mia's boyfriend three years after the accident. She broke up with him shortly after she left for Julliard and it follows his life as a rock star and how he has never gotten over her because he doesn't have any closure. Mia ends up being a famous cellist and Adam ends up at one of her concerts where she calls for him to come see her backstage and they spend the night together in New York City catching up. Throughout the book we see how well Adam's character has evolved and he continues to evolve throughout the novel as he lets himself breakdown after everything that has happened between them. This made him so real, and through his numerous flashbacks, we end up feeling much closer to him. I related to Adam a lot throughout this book and it was such a joy to read. It was bittersweet and I actually liked Mia in this book. We got to see how she has coped after the accident and why she left Adam as well as how she still feels about him.
I highly recommend this book for the emotional waves it sends you through and how well the author allows you to connect to the characters. If you haven't read If I Stay, I suggest just reading this book instead.
When I read If I Stay I was not fond of Mia. I also felt that the book was too drawn out because the essential information was given to us early in the book and the rest of the book was just Mia trying to figure out if she should wake up and live or not. But Where She Went was different.
This book is from the perspective of Adam, Mia's boyfriend three years after the accident. She broke up with him shortly after she left for Julliard and it follows his life as a rock star and how he has never gotten over her because he doesn't have any closure. Mia ends up being a famous cellist and Adam ends up at one of her concerts where she calls for him to come see her backstage and they spend the night together in New York City catching up. Throughout the book we see how well Adam's character has evolved and he continues to evolve throughout the novel as he lets himself breakdown after everything that has happened between them. This made him so real, and through his numerous flashbacks, we end up feeling much closer to him. I related to Adam a lot throughout this book and it was such a joy to read. It was bittersweet and I actually liked Mia in this book. We got to see how she has coped after the accident and why she left Adam as well as how she still feels about him.
I highly recommend this book for the emotional waves it sends you through and how well the author allows you to connect to the characters. If you haven't read If I Stay, I suggest just reading this book instead.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I didn't realize three years had passed since I first read "If I Stay" but it was long enough that I felt incredible distance from the characters. I think this really helped me enjoy this book.
I was pulled into the story immediately. The way Gayle wrote was as though she read my mind. Questions I had were answered almost as I asked them.
Although I did really like this book, I didn't love some aspects. The lyrics meant nothing to me, (although I enjoyed the musical aspect) and I don't really enjoy lyrics, poems, etc in books. Just not my thing.
Overall, I was really happy with how this duo ended.
I was pulled into the story immediately. The way Gayle wrote was as though she read my mind. Questions I had were answered almost as I asked them.
Although I did really like this book, I didn't love some aspects. The lyrics meant nothing to me, (although I enjoyed the musical aspect) and I don't really enjoy lyrics, poems, etc in books. Just not my thing.
Overall, I was really happy with how this duo ended.
5/5 - A story that made sense and was intriguing
This is way better than the first book in terms of content, character development, details, and plot. I would skip the first book and only read this. It’s a story all on it’s own. A lovely and moving story.
This is way better than the first book in terms of content, character development, details, and plot. I would skip the first book and only read this. It’s a story all on it’s own. A lovely and moving story.
Last month I fell in love with the sparse, disconnected prose and honesty of "If I Stay". The sequel, "Where She Went", is a different creature entirely.
Told from the brutally honest point of view of Adam, who was Mia's high-school boyfriend in "If I Stay", it's the bitter, angry counterpart to Mia's calm detachment.
Three years after Mia's accident, Adam's channeled his angst into a multi-million selling album. He's a hit rockstar with a gorgeous movie star girlfriend, and paparazzi follow him everywhere.
He's also very clearly unwell - he's fighting with everyone and pushing his band away, lashing out at reporters, on medication for panic attacks, obsessing over Mia, and hating every moment of his rich-and-famous life.
On a one-night stop in New York before he embarks on a dreaded European tour, Adam finds out that cellist Mia, now a rising star in the classical music scene, is playing in the city. She spots him at her concert, and they end up face-to-face for the first time in free years.
Is one evening in New York enough time to repair all the damage they've been through?
This is a very different story from "If I Stay" - it's a much more self-constrained story about the two characters. I adored it - just like in "If I Stay", every little interaction is brimming with character revealing-details. Adam's narrative is a perfect example of a guy with issues, and it never pulls any punches. The dialogue is brilliant, but for the opposite reason - while Adam's narrative is wordy and honest, the spoken words that follow are clipped and false. A perfect example of the contrast between what we think and what we say.
Recommended for fans of: "Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver, "If I Stay"
A copy of this book was provided for review by the lovely people at Random House.
Told from the brutally honest point of view of Adam, who was Mia's high-school boyfriend in "If I Stay", it's the bitter, angry counterpart to Mia's calm detachment.
Three years after Mia's accident, Adam's channeled his angst into a multi-million selling album. He's a hit rockstar with a gorgeous movie star girlfriend, and paparazzi follow him everywhere.
He's also very clearly unwell - he's fighting with everyone and pushing his band away, lashing out at reporters, on medication for panic attacks, obsessing over Mia, and hating every moment of his rich-and-famous life.
On a one-night stop in New York before he embarks on a dreaded European tour, Adam finds out that cellist Mia, now a rising star in the classical music scene, is playing in the city. She spots him at her concert, and they end up face-to-face for the first time in free years.
Is one evening in New York enough time to repair all the damage they've been through?
This is a very different story from "If I Stay" - it's a much more self-constrained story about the two characters. I adored it - just like in "If I Stay", every little interaction is brimming with character revealing-details. Adam's narrative is a perfect example of a guy with issues, and it never pulls any punches. The dialogue is brilliant, but for the opposite reason - while Adam's narrative is wordy and honest, the spoken words that follow are clipped and false. A perfect example of the contrast between what we think and what we say.
Recommended for fans of: "Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver, "If I Stay"
A copy of this book was provided for review by the lovely people at Random House.
I was expecting a lot from this book..... and my expectations were met. I have read and enjoyed 'If I Stay' but I was expecting a whole lot from 'Where She Went' due to all of the reviews I had read. In the end I couldn't even wait for my library to get a copy and I went out and bought one. And for that, I am glad. This time the story was told from Adam's POV and his voice was real, scared, pissed off..... My heart just went out to him and I wanted to put my arms around him to try to make it better (just like he wanted to do for Mia). Adam is one of my all time favorite characters.
I liked that the chapters alternated between present day and then looking back although towards the end I just wanted to find out what was going to happen...and I will admit that I was tempted to skip through the 'looking back' chapters in my hurry to get to the end. This story made me think, made me feel all the feelings. It broke my heart and gave me hope all at the same time. Oh how I loved it. And now, that I have finished the book and I know what happens... I can go back and read it again, slowly this time, and take it all in.
I liked that the chapters alternated between present day and then looking back although towards the end I just wanted to find out what was going to happen...and I will admit that I was tempted to skip through the 'looking back' chapters in my hurry to get to the end. This story made me think, made me feel all the feelings. It broke my heart and gave me hope all at the same time. Oh how I loved it. And now, that I have finished the book and I know what happens... I can go back and read it again, slowly this time, and take it all in.
3.5 stars, Re-read from Dec. 2014 after I watched If I Stay movie, still a good one.