Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Release Day: 5th May, 2011

Publisher: Doubleday Childrens Books

Pages: 256pgs

The Story

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 rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam get's 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.

The Review

Undeniably this book has earned itself 5 shooting stars!

No kidding! Fans of If I Stay will fully appreciate this fine piece of artwork of its sequel, WHERE SHE WENT. Whether it's the love of music or the rekindled romance, you'll love everything that this book has to offer: through its raw and somewhat real emotions, through it's almost heart-breaking intensity, and of course . . . you will also love the freakin' fantastic and very satisfying conclusion to Adam and Mia's story. This blew me away and no wonder why Gayle Forman is considered to be one of my favourite YA authors!

In WHERE SHE WENT, we face the aftermath of the recovery process and start to wonder what actually happened to Adam's Mia. The story takes place three years later after the crash (one that claimed Mia's parents and little brother) and Mia's physical recovery. Now, Mia is the rising star of Juilliard and Adam is the 'everybody-would-die-to-be-for-one-day' rock star, with his band Shooting Star rocking the music charts of fame. But since the events of If I Stay - which I have to say was such a powerful book and an unforgettable one at that - Mia and Adam have broken up . . . only Adam is left wondering, 'Where She Went?' With his rock star status, he is still at a loss over why Mia left him and is now spiralling into a black hole of hatred, loss, and a sense of betrayal. But as fate comes along, he is reunited with Mia at one of her concerts and together, they begin to explore New York City, with them also digging into their pasts. All of it was amazing!

Unlike If I Stay, WHERE SHE WENT offered more than I bargained for! Literally. While this is in Adam's point-of-view and not in Mia's, Gayle Forman still wrote raw-to-the-core words and I felt like I was with Adam or rather I was him - from him being this 'used-to-be' sweet guy and all the way down to his 'black hole' of a celebrity life and I ate all the words up because it was truly brilliant! One of Forman's best works. Adam's character was just spot-on! But what I loved most about this book was the lyrics of Adam's songs, the ones that started most of the chapters and the way we experienced Adam's hate and love for Mia! You know . . . his confusion, his desperation, his longing to know why everything fell apart between them . . . it was so intense that I felt like crying over it like I had done in If I Stay! And let me tell you: NO BOOK has ever made me cry as much or has made me feel so heart torn like WHERE SHE WENT! Adam and Mia's characters have developed so much through this book and there are no words to justify how much this book meant to me!

I think one the lines that really struck me was this one: Then she lost the battle and started to cry. All my annoyance melted. "You dumb-ass," I crooned, kissing her on her forehead. "You don't share me. You own me." This line alone proved to us readers just how much Mia meant to Adam, and it makes you all giddy on the inside when you read the lines. It was just . . . so perfect.

Okay, enough with the gushing! WHERE SHE WENT will not disappoint the fans of If I Stay because this book has literally surpassed it! Hands down this is probably one of my favourite sequels of all time, not because it's beautifully-written but the fact that that damn Gayle Forman can always make me act like such a girl whenever I read this book!

The Rating

5/5 stars

You can also check out this video here where the author, Gayle Forman, takes you on a little tour of New York City . . . the spots that are featured in the book WHERE SHE WENT! Gotta love NYC!