Where She Went by Gayle Forman Review

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (April 5, 2011)
ISBN-10: 9780525422945
ISBN-13: 978-0525422945
Received: Librarything Early Reviewer

                 5 Butterflies

Product Description:

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 Julliard'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.

My Thoughts:

I was a little late to the game with this series.  Despite everyones recommendation's, I didn't actually get around to reading "If I Stay" until a couple weeks ago!  I don't know why I put it off for, but I'm so glad that I finally picked it up!!!  It was great! 

After reading the emotionally charged "If I Stay" I was afraid that the follow wouldn't be able to live up to the standards the first book set.  My worries were for nothing.  Adam's book, while completely different, was still just as emotionally charged and powerfully written.

This tortured, damaged Adam is a much different Adam from the light-hearted romantic that we met in "If I Stay", but I think I fell even more in love with him with each and every page.  What is it about an emotional damaged bad-boy with a guitar??  Mia, having held him to his promise, has cut him from her life, but in doing so, it seems that it tore his heart out in the process.  Adam is nothing but a shell, and getting through each day for him is a constant struggle.

I loved how as Mia and Adam reconnect the book would flash back to things that had happened over the last three years, or things that happened in the past when they were together.  There shared history was always there in the conversations and it made the story very sweet and romantic. 

As all the different peices of this story start to fall together, and you start to see them as a whole, you realize what a truly beautiful love story this book is.  Mia's and Adam's past, present, and future all collide to make this such a wonderful read.  I love Gayle Forman's writing, and I can't wait to read more by this author!