Where She Went - Review

Where She Went (If I Stay, # 2)

By: Gayle Forman

Published: April 5th 2011 by Dutton Juvenile

264 pages

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Source: Borrowed from my local library

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Goodreads 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 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.

Unlike If I Stay, Where She Went is told from Adam's point of view only. Where She Went takes place three years from the accident that changed both Mia and Adam's lives. Without going into too much detail, we find ourselves in Adam's head after his and Mia's relationship has fallen apart and Adam really has no idea why.

Where She Went was an emotion packed read just like If I Stay, but filled with very different emotions from the ones we witnessed in If I Stay. Where She Went deals with the aftermath of putting one's life back together after such a tragic loss.

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Adam's head throughout this process. He's found himself lost in a life that's just sort of happened around him but isn't what he wants for himself at all. He's filled with anxiety, regret, confusion, and so much more.

When we finally get to hear the whole of Mia's story, you can't help but feel sorry for Mia, yet completely understand her reasoning at the same time. Gayle Forman did an excellent job tackling the feelings that Mia has had as a result of being the sole survivor in the car accident that claimed the lives of her entire family. Each emotion is raw, real, and on display.

I've heard several say that they enjoyed Where She Went more than If I Stay, and while I did enjoy Where She Went immensely, the emotion wasn't quite on the same level for me as If I Stay. I choked up at one part in Where She Went, but I wasn't bordering on tears the whole time as I was when reading If I Stay.

Either way, Where She Went is an fast paced, emotional read. Where She Went has every good thing contained within it's pages. I highly recommend both If I Stay and this worthy sequel. Where She Went gets 4 stars. Have you read Where She Went? What did you think? Let me know!