Showing posts with label Gayle Forman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gayle Forman. Show all posts

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Singing in the shower (and maybe dancing) is a good way to relieve stress. When I am singing in the shower, I imagine myself to be the artist. I imagine myself singing, dancing and waving to an adoring crowd. Who hasn’t had a dream about being a famous artist? Who hasn’t imagined having their amazing talents discovered? I think we all have at one point, but never does it occur to us that it could be a nightmare if that passion dies.

One thing I found interesting about Where She Went was that it was from Adam’s point of view. It was a really good read so much that I could not put the book down. If I Stay was a lovely read, and it was very emotional and compelling. I was glad to see that Forman was able to keep consistency with both stories.

Where She Went


It has been three years and Adam is now the lead singer of a very successful band. He is getting ready to go on tour, but the fame and the lack of normalcy have gotten to him. The most life changing thing for him however, has been the fact that Mia left him. After three years, she is still not a topic that he is comfortable discussing and protects Mia and himself from his chaotic life (media, his new girlfriend). I don’t know about you, but I think not having closure on an emotional subject can be a little consuming. What if you have no idea what happened? What if one day, the person you love most just stopped talking to you and you have no idea why? I mean, most of us would move on but in this case Adam has a hard time letting go.

Gayle Forman - Where She WentThe story develops a little slow, and we don’t learn about Mia’s reason for ending their relationship until much later. I was a little angry with her, because when they finally see each other (pure coincidence) she avoids the topic all together and embarks on this tour of New York while Adam is trying not to explode with questions. When Mia explains her reasons it makes a lot of sense, and it ties back to If I Stay. Mia didn’t want to stay. Adam has always felt guilty for making her stay, and he promised that he would let her go if she did.

Anyway, the last part of the book was pretty amazing! I am a sucker for lasting love, and these two little music birds sure did know who to show it. I strongly recommend the book. It's just that type of story, even if you haven’t read If I Stay you can still understand the entire story. I can't wait to read another book by Gayle Forman, she is a talented author.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

What is the one thing that always makes you happy? In my case it is music, I purchase music once a week (Yes, I purchase all my music because I can’t bring myself to download illegally). I am definitely grateful for iTunes’s $0.69 deals! I was pleasantly surprised when I found If I Stay because of the significance music has throughout the story. I have to admit that that I was scared to read these books. I read some reviews and I didn’t want to read such a depressing book. I thought I would be weeping throughout the entire story, but there were only a few scenes that made me cry like a baby. Anyway, I really enjoyed Forman’s writing, she can definitely evoke emotions.


Mia lives with a great family, her parents are cool and her little brother is sweet. Mia loves to play the cello and practices almost 8 hours a day, so it’s interesting to see her relationship evolve with Adam. Adam the rocker and Mia the classical musician. They have a sweet, loyal, and honest love for one another. Adam becomes the third child in Mia’s family household. He spends a lot of time with Mia at home and they enjoy every single moment they are together. One of My favorite moments in the book is of Mia and Adam alone in her room and Adam asks Mia to “play” him (You’ll have to read the book to see what I am talking about). You will enjoy it as much as I did. Trust me.

But it’s just as they say, we can’t have it all. We always have to choose, we can never have the best of both worlds. When Mia and her family are involved in a fatal car accident her life turns upside down. Mia has an out-of-body experience and sees everything that happens to her parents and her brother. She sees everything that happens to her while she is in the hospital. Mia understands that she has to make the choice to stay or leave – it’s difficult for her to decide when she sees the people that wish for her to stay. This is when my second favorite moment happens; Mia realizes what happened to her family and I was expecting a chaotic reaction, but instead it was the opposite and somehow that silence portrayed the pain. Ultimately Adam and music helped Mia to make the choice between life and death.