[Review] I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Add to Goodreads

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 27/05/2011

Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 270

Source: Bought
Genre: YA - Contemporary (16+)

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Zedd - Clarity (feat. Foxes) ♪

My Rating: 

Absorbing read

My thoughts

It has been two months since I read this book, so forgive me for not really remembering too many of the specifics about this book. I still remember the important things, so I guess that's all that matters. I'm sure that my dwindling memory is not at all a reflection on the impact that this book had on me. I remember being very moved by Forman's words in I Was Here. Maybe not as much as If I Stay (that book will forever have my heart), but I still remember being moved.

I Was Here is a book about grief, and life and love. We follow our main character Cody who is devastated by her best friend Meg's recent death (she ingested a whole bottle of industrial-strength cleaner in a faraway motel room). She is left with many questions, but most of all: Why? Until she starts to dig a little deeper, and discovers that maybe it wasn't entirely of her own volition. Cody will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this. It might not bring her best friend back, but maybe, just maybe finding truth will help to ease her overwhelming feelings of guilt that came with drifting apart from her best friend when she moved away for college, and not even knowing about this side of her.

It is no surprise that I am a huge fan of Gayle Forman's writing. She is a beautiful person and author who I hope to one day have the pleasure to meet. She has a unique talent of breathing life into the characters she creates. I fell so hard for Adam and Mia in If I Stay and Where She Went. I held my breath for Allyson and Willem in Just One Day and Just One Year. Cody resonates within me on a core level. I may not have lost a friend to suicide, but I have lost friends to reasons entirely outside of my own control. People just grow apart. And like Cody, I have harboured intense feelings of guilt and questioning and grief and worry. Like Cody I care a lot, though I may be blindsided at times and miss out on the bigger picture. We may not learn too much about her. For me, sometimes it's not extremely important that the character have an illustrious background and personality. Sometimes it's just enough that the reader is able to relate to them on some intrinsic level, if the plot works.

[Review] Just One Year (#2) by Gayle Forman

Add to Goodreads

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 01/01/2013

Publisher: Random House (Definitions)
Pages: 336

Source: Bought
Genre: YA (16+) - Contemporary

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

Book Tunes
♪ Ed Sheeran - One Night ♪

My Rating: 

A welcome follow-up

My thoughts

Note: this is going to be a short review as I didn't really have much to say.

Just One Year follows on from Just One Day and is written in the POV of Willem.

I liked the continuing themes of losing & finding oneself, adventure and discovery. Willem tended to be a bit of a pain at times, but it was never unbearable for me. His indecision and longing for something that he can't quite comprehend was both somehow realistic and frustrating. I like how many of the events that occurred in Just One Day make a reappearance in this sequel; it's nice to know how much that one day mattered to Willem, even if he's not 100% sure what it all means to him for a majority of the story.

[Review] Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day

Just One Day | Just One Year

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication (dd/mm/yyyy): 08/01/2013

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 369

Source: Bought

Violence | Sexual Content | Profanity

My Rating: 


Exciting and decadent

My thoughts

I'll be completely honest. When I first heard about Just One Day I had decided that it would not affect me nearly as much as If I Stay did. I didn't think the story would be quite as complex as it ended up being. It's not just a fluffy love story about two young adults who meet and fall in love. Although I miss Mia and Adam and everyone in Forman's previous "world", I found so many great characters in Just One Day, people who felt real and some who even resonated in me. There were characters that came off as antagonistic at first, but once Allyson peeled back the layers of her perceptions/assumptions, we find more than we'd previously thought.

[Review] Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went {goodreads}

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 05/04/11

Publisher: Dutton (HB)

Source: Netgalley (ARC); Won (HB-preorder)
Age: 15+ mild language, drug use and sexual scenes

Pages: 260

My Rating:

Summary:

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: 

Read at your own risk if you have not read If I Stay!!!

I have been anxiously waiting for the release of Where She Went, the sequel to Gayle Forman's If I Stay, ever since I heard that the story of Mia and Adam was going to continue! If anything, Forman surpassed what I could have expected of the sequel, or just what was going to happen after the events of IIS. Really, it's just amazing.

The majority of this book is set in New York, and I really got a feel for the setting when . . .  (spoiler) Mia takes Adam on a tour of New York's biggest landscapes. Just, New York! :D

Once again, Gayle Forman hits the spot in the characters department. In Where She Went, not only did she completely alter the way I felt about all of the characters I'd met in If I Stay, but she then changed it back around again to allow me to sympathise with them. Take Adam for instance. Three years after the events of If I Stay, and he's a druggie; narcissistic, wry and sarcastic. Yet, I couldn't help finding him endearing in a way, and especially when I read into what his behaviour represents and roots from. I really like how there are definite links from the two books; the family make a few appearances, in Forman-style memory fashion.

Can I also say that I'm glad that Adam turned into a total ass? He's broken: both due to his rising stardom and his losses. In his flaws, he actually became more fleshed out as a person. I mean, if he was still that sweet Man he was in IIS, after all this, then I'd start thinking he was in need of a backbone. But no, he's snarky and does what he wants. Kind of.

The colossal outpour of emotions that flow seamlessly, packed tightly in yet another little book. You'll want a couple of tissues to get through this book. While I personally think that If I Stay holds more weight to it, Where She Went is beautiful in what the heartbreak and anger represents. All that tension in the three years that the couple is about; revisiting the family home and coming to terms with what happened . . . .

*sigh* This book is just so powerful. Its characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, making them multi-faceted, complex and fleshed out so that they are realistic and relatable. Of course, it's hard to relate to them on an extremely personal level, but I was so able to empathise with them. It was refreshing to read about Adam's thoughts on the events, how he seems to bluntly talk about the situation in his mind as opposed to Mia who seems to embrace it as part of her life. That her family still lives on, which is an uplifting take on Mia's part: I appreciate Forman for expressing Mia as someone who has developed and strengthened, taken the accident in stride; rather than falling apart and losing it all. She finds her way back to music: and through Adam and her encounters, Adam, too, is found again with music.

I thought that If I Stay ended in just the right way, but I found the continuation of events profound and eye-opening. The future. There is so much tension that exists, and I love when things finally reach breaking point. I really bawled my eyes out during this one scene (which Forman commented was 'satisfying to write'). The ending is also just so satisfying, that makes me glad that their story is at an end. Really? I can imagine this being an amazing movie.

Really, what can I say to convince you how amazing this book is? Where She Went and Gayle Forman are prime examples of the highlights of contemporary YA fiction. Painted with a lyrical prose that leaves readers with satisfaction and with an intrigue of the notion "after tragedy strikes, what happens to those who are left behind?" Character-driven and chilling, Gayle Forman's sequel is emotional and uplifting, stifling and perpetually stimulating. Love love love. Can't wait to finally see what new story Forman has in store; though I'm sad to finally have to say goodbye to those Oregon-originated characters.
 

Quotes:

First Lines

"Every morning I wake up and I tell myself this: It's just one day, one twenty-four-hour period to get yourself through. I don't know when exactly I started giving myself this daily pep talk--or why. It sounds like a twelve-step mantra and I'm not in Anything Anonymous, though to read some of the crap they write about me, you'd think I should be. I have the kind of life a lot of people would probably sell a kidney to just experience a bit of. But still, I find the need to remind myself of the temporariness of a day, to reassure myself that I got through yesterday, I'll get through today."

Favourite Quotes

"I feel this mad rush of anticipation, even though I know that unlike that night, tonight I won't kiss her. Or touch her. Or even see her up close.
Tonight, I'll listen. And that'll be enough."
(p. 38)


"What are you sorry about, Mia?
Even if I could bring myself to ask that--which I can't--she's jumping out of the booth and running toward the bathroom to clean the beer off herself like she's Lady Macbeth."
(p. 104--love the Macbeth reference :))

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Other:

Official Site

Gayle Forman's Blog

Email | Facebook | Twitter

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: --

[Re-Review] If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I thought to celebrate the release of Where She Went (in stores now!), I'd re-review If I Stay, which I've only ever reviewed one before, and I believe that was on Goodreads. My review for Where She Went goes live same time tomorrow. I'm sorry--I kind of went nuts and just kept on typing, so I think just this review alone is 500 words.

Title: If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 09/04/09 (HB); 10/04/10 (PB)

Publisher: Dutton (HB); Penguin Speak (PB)

Source: Bought (HB); Won (PB)
Age: 14+ mild language, violence and sexual scenes

Pages: 230

My Rating:

Summaries:

"Mia has no memory of the accident that changed her life. This inexperienced 17-year-old only recalls riding on that slippery Oregon road with her family, then, in an instant, seeing herself lifted from the twisted wreck. This affecting story of one young woman's struggle through tragedy and grieving will appeal to readers of books like Thirteen Reasons Why."

"In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...
A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands."

My thoughts: 

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK: POSSIBLE CHANCE OF SPOILERS.

Everyone said it was because of the snow.

In Oregon, the unthinkable happens: it snows. An innocent family trip to visit grandparents is cut to a halting stop when a 3-tonne truck rams through the family car's driver's side. Now orphaned musical-prodigy cellist Mia will have to make a choice: will she stay, or will she go? How can she even possibly think of leaving her family behind?

Wow. It's hard to write some form of a synopsis for this book. Without giving anything away. Anyway, you're not reading this for the synopsis, you want to get some dirt on this book right? Well I have only good things to say.

Seriously? Even after 3 reads of this book it hasn't lost a bit of its charm, and the only reason it might have is because we know there is a second book and therefore to the question "Does she Stay", the answer leans to a "yes". Still, the little moments and the chilling silences cut through me like a razor. I don't think that effect will ever be diminished.

The story is unconventional and formatted in unique 24-hour timeframe fashion. I love it. There's just something about the setting and situations that compel me time and time again to sit and read this book, even when I have other books that I must get to. If I Stay has a strange mystique about it that just drives the book. I appreciate the flashbacks, because they provide a sort of intermission between hospital scenes, all exhausting in and of themselves. Unlike many other dead people contemporary books, the tragedy that befalls this family is so innocent that it makes everything that happens later on that much harder to swallow and comprehend. I love the congruence that is shared among the family at the beginning. It's just all very well constructed.

Well, the characters . . . . I can't say too much without giving the book away, because much of this book is strung along because of the strong cast of characters that Forman has created. They're like real characters, and the good thing about books is that you're able to imagine what the characters look like for yourself. Mia is honest and passionate and a great narrator and protagonist. Her life rests on music and her cello, and with that, her family and Adam and Kim. Adam is so, so sweet in If I Stay that it's pretty shocking to see what he becomes in Where She Went. Anyway, there's so much room for fleshing out of the characters, even with 230 pages these characters held real emotion to their names. They weren't just names on a page.

I remember in my first reading I thought the writing was perfect. It is, but certainly not in the way I first thought. It reflects the mood of the book perfectly. It's brutally honest and easy to read but also hard to read. It's poetic, but only in its simplicity and quiet temper.

Before you dismiss If I Stay is just a sappy contemporary read, there ARE funny parts. There's the unique and freaky sex scene between Adam and Mia, Adam jumping through hoops to look at Mia in the ER . . . . Through all my readings, I've only ever cried through two parts of the book. Every single time. All the rest of the time during, I share my thoughts and feelings with Mia as she explores her memories and sees what is happening in her comatose state.

Love it, read it. If you didn't read it before Where She Went, then you're a wee bit silly. It doesn't matter that there is a second book. This book will still be able to be amazing and an all around powerful, emotional read. Gayle Forman is a force to be reckoned with, with a writing prowess that cannot be touched.

You know what? I haven't heard much about Gayle Forman's other, earlier books. Anyone read any?

Quotes:

First Line

"Everyone said it was because of the snow."

Favourite Quotes:

Too many spoilers! Every one of my favourites are spoilery. Censored haha.

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Other:

Goodreads Page

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: --

A trailer, a movie, and a tour.

The Trailer

Matched.

Releasing next month (December 12th for Australia), Matched is a love story set in a dystopic, futuristic world; and in the Society, they decide.

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

 

At first, I can't say I loved the trailer. However, I went back to it, and it's not half bad. It's actually pretty good. Also, the site has changed. It's looking quite spiffy, and you can even GET MATCHED, if you have a Facebook account. ;)

The Movie

No doubt you've heard of If I Stay, a contemporary YA novel that focuses on Mia, a car crash, death, mortality, memory, family . . .  love. Hauntingly beautiful, a stoic and poignant tale of a heartwrenching and trialing period of a young girl's life. Definitely a must-read. Anyway, Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay, has received much news on the progress with its movie. The movie will be produced by the same people as that big vampire 'saga' everyone is talking about (Please. I don't need to say what it is, right?)

Information is about the new director, possible Mia (who is she? :P), and crystallises the fact that a movie is going to happen! *squee*

Tweets by Gayle Forman:

EW.com: Dakota Fanning in talks for supernatural project 'If I Stay' - http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/10/21/dakota-fanning-if-i-stay/ #ew

Dakota Fanning is in talks for 'If I Stay.' Is it the right career move? http://ow.ly/2X8xG 

Yes, Dakota's in talks for Mia. And yes, we have a new director, a very cool sounding one. http://bit.ly/cnBSrW. Yippie!

Finally, some movie news!!! http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118026049.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

The Tour

So this is a double-whammy for Gayle Forman. :) I love her too much; there can never be enough Gayle Forman.

For all of you who don't know, Where She Went (pictured left), is the sequel to If I Stay. If you do not know that, haven't read IIS, please stop reading and go out and read it!!

Anyway, I'll just get on with it. Holly at Good Golly Miss Molly is hosting an ARC tour for it!! This really got me excited, since it's going to be a while before it releases. I'm so glad that Holly opened this up for the international readers and bloggers, or just those who are not on Dutton's good side. If people keep on commenting expressing their interest, it's very possible that Holly will have a second ARC in the future. ;) There are already 10+ participants, but list yourself down anyway, because luck may be on your side!

Good Golly Miss Molly tour for Where She Went by Gayle Forman

More Gayle Forman Love // Contests

If I Stay & Where She Went

By Gayle Forman

So, many of you may recall/know that I really really love If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Well, I was surfing around and I found some cool NEW If I Stay related stuff. :)

• An original song inspired by/based on If I Stay, by Jacquelyn Girling {link}
• 'Official' site has been updated!{link} Also, to receive an extra teaser for Where She Went, the sequel, there's a questionaire-thingy to answer.
• The Teaser Tour for sequel, Where She Went, has ended {link} If you haven't been following that, now is the time to read the teasers- you'll be ITCHING for April to come rolling by! Also, at many of the stops, there are *signed* covers up for grabs!

Here are the covers together:

For more covers of If I Stay, click here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Contests

1

Over at The Eclectic Reader, Teddy is hosting an international book giveaway! 

I want The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams! 1 winner, 4 books to choose from: 

- Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

- Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

- The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams

- Torment by Lauren Kate

Ends September 30th

{link}

2

Massive Shelf Clearout Giveaway!

Look at all those up for grabs!

...

I'm kidding. There are 3 prize packs, each consisting 4 books. As well as for intl' readers, 2 winners will be able to choose 2 books from that TBR list (the pic) and will be shipping via The Book Depository. Great contest, right?

Ends September 30th

 {link}

3

ARCs up for grabs.

An ARC package, which will include: The Duff, Beautiful Malice, Sapphique, I Am Number 4...and maybe some other surprises

Ends September 7th

{link}

Note: There are 6-7 hours left until my contest goes up again. Sorry to anyone who was hoping this was it. Don't worry, it will happen! :)

Waiting on Wednesday (5)

Hey everyone! I've already read 3 of my 5 planned books to read for the September Spectacular Reading Challenge... I've read 7 books in the span of 10~ days. I've got 3 reviews that will be posted as the days roll by, so hope for that. :) I just finished One Night that Changes Everything, and boy was it a compelling read! I quite liked it. Review to come next Saturday, according to my plans.

Anyway...

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

For this week, I am swooning over Where She Went (#2, IF I STAY) by Gayle Forman, which is due for release April 2011!

Why I'm Waiting on Where She Went:

Hello? Seriously, if you haven't read If I Stay yet, what's wrong with you?!?! It is one of the only books I have re-read, and only in the span of a few months! I never re-read books, but since it's such a brilliant, short but effective, compelling, simply-written but beautiful, interesting, unique-- uses a somehow familiar notion but Gayle deals with all the issues so well; just definitely a MUST READ!

Ahem. So of course, this means that once I found out about Where I Went (I'm happy I found out about this "early on"), I was jumping for joy! Also, Forman has promised a darker-approach on the Mia-Adam dynamic, namely, that they are not together anymore. Slight spoiler, but if you haven't read it yet, that's your fault. :P

Just pimping If I Stay some more, I read this one on COMPUTER the first time around! I read it in the span of one afternoon! Anyone who has read anything on computer knows how terribly painful it is, and should find some merit to this achievement/un-put-downability-ness.


Information:

- Where She Went is set 3 years after the events in If I Stay
- It is written in the POV of Adam this time around
- Forman has said Adam is not as nice as he was in If I Stay
- Adam has become an extremely successful & famous rock God
- More tears and memory/soul/heart-searching to be expected
- As title suggests- "Where She Went", Mia is MIA. ROFL!! XD Sorry, I'm lame. I understand if you un-follow me now.
- Well, okay, Mia has gone to pursue her dreams. So she's not exactly MIA, I think. Though Adam & Mia have been broken up since If I Stay
- BIG SPOILER: If the appearance of a sequel didn't spill it out, I'm sorry. Mia is well and truly ALIVE! Yeah, shocker.




Links:
Goodreads page
Where She Went Teaser Tour
Gayle Forman's site


Other Tidbits
Gayle Forman will be posting the official jacket copy of Where She Went tomorrow, or she SHOULD be, since she promised she'd post it up after her Teaser Tour. I want something that matches my US hardcover of If I Stay, so I can't say I'm particularly happy. Unless I win a US paperback, in which case I can at least relish in all the pretty covers! :D




Thanks for visiting my weekly WoW post. 2011 is looking to be a promising year in the YA book department. ♥

What are you waiting on this week?