Of Restarting, Rekindling, & Reconnecting

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

“Forman follows up her bestselling If I Stay with a story that is equally if not more powerful...”

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.

Gayle Forman has done it again! The realism and conflict in this story reflects the drama from If I Stay. Reading it from Adam's perspective left me depressed and troubled. I felt extremely sorry for him, especially how he struggled to come to terms with losing Mia. He fell into a blackhole or vortex that he couldn't get out of until he and Mia reconnect and talk about what happened. I couldn't put the book down because I had so much hope for Adam and Mia. The little flashes of their relationship in If I Stay made me feel like they were ment to be together.

I do love the book. I love how I can tell that Adam really, truly cares for Mia because it's like his entire life falls apart after she leaves. I love the lyrics to Shotting Stars' debut album Collateral Damage are incorporated at the beginning of every-other chapter. The lyrics connect to Adam's struggle so much and show, through music, how the void that is Mia has changed his personality. Everyone will love seeing Adam and Mia reconnect, rekindle, and restart their lives. Whether it's together or apart...forever.


I recommend that everyone who loved If I Stay should definitely Where She Went. It's worth the time used to read it.

Overall, this book was rated:

- Gilbert