Where She Went by Gayle Forman

If I Stay #2

Published April 5, 2011 by Dutton

**SPOILER ALERT**

If you haven’t read If I Stay, this review spoils it.

Three years after the tragic accident with Mia’s family, Adam is a famous singer and his band is going on tours all around the world. Mia still plays cello and her name has been getting more popular in the classical music industry. Despite their past relationship, Adam and Mia haven’t seen each other in three years. Adam still hasn’t forgotten about Mia, but three years has forced him to try to move on. But he can’t. His heart is still with Mia. When Mia and Adam find each other in New York one evening, they spend the night together and recount the years without each other and let things go—but will their love for each other be let go forever? A heart-wrenching, emotional sequel to Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, Where She Went may deliver mixed feelings in readers about Adam and Mia.

My thoughts:

I don’t even know where to start.

Reading this, I was SO MAD at the characters. INFURIATED. Argh. You can’t just walk out of Adam’s life like that—it’s NOT FAIR! He was the one who convinced you to stay. The communications between them were so awkward, and they were jerks to each other throughout most of the book. That one scene, on the bridge, oh my gosh. I had to get up and blow my nose – and it was so intense with all the feels. As much as I hated the characters’ behavior, I thought the writing was fantastic. I thought it was so much more powerful than If I Stay and I just don’t have much else to say. I have mixed feelings about this book, but I have to give it to Gayle for the fabulous writing and emotional tension. I would be extremely curious to see this as a movie. PLEASE read this if you’ve read If I Stay and let me know what you thought! I’d love to hear your opinions.

Overall, I think I would give this 8.25 stars.

Young-Adult