Review: I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman 
Release Date: March 27, 2018 
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Contemporary 
Source: ARC won from Bookish First 
Add to Goodreads! 
Amazon | BN | Indiebound | Kobo 

A brand-new, heart-wrenching novel from the bestselling author of If I Stay and I Was Here, Gayle Forman Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from home to find the boy that he loves, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City after a family tragedy leaves him isolated on the outskirts of Washington state. After the three of them collide in Central Park, they slowly reveal the parts of their past that they haven't been able to confront,and together, they find their way back to who they're supposed to be. Told over the course of a single day from three different perspectives, this is a story about the power of friendship and being true to who you are. 

Review: 

I can't even begin to describe the excitement I felt when I found out that Gayle Forman was releasing a new book in 2018. Gayle won me over all the way back in 2009 with the heart-wrenching and beautifully written If I Stay. Since then she's become one of my go-to authors, aand each of her books I've read has managed to become a winner. I went into I Have Lost My Way with hope and anticipation, and as luck would have it, I wasn't disappointed one bit. 

I Have Lost My Way contains three POVs: Freya, Nathaniel, and Harun. On the surface they couldn't appear any more different. Freya is quickly reaching celebrity status with her song writting and singing; Nathaniel is stepping into New York City for the first time ever, looking for peace and purpose after a sudden death of a loved one; and Harun is torn between fulfilling his family's expectations while also being true to himself. However, while they're all dealing with their own set of problems and struggles, they all share one thing: they've lost their way. 

I found all three characters to be incredibly relatable as well as lovable. I liked the way in which they were brought together, and while sometimes it did seem slightly far fetched, I didn't let myself dwell too much over it, because together Freya, Nathaniel, and Harun were the ultimate trio. They gave and they took. They helped each other see new things and willingly and unwillingly helped them overcome their fears and setbacks. I can't say I have a favorite out of the three. I found each to be interesting, and I loved how different they were. Gayle Forman addresses so many challenges teens as well as adults face everyday through their characters. It's hard not to find at least some common ground. 

There's not much action and suspense here. Sure, Nathaniel, Freya, and Harun are dealing with their own issues, some of which are resolved and some that aren't, and sometimes that brought about curiosity but not in on-the-edge-of-my-seat kind of way. Instead I Have Lost My Way is an incredibly character driven book. Gayle dives into relationships and personalities, the events that can make or break a person, and the driving force that makes someone whole again. The narrative switches between now and the past (a.k.a. the times that lead them to this point), and Gayle does such a wonderful job of bringing it together. Like with her past books, Gayle utilizes a simple yet captivating writing style. I love how she made the most simple events here so incredibly life-changing, and how she addressed a common feeling (loosing one's way). She has such a way with words, especially when it comes to bringing about emotions and life observations. Honestly, this book gave me all the feels - happiness, sadness, anger, hope, etc. 

Overal, I Have Lost My Way is another 5-star book from Gayle. It's a quick book, less than 300 pages, yet it covers a lot of ground. It's sad yet hopeful. It has the ability to break your heart that put it back together again. Better yet, it gives the kind of ending I love - an ambiguous yet hopeful one, allowing you to make your own decisions on what happens next. 

5 stars!! 

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Summary/Cover Image from Goodreads:

A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

Review:

Ever since I read If I Stay, Gayle's breakthrough YA Novel, I've been a huge fan. Therefore, when I heard about Just One Day, I knew I had to read it. It sounded amazing from the summary alone. I mean, romance, exotic settings, and the twist of falling head over heels in love in just one day? What's not to love about that?! Thankfully, Just One Day was an extraordinary YA book, one that provided just what I was looking for---even if I didn't always realize it.

If I was asked to sum up Just One Day in one word, I would probably pick frustrating. Sure, it was beautiful, thrilling, and emotional among many other things, but when it comes down to it this book is FRUSTRATING, like throw your hands in the air frustrating. However, even though I hated, no loathed, the frustrating part, it's what made it such a worthwhile and spectacular read by the end, to tell the truth, and without it, I don't think this book could have packed quite the punch it did by the end. But I'm getting to far ahead of myself, so lets start with the characters.

Allyson....I think all of us have parts of Allyson in us. Allyson is the typical "good" girl. She has the need to always follow the rules, to never stray to far from the path she's been put on, and honestly, she's fine what that. It's comfortable being boring to her. However, one day, she becomes Lulu, and Lulu is everything Allyson is not. She says and does what she wants. However, just as quickly as Lulu appears, she disappears once again, leaving Allyson Allyson. To be honest, I hated Allyson for most of the book, and that's probably because she frustrated me so much. After her day with Willem, she became so mopey and whiney and just all round pathetic. I couldn't take it. I mean, I get why she was upset and sad, but she just screwed so much up. It annoyed me to pieces, and several times, I almost gave up on Just One Day because of it. However, I stuck through, and I'm glad I did, because as the book progressed, I started to see that this book was more than just a romance, it was about discovering yourself, and managing to stand and be brave at your lowest point, no matter how hard it may be, and honestly, seeing Allyson go through this journey was amazing (even if it was frustrating), especially towards the end! Now on to Willem....he was such a mystery to me throughout the book, and in some ways I loved that and in some ways I didn't. For one, I never really could figure out if he was a good guy or a bad guy. However, I did enjoy the mystery as well as development he stirred up for Allyson.

The plot in this was really something new I thought. As mentioned above, I loved the whole "one day" aspect, and Forman really managed to execute the idea quite well. I enjoyed how she managed to really work the fun and exotic settings into it, especially when she tied in little tidbits of history. As mentioned before, this book is more of about finding yourself than a romance, and Forman did an amazing job with that, just like she has with the rest of her books. She really managed to make me feel Allyson's emotions throughout the book, and while at times I wanted nothing more than to tell Allyson off, it really allowed for this book as well as its character to find a special place in my heart. I can't really describe, but if you give this one a try and stick it out, you'll see what I'm talking about. Truly, Forman is an incredible writer.

In all, Just One Day is frustrating but by the end, I was truly taken away by the beautiful and emotionally charged story Forman presents. I CAN'T wait to read Just One Year and to be transported to the world of Willem and Allyson for their final act.

Grade: A+

Just One Day (Amazon, Barnes and Noble) is now out!

Source: Library 

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

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.

Review:

Two years ago a little book named If I Stay captured my heart with its fantastic writing as well as characters and world building, and with Where She Went, this statement rings even more true. Heartbreaking as well as heartwarming, Gayle Forman’s Where She Went picks the reader up with the very first word and doesn’t let go until the very last.

Where She Went opens up three years after If I Stay left off. However, everything is much different from what it used to be. Adam is a famous rock singer, and Mia’s thriving at Julliard, quickly becoming the next big thing in classical music. Moreover, while these two seem to have everything and more, they don’t have each other…they haven’t since Mia left Adam all those years ago unexpectedly. However, when Adam runs into Mia once lonely night in New York City, everything shifts once again. Thrown together on a wild goose chase, Mia and Adam are left to face the past as well as the future. Will they came together once again, or will they be left even more far apart at the end of the night? In addition, what exactly happened all those years ago as well as the one’s leading up to this night? Only time and more pages will tell in this heart-wrenching yet hopeful sequel to If I Stay.

When I first learned that Where She Went would be told from Adam’s perspective, I have to admit, I was a bit worried. I wondered if Gayle Forman would be able to pull it off…if she would be able to make me as dedicated to Adam’s story as she did with Mia’s. However, I should never have doubted her, as not only did she allow jump Adam and his emotions and feelings to jump of the page, but she left so much room for me as well as other readers to relate to him and like him.

Adam is a character who is very lost in life. He doesn’t really know what he wants, let alone how to get it. He’s a character who while whined a bit too much, still remanded loveable, easy to root for, and most importantly, relatable. However, what I liked most about it was the way I was able to see the whole situation from If I Stay in a very different light, a very intriguing one to say the least.

I also adored the plot in this one. The way Gayle jumped from present to what occurred in the past three years was nothing short of brilliant, as it truly opened my eyes to what lead Mia and Adam to becoming so far apart yet so close. I also loved the wild goose chase Mia lead Adam on, as well as the way through it Mia and Adam’s characters both grew. I could go on and on for days about it but I don’t want to give anything away.

Lastly, just like in If I Stay, Gayle Forman’s writing is flawless. I’m constantly awed by how easily she’s able to develop her characters into such well-rounded people so to say. She’s just an incredible writer.

In all, Where She Went blew me away in all ways possible. It was, without a doubt, the perfect ending to Mia and Adam’s story…the ending I didn’t realize I needed.

In addition, can I just add how much I’m looking forward to reading more by Ms. Forman?

Grade: A+

Where She Went is now out!

Source: Netgalley

Inspired Friday with Gayle Forman

Gayle Forman is the author of several books for young adults including her most recent one, If I Stay.

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

The file name for the first draft of If I Stay was Why Not? It’s not that Why Not? was ever a title I had in mind for the book. It was more that when I first started writing, I was not sure if what I was writing was a novel, a young-adult novel, a viable anything. Also, at that point, even though I’d published a couple of books, including a YA novel (Sisters in Sanity, which I think about twelve people had read) and a travel memoir (You Can’t Get There From Here: A Year On The Fringes of a Shrinking World, read by slightly more than twelve), I did not have a literary agent (mine had quit agenting) and my editor had left her job, which meant I really didn’t have a publisher either. I had a half-written novel, which was being re-written as a YA novel, and that was not working in YA any better than it had been working in adult form. So basically, I felt like I was starting from square one in the publishing business, even though I’d been working as a journalist and author for ten years.

So this is where I was when I got the idea for If I Stay, and the idea really came as a question (semi spoiler alert): What would you do if you knew that your family had died and you’d been left behind? It’s something I’d thought about a lot, for years. But suddenly, this character, Mia—this 17-year-old cello player popped into my head, fully formed, even though I knew nada about cello—and demanded my attention. She was here to answer that question for me.

When I started writing, I had no idea where she would take me, what the answer would be, what her decision would be. I also had no idea if what I was doing was for my own gratification or edification, or if it was meant to be a book that people might read. Because really? A young-adult novel, about an out-of-body teen cello player having to decide between life and death? This did not seem like a Good Idea. And I did not have all the usual people—agent, editor, etc.—to run it past.

Instead, I didn’t do any of that. I mentioned the idea to one friend. She started to cry. I started to cry. A day or two later, I started writing. I saved the file as Why Not? I did not tell anybody what I was doing, not my friends, not my usual group of writer pals who read my works in progress, not even my husband for a while. Nobody. I just kept going, which is hugely uncharacteristic for a blabbermouth like me.

I got so completely swept up in the story that the question of whether or not the book was a book or who it was meant for or whether it was too heavy or depressing to be YA, none of that mattered. I just wrote. And wrote. And wrote. I figured I would worry about the other stuff later. And in a weird way, it didn’t matter. Writing it was such an emotional experience, such a—and I know this sound cheesy—transcendent one, that it was gratification and reward enough.

So given all that uncertainty and secrecy and not even thinking of this as novel, it has made what’s happened to it all the more surreal. This thing that started as Why Not? in total privacy is being published in the far corners of the world and I get emails from people responding to it in the most personal of ways, which both blows my mind and fills my heart.

Maybe there’s some lesson in that. Something about following a path with no obvious outcome, about it being okay to ask questions that you might not have answers to. Hey, why not?

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

Thanks so much, Gayle! :)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Summary:

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. (from Amazon)

Review:

Before starting If I Stay, I had high exceptions. Since, I had heard some great things about it. Though, I wondered, in the back of my mind, if this could possibly be as good as people were saying, and it was, but even better!

If I Stay was a heartfelt, amazing, and thought provoking novel that I quickly devoured in two days. Between breaks at school, during study hall, basically any time I had free time, I would always be caught reading this. It was just that EXCELLENT!

I loved the characters, especially Mia. She was presented in such a way that you could feel her pain and anger at the world while still understanding why she would want to stay or leave. Also, I liked how the novel would flash back between present and past, because you got to see how excellent of relationships she had with her parents, best friend, boyfriend, and grandparents. Lastly, I enjoyed reading about the other characters, such as Kim, Adam, and Willow, since even their emotions and fight for Mia to stay jumped off the page from the start.

The plot and writing was also interesting and well done. Some of the twists and turns to the story were predictable, while still being interesting. Plus, the writing just flowed in this lyrical way making this one of my favorite books of ‘09.

My Only Problem? It seemed too short. I would have loved for it to be longer, since as soon as you got into Mia’s head completely, it was coming to a quick close. Plus, the ending I just couldn’t understand what had happened. Maybe I’m dense or missing something big, I don’t know. So, my questions to those of you have read this, do you understand what happened at the end? I would love to read some of your opinions.

Overall, If I Stay was one magical journey that will defiantly bring a tear or two to your eyes several times. I can’t wait to read more by Gayle!

Grade: A+

* Much thanks goes to JL for sending me this lovely book!