Russie Reviews: Where She Went [Gayle Forman]

"Three years have passed since the accident which took Mia’s family away. Now a known cellist hailing from Juillard, Mia attempts to pick up her life once more and start anew; a life where she can actively pursue her passions without the ghosts of her past looking over her shouler.

Since the split, Adam has grown successful. Shooting Star dominates the charts and embarks on a world tour in a number of days. However, Adam’s problems run deep; he is isolated from his band, reporters and interviewers drive him up the wall, and his girlfriend doesn’t seem to trust him as much as she used to.

One fateful night brings them together after three years of separation - and that night might be the one they have secretly been longing for."

Good evening, Darlings! I'll be reviewing Gayle Forman's Where She Went. As usual, the Read More link is just down there. Be wary of spoilers, as I may be discussing potential spoilers and all those. ^_^

If I Stay was able to make me cry due to its highly emotional scenes involving Mia and her family; particularly the parts where Mia chose whether to stay or to go. Those parts punched me straight in the gut and I recall silently tearing up in bed while reading. 

It was all because of Adam.

Adam is massively complicated. He's his own character. From the outside, from a mere spectator's point of view you get a silent, brooding young man who likes to be away from the limelight than in it. He has a girlfriend of his own, he likes to keep things private, he's the mastermind behind the amazing lyrics of the band's second album. From the outside, Adam's like the wonder boy of the novel: he simply has it all.

However, as Where She Went goes on, we see all the glamorous layers pulled back. Adam rips them apart and reveals his rawest self throughout the course of the novel. We find out that he's still bitter, he's still upset, he's still heartbroken. Behind the fame and the cover up, Adam isn't the perfect wonder boy that the media has perceived him as. 

We get to know Adam's flaws and mistakes while witnessing him agonize over one single mystery: why did she leave? His heartbreak affected him to the point of withdrawing from the band, keeping him in bed and resenting Mia deep, deep down in his heart. Adam coped. He attempted to wash it away with groupies and cigarettes and Bryn, he played and played until the music was an obligation and not a passion. 

If I Stay was a Mia-focused story. Where She Went focuses on Adam completely. We get to know how he feels this time. We get to read how Adam's heartache affected him. We get to realize with Adam how he was also the cause of Mia's anger towards him. 

The rest of the book was pretty damn awesome. We got to see Mia again and finally find out why she was angry at him. We figure out that she has steadily moved on throughout the years, but at first kept a tucked away anger towards Adam. Mia has grown and flourished, rising through the ranks and not letting the accident dampen her path. Mia matured and improved quite a lot as a character; she is definite proof that an accident doesn't define you - it's you who defines yourself. 

And what's another thing which I really, really loved. Overall? Where She Went is pretty freaking brilliant.

Kudos to Gayle Forman for realistically portraying a male lead and excellently writing things from his point of view. Kudos to her for fleshing Adam (and Mia!) out even more. Kudos to her for making me cry by the end of the book. I am not ashamed. 

"'You know, I thought about that a lot these past couple of years,' she says in a choked voice. 'About who was there for you. Who held your hand while you grieved for all that you'd lost?' 

Mia's words rattle something loose in me and suddenly there are tears all over my damn face again. I haven't cried in three years and now this is like the second time in as many days. 

'It's my turn to see you through,' she whispers." (Where She Went, p. 246)

excuse me while I pathetically sob into my pillow