Where She Went (If I Stay #2) – Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman
Publishing Info: April 5, 2011 by Penguin
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: June 26, 2012
Related Posts: If I Stay (If I Stay #1), Just One Day (Just One Day #1), Sisters in Sanity, If I Stay (If I Stay #1), Where She Went (If I Stay #2), Just One Day (Just One Day #1), Just One Night (Just One Day #2.5), I Was Here, Leave Me, I Have Lost My Way

Picking up several years after the dramatic conclusion of If I Stay, Where She Went continues the story of Adam and Mia, from Adam's point of view. Ever since Mia's decision to stay -- but not with him -- Adam's career has been on a wonderful trajectory. His album, borne from the anguish and pain of their breakup, has made him a bona fide star. And Mia herself has become a top-rate cellist, playing in some of the finest venues in the world. When their respective paths put them both in New York City at the same time, the result is a single night in which the two reunite -- with wholly satisfying results

I must admit, at first I was a little bit unsure that we were getting this story from Adam’s perspective after falling totally in love with Mia’s story in IF I STAY. Needless to say, I was sooo not disappointed! It took a small bit of adjusting from a female perspective to a male perspective since I wasn’t all together ready for it, but writing from any angle, Gayle Forman does an amazing job with building characters and just overall beautiful writing. I definitely saw the difference between Mia’s first person and Adam’s — I felt like in the first book, Mia had a very pronounced maturity to her tone and her presence whereas with Adam (and we’re supposed to), we have more of a “dude” feel. By that, I don’t mean that we have less emotion because that is nowhere near the case. The language mostly is just a little bit looser and we see a more masculine side, a little bit rougher without being abrasive, and a little less proper.

Okay, now to the story! I loved it. Love love love this series! If I was impressed with the first book, this one surely didn’t disappoint me as I often fear with sequels. I immediately picked up on Adam’s perspective and to be honest, despite his forthcoming of emotion at Mia’s beside, I wasn’t really sure if he was in love with Mia and how strong his feelings actually were. Throughout all of Where She Went, we see just how rough it’s been on him since he and Mia stopped communicating and just how much she really did mean to him. She was his world, and you can see and feel the devastation coming from him.

Guys, I’m not afraid to admit it. I totally cried. I got so sucked into the story and I just totally let myself be thrown into that world. There was a totally heartbreaking moment which I needed to note, and as all of the poignant moments in my life (at least in my head), it had a soundtrack. Adam turns on Sufjan Steven’s song “Chicago” — and with that album (Illinoise) always standing out in my head as being particularly emotional (let’s not even talk about “Casimir Pulaski Day” because I cry every time I hear that song), I completely lost it. During that scene as he’s listening to that song, I had it playing in my head and I just started letting the tears fly. I’ve always been strong into music so I absolutely adore when authors put songs into their stories. It really brings me in a layer further and helps me actually put myself in the story since I have a connection to the music that’s play (something I forgot to mention in my review of ONE MOMENT by Kristina McBride  — rats!). That, and I always wanted to be the person who puts together soundtracks for movies. Another dream job!

Sidenotes aside (wait, isn’t that redundant?), I loved the story and I absolutely adore Gayle Forman’s writing! I’m so glad I rushed to read this book so soon after the first! Usually I put a little gap in there so I get to enjoy a series as long as I can/as long as I can hold out, but when I found this in the library, I had to pick it up right away!

5/5 stars
Loooooove. End of story.

BOOKS LIKE WHERE SHE WENT…
If I Stay by Gayle Forman — Please go read the first one if you haven’t already! Please!!!!!!
…OR…
One Moment by Kristina McBride — Another contemporary YA that I loved! Some moments just so full of emotion, worry, panic, love, betrayal.. Man, this has got it all.

You can also check out my post “12 Books to Read If You Liked IF I STAY” for more recommendations!