Where She Went by Gayle Forman

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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.

My thoughts

Adam story was just as touching and heartwrenching as Mia's in If I Stay, though in quite a different way. Where If I Stay focused on life, Where She Went was much more about loss, and how to deal with it. 

Three years have past since Mia's accident and since she left him in the airport - and never came back. Adam has become a rockstar, but even though he's achieved everything he wanted he's not happy. He has fallen out with music and life, and he lives day by day, assuring himself that if he got through yesterday, he may get thorugh today as well, maybe even tomorrow. I was sad to see what had become of Adam in this book. He was such an amazing guy in If I Stay, but sadness and sorrow had changed him a lot. I still liked Adam very much, and though he seemed very different now, you could still see the caring, wonderful guy underneath. 

I have to admit that I didn't quite like how he led his life after Mia left him, sort of giving up on everything. I mean, considering Mia being able to pick herself up and go on with her life after what happened to her, he  he initially just gave in to misery. While I did understand his sorrow, and how he just wanted to drown in his grief I was a bit disappointed with him in the beginning. As everything was unfolded, however, you find out there's a lot more to his story than just Mia leaving him, that he also lost someone he cared about in the accident, and being in the band, playing music is nothing like it was before.  

I loved Mia in this book. She is such a strong character, and I still very much admire her. I was impressed by how she handled everything, her loss, her life, and that she didn't want pity from anyone. She just wanted to live life like everybody else. I think she could maybe have dealt with Adam in a better than just leaving him like that, but I couldn't resent Mia, because knowing her from If I Stay, I knew she had a reason for doing what she did. But you'll have to read for yourself to see if that is true. 

I liked how the story planned out, though I think there was a bit too many flashbacks. Where I didn't mind it in the previous book, I think it broke the story up too much in this. It's not that I didn't like what was told, I did for the most part (though some of it were a bit painful to read, because Adam past was heartbreaking at times), it was just a bit too much. That being said, I really liked this book and I simply couldn't put it down. I loved Mia and Adam's tour through the city, and how they rediscover each other - and perhaps their love. And Adam finally finding himself again. 

If you liked If I Stay this book is a must-read. 

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆  

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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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 heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My thoughts

I didn’t know what to expect from this book, besides it being sad. Surprisingly, it wasn’t. Well, not that much anyway, because it was sad. But this book is just as much about life as it is about death, and that life can be worth choosing even though it seems there’s nothing left to live for. I was also surprised by how much I liked the book. No, loved this book! It was absolutely amazing, and I think Forman's writing is equally amazing. She made everything and everyone seem so real. I also really liked how she weaved past and present together, showing Mia's life before the accident through her memories. It never felt forced, and I was never bothered by it, on the contrary - I loved every single bit of Mia's memories. After the accident I liked that Mia was mostly detached from everything, her injuries, her loss. Like she was floating above, looking from the outside, never really comprehending. Otherwise I think it would have been way too emotional, or more emotional than it was, anyway. But then there's this moment where she suddenly acknowledge or understand everything... and it was so gutwrenching.

I think Mia was a great character, but I find it difficult to explain why I liked and admired her so much. She was a quiet sweet person with a certain calmness about her. But at the same time she had an inner strength and she was very stubborn. She faced some hard choices; first before the accident where she had to choose whether to follow her dream as a musician and go to Julliard or stay with her family and the love of her life; and then after the accident the choice remains, should she stay.. or go?
While I was reading, I couldn't help wondering what I would do in Mia's situation. Would I want to stay behind? And what would make me stay behind, if everything seemed lost? But then, through Mia, you see all the things that's left to live for. All through the book I awaited Mia's decision and what would make her choose. I think whichever she chose, I would understand, and that's one of the things I loved about this book; that I could truly emphasize with Mia.

Actually, I loved all the characters in this book. Adam was simply perfect, both from Mia's memories before the accident and everything he did afterwards. He was so sweet and he cared so much about Mia, and he would do everything for her - even if it meant doing the one thing he would never want to do. Mia's parents, who were just so funny, real and awesome, her brother Teddy, their friends, Mia's best friend. And of course Gramps. He didn't say all that much, but when he spoke to Mia - well, he got through alright.

I would most definitely recommend this book. Really, you must go read this book. It's a very stunning book, and so much more than I ever expected. But I have to warn you; you'll probably want to have the sequel, Where She Went, close by when you finish this, because you'll want to tear right into it.

A new favorite of mine.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Cover reveal: Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

He’s arrogant, domineering, and—To. Die. For… 
Hunter is a ruthless killer. The Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe him too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job, that is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: Protect a human from his mortal enemy. 
Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into a walking glow stick. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena's temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he's doing the unthinkable - breaking the rules he's lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena's life...or is it Hunter?

Obsession will be available May 31 2013 with Entangled's Covet line.

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About the author

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russel Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

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Absence... and Bloglovin

I sorry for having been rather absent for... well, it's kind of been a long time now, and it'll be a while longer. I'm stuyding for my exams, and it takes up a LOT of my time, which means not really any time to write reviews and other stuff on the blog. I do get to read a bit, and I have a bunch of book I'd like to review and share with you!! I might write a bit here in May, but my exams are in the end of this month, so I'll probably go craaaazzzyyy soon o_O BUT I'll definitely be back in June, where I'll get to write about those wonderful books I've been reading.

I cannot write a blog post without mentioning books, and there is one series I HAVE to recommend, and that I think everybody should read, if you haven't already, and that series is:

Slammed by Colleen Hoover

These books (Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl) are absolutely amazing!! Really, I cannot recommend them enough.

Also, I've finally got on Bloglovin!! Yay! So I'd love if you would follow me there! And I'll of course follow back.