Hi all. I am Adam, the leading character of the book ‘Where She Went’ by Gayle Forman. If you have read ‘If I Stay‘ the first book in the series, you must be well aware of Mia, my girlfriend. ‘If I Stay’ is all about Mia. Her inner turmoil to stay or join her family in heaven, her life before accident, her passion for music and Cello and her family. ‘Where She Went’ is Adam’s story written from my POV.
Wow I was super excited when I found out that ‘Where She Went’ will be covering my side of the story. It should be just like Midnight Sun by Stephine Meyer where Twilight was written from Edwards’ POV. Readers had loved Mia’s dilemma after accident and blissful life before accident going parallel with the main story. So I expected same with ‘Where She Went’ as well.
‘Where She Went’ was also written in the same style as ‘If I Stay’. Every alternate chapter is a flash back going hand in hand with the present story. But the problem was ‘Where She Went’ is tad boring to read then compare to ‘If I Stay’. ‘If I Stay’ has a perfect balance of melancholy and happiness and a mindblowing suspense tingling all the time. That is not the case with ‘Where She Went’.
I know, I am very depress after Mia dumped me with no apparent reason. My life simply sucks without her. But common, aren’t there a single happy moment in my life without Mia which could be included in the book to make it more lively to read. The book has become a never ending tirade which after a certain point of time even I was tired to read.
Gayle just writes about how dreadful I used to feel when Mia left and how I still feel dreadful without her and in two minds when I finally met her. This made it a dull book to read in comparison to ‘If I Stay’ which has a lively flashback and present is full of suspense.
Also opening up the plot of the book in layers worked really well for ‘If I Stay’ but it lost its magic in case of ‘Where She Went’. Actually I didn’t find any plot at all in the book. Gayle was simply slowly dragging it.
Three years since my breakup with Mia, I am a rock star. I have thousands of fans and paparazzi follows me like a shadow. I have a dream life which many just dream of yet my life sucks and this books perfectly covers everything about how badly my life sucks.
There is some reprieve when Mia finally comes in the picture but then the question ‘will we be together once again or not’ doesn’t loom so much like ‘will Mia stay or depart’ in the book ‘If I Stay’. But yes there is a curiosity to know why exactly Mia broke up with me.
Gayle Forman makes Mia to answer this question in layers. Slowly and slowly, layer after layer does she makes it clear the reason behind the breakup. It was not convincing at the beginning but when the entire picture was clear the reason became digestible.
The Verdict:
I expected so much from Gayle Forman. But ‘Where She Went’ is just about my wallowing. Really I can’t believe that my life is so depressing. Only if Gayle could have created a balance it would have been a breeze to read.
