Where She Went by Gayle Forman

So I approached Where She Went with almost equal amounts trepidation and excitement. It's hard to follow up an ending like the ending of If I Stay. In many respects, I felt like the mere existence of a sequel might mar the beauty of the first book. I just . . . I loved how it ended so much, I wasn't at all sure I wanted to know what happened next. And if you know me at all you know how hilarious that sounds. I always want to know what happens next. I regularly fill my life with beloved series I can't quit. But I am also an enormous admirer of standalone volumes, particularly those featuring a judicious and perfect ending. Such was the case with If I Stay. But the tenor of my emotions for Mia and Adam by the end of that book ensured that I wouldn't be able to stay away from a follow-up in the end. Especially as that follow-up was set three years later. So I only lasted about 24 hours in between finishing the first book and plunging into the second.


A warning: If you have not yet read If I Stay, I suggest doing so now before proceeding any farther. It really is worth it, and there is simply no way to discuss the sequel without ruining the surprise both books have in store. Also, the nature of my feelings regarding this one demand a discussion of the ending. So. You have been warned, yes?

It's been three years since Mia awoke to find Adam there waiting for her. And, as happy as she was to see him (and he her), it turns out three years is more than enough time for everything to fall apart. At first, everything seemed fine. More than fine. She was awake. She was alive. She had Adam there to help her through her recovery and convalescence. She had an acceptance letter from Julliard. But none of those positives were enough in the end. They weren't enough to outweigh the loss of her family. They weren't enough to keep Mia in the town where it all happened a moment longer than she had to stay. And, though neither of them could have seen it coming, they were not enough to sustain her relationship with Adam. So Mia makes the command decision to break things off entirely and leave, leaving behind an utterly demolished and dumbstruck Adam. Over the course of the next three years, both of their lives change beyond measure, as Mia embarks on the concert career she's always wanted, and Adam is skyrocketed to stardom in a whirlwind of success and good fortune. But time catches up with them. And when they both find themselves in New York over the same 24-hour period, they are forced to deal with the detritus that is all that remains of who they once were.

Where She Went is the opposite of If I Stay in every way. Where If I Stay was quiet and elegantly somber, Where She Went is chaotic and jaggedly painful. Where If I Stay was told from Mia's self-contained, removed perspective, Where She Went is told from Adam's very different point of view. And, unfortunately, where If I Stay has a breathtaking ending, Where She Went has an ending that left me with my mouth hanging open at how inadequate it was. I know it was the ending so many readers were hoping for, and the truth is I wanted that ending as well. Especially after I followed Adam around and watched with such sadness the person he had become, my heart practically bursting with sympathy for him. I loved Adam so much in this book. It's his story in every sense of things, and it's written incredibly well. I soaked up his version of events and how he never got over Mia and how all the riches life deposited in his lap weren't enough to compensate for the loss of love and friendship. Full of rage, sadness, and basically every negative, hurt emotion I can think of, he absolutely steals the show. Enter Mia and everything that has happened to her in the intervening years. I loved the setup, and I loved how it was simultaneously easy to be together again and awkwardly ruinous at the same time. From their halting physical proximity to their loaded verbal exchanges, everything was handled so well. I couldn't wait to get to the culmination of things and the inevitable decision they would have to make. And this is where we come to the inadequacy. I wanted that ending, but not this way. Not at the expense of my respect for the characters. After all of that, all of the thought and heartbreak and complexity that went into these two people who loved each other as kids and have surmounted tragedy to become adults all on their own, how could it wrap up so easily? How could either of them be satisfied with the meager resolution that was proffered? I wasn't. I wanted more for Adam and more from Mia, and that's all there is to it. All of that excruciating growth and hard-earned experience deserved more than a token apology on her part and a grateful acceptance on his. It was too fast, too simple, and too saccharine even for my romantic heart. I ended it in dismay, wishing it wasn't so. In other words--the exact opposite of how I felt at the end of If I Stay. Each reader's reaction will be different, of course (see linked reviews below). This was mine and mine alone. I'm so very glad Mia chose to stay. I just really wish I hadn't found out where she went.


Linkage
The Crooked Shelf Review
A Dream of Books Review
Everyday Reading Review
Fluttering Butterflies Review & Interview
Galleysmith Review
Laura's Review Bookshelf Review
Taming the Bookshelf Review
That's What She Read Review
Wear the Old Coat Review
Wondrous Reads Review