Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

If I Stay ended with Mia making the decision to emerge from her coma with her devoted boyfriend Adam watching. It was unclear what would happen to the couple--she a studious and, dare I say it, slightly prissy Cello player, and he the frontman of an up and coming rock band. Where She Went picks up three years later, and is told entirely from the perspective of Adam who is now a major international star. It turns out that he and Mia did break up, though not in the way that the author hinted at toward the end of If I Stay. Adam has been left with a lot of heartache, and a lot of questions, about the breakup, while Mia has seemingly disappeared into thin air. He knows nothing of her until one evening in New York when he sees a poster advertising Mia's first major concert. He goes, inevitably the pair cross paths and what follows is one life changing night where both are able to find answers and to finally let go of the ghosts of the past.

And can they, perhaps, have a second chance at love?

For me, this was an entertaining, though often heartbreaking, read. I really felt for Adam. I felt that he was a bit too kind to Mia in many ways, though she eventually proves herself not to be as selfish as I initially thought at the beginning of the novel. (Though I'll stick with my opinion that she is prissy.) Like many of Forman's novels, the narrative takes place over a short space of time and uses flashbacks to fill in the blanks. The style really works for the author. 

Recommended, though it's best to read If I Stay first to get a better understanding of Mia's past and the terrible event that changed her life forever.

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