Where she went

didn't love it as much as i wanted to. adam is angsty and rude and inconsiderate, especially to his band/bryn/friends, and even to mia. i hate the way mia broke up with adam, and even though it's cute that she bought his beloved guitar and subsequently get back together, it somehow doesn't seem to be enough for me.

this can be read as a standalone, since what went down in if i stay was clearly recounted (i wasn't bugged by this like i normally might be; it's been 1.5 years since i read the first book, and it was told slightly differently this time). it didn't seem like there was much character/relationship development within where she went, so for that reason i'd recommend reading both books.

"Where She Went", der Folgeband zu "If I Stay", hat mir um Längen besser gefallen als sein Vorgänger. Deshalb kann ich gleich zu Anfang empfehlen, "Wenn ich bleibe" erst gar nicht zu lesen, sondern bloß den Film zu schauen und nur den zweiten Band zu lesen.

Der Schreibstil ist sehr gut gelungen und lässt sich sehr flüssig lesen. Wie schon Teil 1 wird auch hier wieder sehr stark mit Rückblicken gearbeitet, was mich diesmal aber nicht gestört hat, da man so ein extrem gutes Bild davon bekommt, wie Liebeskummer sich unter Umständen anfühlen kann. Adam ist nur noch ein Schatten seiner selbst und leidet auch nach 3 Jahren noch daran, dass Mia kein Teil seines Lebens mehr ist. Auch die Verwirklichung seiner anderen Träume kann nicht darüber hinwegtäuschen, dass alles irgendwie den Bach runter gegangen ist.

Die Thematik und auch alles sonst bei "Where She Went" konnte mich voll und ganz überzeugen und ist eine Empfehlung wert!

Full review on Reader's Dialogue: readersdialogue.blogspot.com/2013/07/if-i-stay-where-she-went.html

Both books each tell about a single day, but they have lots of flashbacks and memories so the character's entire story up to that point is told as well. I loved this style, especially in Where She Went, because I got the feeling that everything that happens on this one day is directly affected by what happened before, that everything that happens in a person's life is linked to everything else.

The music laced around the story is also really great. Especially in Where She Went, when some chapters are prefaced by an excerpt from the lyrics Adam wrote about his heartbreak. Funny thing, though, at the end of If I Stay, Gayle Forman says she can't write lyrics and so appropriated published songs for her fictional characters and bands. But in Where She Went, Adam's lyrics are obviously original - so who wrote them? Just wondering.

Mia's story, and her choice, in If I Stay is heartbreaking, but even in that book, I felt more of a connection to Adam. And Adam's story in Where She Went broke my heart into tiny little pieces and - thankfully - mended it together at the end of the book. I think that the magnitude of Mia's choice is shown more clearly in the second book, when she and Adam have a sob-worthy conversation/argument/soul-baring about what went down between them. Absolute heartbreak!

Basically, highest praise from me - the books made me cry multiple times, and my heart ached the rest of the time. If you haven't read these yet, what are you waiting for!!