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I Was Here
by
Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she dis ...more
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.
When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she dis ...more
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Hardcover, 270 pages
Published
January 27th 2015
by Viking Juvenile
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hear more of my thoughts here: http://youtu.be/GiN-1CvvC2k
This book was so emotional! The only thing that I really didn't like about it was the romance. It was a major turn off for me, but other than that this book was fantastic, but sad, oh so very sad. ...more
This book was so emotional! The only thing that I really didn't like about it was the romance. It was a major turn off for me, but other than that this book was fantastic, but sad, oh so very sad. ...more

I told Joe and Sue that I was sorry, that I couldn't give a eulogy because I couldn't think of anything to say.
It was the first time I ever lied to them.
In the hands of most authors, this book would have been nothing more than a standard, trope-ridden NA romance. It almost was, anyway.
Forman's contempory novels have always contained a heavy romantic element that has propped up the central themes of grief, growing up and friendship. This book is no exception, but I felt that this time the story ...more
It was the first time I ever lied to them.
In the hands of most authors, this book would have been nothing more than a standard, trope-ridden NA romance. It almost was, anyway.
Forman's contempory novels have always contained a heavy romantic element that has propped up the central themes of grief, growing up and friendship. This book is no exception, but I felt that this time the story ...more

I Was Here, Gayle Forman
When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning?
But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her.
About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.
About Ben McAllister ...more
When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning?
But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her.
About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.
About Ben McAllister ...more

Mar 28, 2015
Shelby *trains flying monkeys*
rated it
liked it
Recommended to Shelby *trains flying monkeys* by:
Rachel Reads Ravenously
May contain spoilery!
Cody's best friend Meg has gone off to college and then she ends up committing suicide. Cody feels the guilt of not doing all she could to save her friend. She feels that it is partially her fault that her friend is gone.
She begins her search for answers and ends up finding an encrypted file on Meg's computer. With some help she gets it open and finds out that Meg has been participating with one of those awful sites that assist people with suicide. It's hard to imagine that ...more
Cody's best friend Meg has gone off to college and then she ends up committing suicide. Cody feels the guilt of not doing all she could to save her friend. She feels that it is partially her fault that her friend is gone.
She begins her search for answers and ends up finding an encrypted file on Meg's computer. With some help she gets it open and finds out that Meg has been participating with one of those awful sites that assist people with suicide. It's hard to imagine that ...more

OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH!!!!! Oh this book, all the feels...... Seriously how did I not find this book earlier? I have a book hangover. This novel surrounded my heart like a cloak. How will I go on?! Oh this book.....
Cody's best friend, Meg commits suicide in the worse way possible and Cody goes on a mission to find how how and why and ends up discovering herself in the midst of it. The characters are amazing and lovable and written so well.
I love Ben McCallister. Oh my gosh I want him ...more
Cody's best friend, Meg commits suicide in the worse way possible and Cody goes on a mission to find how how and why and ends up discovering herself in the midst of it. The characters are amazing and lovable and written so well.
I love Ben McCallister. Oh my gosh I want him ...more

4.5 stars
Oh, man. Gayle's books are just phenomenal to real because they're so real. The emotions are so raw, the characters are so fleshed out. This book reads like a murder mystery and I was captivated by page 30 and read it in a day. This book is so real and bittersweet, showing the aftermath of a suicide and not sugar-coating anything. Gayle's voice in writing gets stronger and stronger with each book and this one definitely had me thinking.
I took off half a star because I thought the end w ...more
Oh, man. Gayle's books are just phenomenal to real because they're so real. The emotions are so raw, the characters are so fleshed out. This book reads like a murder mystery and I was captivated by page 30 and read it in a day. This book is so real and bittersweet, showing the aftermath of a suicide and not sugar-coating anything. Gayle's voice in writing gets stronger and stronger with each book and this one definitely had me thinking.
I took off half a star because I thought the end w ...more

4.5 stars
Suicide is a very popular topic in the young adult genre, and normally a topic I stay away from. But when I saw this book with the pretty cover I couldn’t resist.
Cody is astonished when she discovers her friend Meg has committed suicide. Meg’s parents ask Cody to go to Meg’s school and pack up her thing, which is where Cody discovers Meg held a very different life than the one she told Cody. Due to a weird phrasing in Meg’s suicide note, Cody investigates the circumstances of Meg’s de ...more
Suicide is a very popular topic in the young adult genre, and normally a topic I stay away from. But when I saw this book with the pretty cover I couldn’t resist.
Cody is astonished when she discovers her friend Meg has committed suicide. Meg’s parents ask Cody to go to Meg’s school and pack up her thing, which is where Cody discovers Meg held a very different life than the one she told Cody. Due to a weird phrasing in Meg’s suicide note, Cody investigates the circumstances of Meg’s de ...more


Warning: this book may trigger suicidal thoughts. Please read as well the Author's Note.
To say I was excited about reading this book isn't exactly wrong at all, Gayle Forman is an amazing storyteller but also I was pretty nervous. I Was Here is about a topic I've found myself thinking, not now but way back and so I felt this book was going to be totally great or a disaster. For me there wasn't an in-between.
I Was Here is about Cody, a young girl who is facing her best friend's suicide, they were ...more

Thank God that is over. I could have finished this in a few hours but instead it took me 3 days. I'm getting worked up just thinking about how frustrating this book was. This is more like a rant rather than a review...
Things I did not like about this book:
1) Cody. She was so immature and childish. She constantly slut-shamed everyone. She thought she was amazing just because she was a virgin (she wasn't). She was irritating and self-centered.
2) Ben. Ben started off as a promising character. He ...more
Things I did not like about this book:
1) Cody. She was so immature and childish. She constantly slut-shamed everyone. She thought she was amazing just because she was a virgin (she wasn't). She was irritating and self-centered.
2) Ben. Ben started off as a promising character. He ...more

Well I wasn't expecting to finish this book in one day but HERE WE ARE. I listened to the audiobook which I think added to my experience a lot. Overall, I thought this book was pretty good. I liked the main character alright and her journey was really interesting, as well as the minor characters. I also think this is a really important book for its focus on suicide and it's effect.
In the end, I liked it alright it wasn't the BEST but I'm still pretty emotional.
Tw: suicide ...more
In the end, I liked it alright it wasn't the BEST but I'm still pretty emotional.
Tw: suicide ...more

3.5 stars
I Was Here is a very poignant story about suicide and depression and one that doesn’t attempt to romanticize these things either. It’s raw and yes, very sad but also very relatable and at times I find myself laughing at the main character’s sarcasm. It’s not hard to empathize with a girl whose best friend and probably the most important person in her life, more like her other half, took her own life.
I like what the story is trying to achieve and I appreciate the plot devices the autho ...more
I Was Here is a very poignant story about suicide and depression and one that doesn’t attempt to romanticize these things either. It’s raw and yes, very sad but also very relatable and at times I find myself laughing at the main character’s sarcasm. It’s not hard to empathize with a girl whose best friend and probably the most important person in her life, more like her other half, took her own life.
I like what the story is trying to achieve and I appreciate the plot devices the autho ...more

Fatal ou Evitável?
Meg e Cody são ervilhas da mesma vagem. Amigas de infância, cresceram inseparáveis até que um daqueles designados motivos de força maior, finalmente as descola!
Concluído o secundário, Meg parte para uma Universidade situada numa cidade distante, mas Cody fica.
Meg era divertida e extrovertida. Dispunha bem os que com ela privavam, agradando naturalmente, sem esforço...
O suicídio e ela não combinavam! Não!... Não com a Meg que Cody tão bem conhecia!
Era inacreditável! Impensável! ...more
Meg e Cody são ervilhas da mesma vagem. Amigas de infância, cresceram inseparáveis até que um daqueles designados motivos de força maior, finalmente as descola!
Concluído o secundário, Meg parte para uma Universidade situada numa cidade distante, mas Cody fica.
Meg era divertida e extrovertida. Dispunha bem os que com ela privavam, agradando naturalmente, sem esforço...
O suicídio e ela não combinavam! Não!... Não com a Meg que Cody tão bem conhecia!
Era inacreditável! Impensável! ...more

Heartbreaking, delicate and determined, I Was Here will stand out in my mind when I think back on what I've read this year. Gayle Forman's writing style is something I can only aspire to.
...more

Meg and Cody have been best friends forever, until Meg kills herself in a hotel room and leaves the maid a sizable tip. For the past few months, Cody has kept her distance from Meg, separated by all the miles between their dead-end town in Washington and Meg's prestigious college. But when Cody gets the news from Meg's automated email and goes to pack up Meg's remaining belongings, she finds that her best friend has kept secrets from her she never would have expected. Cody embarks on a mission t
...more

To read the full review, CLICK ME!
Suicide is a sensitive, difficult subject to write about and only a handful of authors can ...more
I tried to write a eulogy for that service. I did. I pulled out the disc Meg had burned of firefly songs for inspiration. The third one up was the Bishop Allen track "Fireflies." I don't know if I had ever really listened to the words before, because when I did now, they were like a smack from the grave: It says you can still forgive her. And she will forgive you back.
Suicide is a sensitive, difficult subject to write about and only a handful of authors can ...more

I felt calm, peaceful, and full of love. And in that moment, I was reminded just why God wants us to forgive. Not simply because it’s the key to a better world, but because of what it does for ourselves. Forgiveness is God’s gift to us. Christ forgave us. He forgave our sins. That was his gift. But by allowing us to forgive each other, he opened us up to that divine love. The article had it right...

...Forgiveness: It’s a miracle drug. It’s God’s miracle drug.

Before anything else, ...more

Este fue el primer libro de Gayle que leí y me gustaría decir que fue una gran experiencia.. pero no.
La trama en realidad es muy buena y la forma de escribir es un acierto total, lo único que no me pareció fue el como se abordaron ciertos temas, muy sacados al aire como si no fueran la gran cosa, y el temperamento de la protagonista no me ayudó para nada.
Una chica envidiosa, egoísta y que sentía que las cosas eran tal como las pensaba ella y nadie más y punto. Super inflexible y el hecho de que ...more
La trama en realidad es muy buena y la forma de escribir es un acierto total, lo único que no me pareció fue el como se abordaron ciertos temas, muy sacados al aire como si no fueran la gran cosa, y el temperamento de la protagonista no me ayudó para nada.
Una chica envidiosa, egoísta y que sentía que las cosas eran tal como las pensaba ella y nadie más y punto. Super inflexible y el hecho de que ...more

2.5 stars
Some new to me info about "suicide support groups," but otherwise the novel is remarkably average and formulaic - your average narrative voice and even more average i-am-so-special-i-will-turn-a-bad-boy-good romance, of course accompanied by a losing-virginity road trip. ...more
Some new to me info about "suicide support groups," but otherwise the novel is remarkably average and formulaic - your average narrative voice and even more average i-am-so-special-i-will-turn-a-bad-boy-good romance, of course accompanied by a losing-virginity road trip. ...more

2 - "If that's what happens to normal, what hope is there for the rest of us?" Stars.
I think I should firstly say that I am a huge fan of Gayle Forman’s books. She somehow manages to take a bunch of fairly unremarkable, usual characters and give them what starts out as an ordinary story, but with one unique twist, turns them into extraordinary books. I am guaranteed to need tissues and want a hug after finishing a book by her, but I always feel I am a better person for having read the story she ...more
I think I should firstly say that I am a huge fan of Gayle Forman’s books. She somehow manages to take a bunch of fairly unremarkable, usual characters and give them what starts out as an ordinary story, but with one unique twist, turns them into extraordinary books. I am guaranteed to need tissues and want a hug after finishing a book by her, but I always feel I am a better person for having read the story she ...more

Can I just speak to the Author's note? It defies description. It was careful, gentle, thoughtful, respectful. It was long, meaningful, different, relatable. It cited many examples, it offered numerous resources. It screamed: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. PLEASE SEEK HELP. THINGS WILL GET BETTER.
This story was decent. The evolution or uncovering of the main character's relationship with her mother was very well-done. Her grief, confusion, isolation, abandonment...all believable. The narration was excellent. ...more
This story was decent. The evolution or uncovering of the main character's relationship with her mother was very well-done. Her grief, confusion, isolation, abandonment...all believable. The narration was excellent. ...more

Sep 22, 2019
Janete
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
owned-books,
favorites
This was my first book from Gayle Forman and I loved it. I wanna read other books from her, but I hope that these will be so meaningful as "I Was Here".
...more

I dunno if I am allowed to have an opinion on this book since I've only reached like 25% but I couldn't go farther. It was supposedly about her best friend committing suicide but she's just whining the whole time. Other than that, there's really nothing wrong with the book, just not for me.
Also, I feel like a very unnecessary romance is going to form and I'm just not into it. I'll pass.
“It’s an act of bravery to feel your feelings.”
1.5 stars.
...more

Jan 31, 2014
Shannelle
marked it as to-read
Update #1
Cover. Rant.
When I think of this book, I just think yellow. That horrible yellow shade does not compliment the colors of the photo at all and it clashes in the most horrible way. Leaving it white would have been better instead of dropping the fugliest bright yellow possible in there.
And then who puts the NYT bestselling line in between the author's name? It would be fine if it was aligned or something, but there's just the biggest awkward space after "Gayle" and then it just looks so a ...more
Cover. Rant.
When I think of this book, I just think yellow. That horrible yellow shade does not compliment the colors of the photo at all and it clashes in the most horrible way. Leaving it white would have been better instead of dropping the fugliest bright yellow possible in there.
And then who puts the NYT bestselling line in between the author's name? It would be fine if it was aligned or something, but there's just the biggest awkward space after "Gayle" and then it just looks so a ...more

Initial reaction: This was a very realistic, while flawed look into one young woman's grief over her best friend's suicide. I liked the attention brought to her grief as well as journeys to understand it, even if some of those steps were rough around the edges and tested my suspension of disbelief.
Full review:
Gayle Forman's "I Was Here" took me by surprise with how much it resonated with me. While I've appreciated Forman's attention to grief and the emotional journeys her flawed characters have ...more
Full review:
Gayle Forman's "I Was Here" took me by surprise with how much it resonated with me. While I've appreciated Forman's attention to grief and the emotional journeys her flawed characters have ...more

I would like to warn those who wish to read this book that this novel is dealing with suicide
This was something that I don't usually read. It was a heart-breaking novel but I really enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings about this book but I learned so much. It was really different and now I know a little bit about those who deal with depression. This isn't something that I would usually read, but I surprised myself and picked this book up. This book was really dark and it's not one of those cute ...more
This was something that I don't usually read. It was a heart-breaking novel but I really enjoyed it. I had mixed feelings about this book but I learned so much. It was really different and now I know a little bit about those who deal with depression. This isn't something that I would usually read, but I surprised myself and picked this book up. This book was really dark and it's not one of those cute ...more

I love Gayle Forman's writing. Her stories are so powerful and interesting to read about.
This book deals with a big issue: suicide. I've read a few contemporary YA novels that deal with suicide (like Saving June which is a great book) and they all have different ways of going about the topic.
The main character and narrator, Cody, is dealing with the recent death of her best friend, Meg. Cody has had a hard life in a very small town and the only stable and constant thing she has had throughout h ...more
This book deals with a big issue: suicide. I've read a few contemporary YA novels that deal with suicide (like Saving June which is a great book) and they all have different ways of going about the topic.
The main character and narrator, Cody, is dealing with the recent death of her best friend, Meg. Cody has had a hard life in a very small town and the only stable and constant thing she has had throughout h ...more
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Award-winning author and journalist Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels for young adults, including the Just One Series, I Was Here, Where She Went and the #1 New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than 40 languages and in 2014 was adapted into a major motion picture.
Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults in 2016 and her latest ...more
Gayle published Leave Me, her first novel starring adults in 2016 and her latest ...more
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