Since You've Been Gone in The Wide Web of Friends in YA Books

Jul 16, 2013 Ally Bryan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: book-boyfriends, happy-reads-for-after-dystopians, all-time-favorites, best-romances-33, books-i-want-to-hug, favorites

Soooo good! Morgan Matson is one of the BEST authors for contemporary reads and Since You've Been Gone definitely did not disappoint! This is one of the best books for summer and if you enjoyed Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, then you will love this one!

The main character, Emily, is a very relatable character (especially to me) and sort of reminded me of Cath from Fangirl in a way. She is very timid and shy and takes a while to open up to new people, but once she does, she is very funny and an extr Soooo good! Morgan Matson is one of the BEST authors for contemporary reads and Since You've Been Gone definitely did not disappoint! This is one of the best books for summer and if you enjoyed Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, then you will love this one!

The main character, Emily, is a very relatable character (especially to me) and sort of reminded me of Cath from Fangirl in a way. She is very timid and shy and takes a while to open up to new people, but once she does, she is very funny and an extremely loyal friend. When her best (and kind of only) friend, Sloane, disappears one day, she feels lost. When she finds a list Sloane made her of random tasks to complete, she decides to attempt to do each thing on the list in the hopes that they lead her to her friend. Anddd that's how she becomes friends with Frank Porter (sigh).

One of my new book boyfriends, Frank is the overachiever of Emily's grade and is known for being very serious and wanting to "save the world". He is also the most perfect/sweetest/swooniest guy. Emily and Frank's relationship is perfect. He is very different from how he seems when you first meet him in the book and he only gets more amazing. He also has the BEST taste in music! Morgan Matson writes the best, most realistic love stories that are still very sweet and romantic. I loved how Frank and Emily were friends first and then they fell in love. I loved them getting to know each other and then waiting for them to realize they are in love. Yes I squealed and flailed multiple times :-p

The side characters were awesome as well, particularly Collins and Dawn. They were really funny, but also had a lot of depth. You do not get to know Emily's parents really well, but I loved the scenes between Emily and her mom. Emily's brother was also a very fun character to read.

Sloane was a tougher character to really get to know. I caught myself being as interested/fascinated by her as Emily was many times throughout the book. Sloane was very mysterious and glamorous, but you never felt like you really knew her. You could see wanting to be friends with her and also that she was very sweet and loved her best friend, but there was always something a little off with her. I loved their friendship and how it evolved over the book.

Overall, Since You've Been Gone is the perfect summer read. Yes it has some fluff and is very cutesy, but it also has a lot of depth and sticks with you. All the characters are very relatable, the romance is amazingly swoon-worthy, and the main character is awesome. I definitely recommend!!! ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2014 ♥♡¢σσкιє♥♡ (Krystle) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

You can read this review and more on my blog:

I read this one as part of a Goodreads buddy read, and I want to thank everyone who read it with me!

This was a love story about two friends Sloane and Emily. Like all good love stories, the two main characters have to deal with distance, misunderstandings, and other obstacles that threaten to keep them apart, and the reader is forced to simply go along for the ride.

Emily is almost painfully shy, but she has a secret weapon to combat t ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2016 Anna rated it really liked it

This was such a cute story.

At first, not going to lie, I thought Emily was the MOST annoying character on the planet. It felt really weak and as someone who values friendship very highly, I didn't think I was going to make it through this book. My best friends don't live near me, they live within 1-2 hours from me, but it's not like we live in the same town (anymore)....however, our friendship is as strong (if not stronger) then when we lived close to each other, so, I guess, that's why the begi ...more

Like · see review

Jan 06, 2015 Michelle rated it it was amazing

I loved this book. It was sweet and funny without being too dramatic and unbelievable. What a breath of fresh air in the YA contemporary genre! Definitely recommended for all teen girls everywhere who have ever had a best friend, or who harbors a romantic heart.

Like · see review