Since You've Been Gone in The Reader's Lounge

Aug 30, 2013 Danielle rated it it was amazing

Read more reviews at What Danielle Did Next

Wow! Excuse me while I worship at the feet of Morgan Matson and her beautiful prose, her perfectly imperfect characters, original plots and fabulous romance. I didn't think anything could come close to the perfection of AMY & ROGER but SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE is a worthy competitor for my FEELS!!

Without a doubt, one of the best contemporary YA novels I've read in a long time, SYBG introduces us to Emily, who at the start of summer, seems to have misplac Read more reviews at What Danielle Did Next

Wow! Excuse me while I worship at the feet of Morgan Matson and her beautiful prose, her perfectly imperfect characters, original plots and fabulous romance. I didn't think anything could come close to the perfection of AMY & ROGER but SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE is a worthy competitor for my FEELS!!

Without a doubt, one of the best contemporary YA novels I've read in a long time, SYBG introduces us to Emily, who at the start of summer, seems to have misplaced her best friend. Flighty and free-spirited, Sloane has once again disappeared with no notice leaving Emily at a loose end. When a letter shows up containing a list of tasks as widely varying as can be from getting a job to skinny dipping, Emily hesitantly embraces the challenge in the hopes it will bring Sloane back. As Emily steps out of her comfort zone she discovers that she's also stepping out from her best friend's shadow and for the first time in years, is experiencing life as Emily and not that girl who is friends with Sloane.

I loved Emily, I recognised a lot of myself in her; the one who hangs back and lets the other more outgoing and interesting people take centre stage as I slowly acclimate to the situation. The harsh reality of suddenly being on her own is paralysing at first but slowly Emily learns that taking risks and believing in herself isn't as terrifying as she once thought. Making friends with Frank and Collins, two boys from school she would never have dared speak to before, helps Emily gain some confidence and with them and another new friend Dawn, they help her attack the list with gusto and make it a group task, proving to Emily that even without Sloane, she’s not alone.

I loved how the book cut to flashbacks with Sloane and how they juxtaposed with her new friends and showed the progress Emily has made without Sloane but equally as important, how vital Sloane is to Emily. She may have seemed to simply be the back-up to the more effervescent Sloane, but Emily was just as important to Sloane and gave her a sense of permanence and a sense of home she couldn't get from her own family.

The list itself was a star all on its own. I loved the antics, awkward encounters and confidence building tasks that Emily had to complete and how she simply blossomed as each one was crossed out. Her friendship with Frank was by far my favourite part of the book. Matson knows how to write the swooniest of boys and Frank Porter was no different. I loved his quiet, solid nature and his chemistry with Emily gave me shivers of delight.

SYBG is a wonderful book about friendship, stepping out of your comfort zone and trusting your heart. Witty, emotionally touching, with characters that will make you laugh, cry and swoon so hard you'll need smelling salts, it's a truly gorgeous book and one for the bookshelves. Have you seen that cover?? *thud*

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Aug 28, 2013 Jasprit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: out-2014, romance, contemporary, ya, read-in-2015

4.5 stars

In a well ordered universe I would be sitting here with a huge smile on my face after reading Since You’ve Been Gone.
Since You’ve Been Gone was one of the best contemporary YA books I have read in a long time, it was fun watching Emily attempt to complete a list of things her best friend Sloane left behind. Sloane upped and left without a single explanation, Emily tried ringing her and even tried her house but to no success. It was a daunting time for Emily, as she had relied on Sloane 4.5 stars

In a well ordered universe I would be sitting here with a huge smile on my face after reading Since You’ve Been Gone.
Since You’ve Been Gone was one of the best contemporary YA books I have read in a long time, it was fun watching Emily attempt to complete a list of things her best friend Sloane left behind. Sloane upped and left without a single explanation, Emily tried ringing her and even tried her house but to no success. It was a daunting time for Emily, as she had relied on Sloane in the past for so much and now the summer they had planned to be the best summer ever is just gone. Emily isn’t the most social person ever, but she could be when Sloane was there. But now all she’s got is a list of things to do that Sloane has left for her to do, maybe after competing them it will give her some clue to where Sloane is, but maybe it’s the push Emily needs to step out of Sloane’s shadow and experience a greater summer for herself.

In a well ordered universe I would have found some of my favourite characters in a long time.
I really did feel for Emily, I’ve had friendships before where I’ve been fully dependant on my friend to guide me through things and when I’ve been on my own, I’ve been a utter pip squeak. And Emily really didn’t have her parents around to confide in either, once they got ideas about a fantastic play, they would be cooped in their own little world for weeks after. So I was hoping that this would bring Emily out of her shell more. It certainly led to Emily finding friends in the most unexpected places. Collins and Frank Porter were two guys from school that Emily would never have hung out with, but they end up bumping into each other over summer and before you know it Emily is telling Frank about her list from Sloane and Collins and Frank are helping Emily complete it with the most hilarious results. So in a way despite Sloane being described as the best friend ever, I’m kind of glad that she did leave, as Emily would never have found such wonderful friends as Collins and Frank. I loved how Collins and Frank complimented one another, how they could pull each other in line when they went over board and how they were always joking around, they were such cool guys, exactly the sort of fun Emily needed. I’m glad that Collins and Frank and even Dawn were able to shift the whole list from being about Sloane to it not being her. As I liked the growth that Emily was able to go through and as she started to take more of the items on the list in her stride and became more daring.

In a world ordered universe I shall be devouring the next book by Morgan Matson straight away.
I think as the story progressed the less I started to care about what happened to Sloane. I was intrigued in the very beginning, but characters such as Collins, Dawn and Frank and the adventures they went on were easily able to make you forget that. For most of the read I had assumed that Since You’ve Been Gone was going to be a 5 star read for me, but something towards the end kind of made me knock that half star off (view spoiler). That’s my only complaint, otherwise Since You’ve Been Gone was an amazing read, it was full with wonderful friendships emerging amongst characters you’ll least expected them to and funny epic adventures. In a well ordered universe this book shouldn’t be missed out on!

This review can be found on: The Readers Den ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Stacie (Shy Book Nerd) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, owned-hardcovers, my-signed-books

I loved everything about this book from the beginning, all the way to the end. I was a bit surprised in the beginning because for some reason I had it in my head that Emily's best friend, Sloane had died and left a list for her to do. That wasn't the case, but it was perfectly fine for me. For the past 2 years Emily has hidden in Sloane's lime light. She prefers it that way, though. Since Sloane had disappeared for the summer and 2 weeks have passed, she gets a letter from her to do a list. Emil ...more

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Jan 20, 2015 Pili rated it really liked it

Shelves: readers-lounge-book-club

Since You've Been Gone was chosen as the first book of the book club I'm part of, the Reading Lounge and even if I wasn't entirely too sure if I'd like it. But luckily it was exactly what I needed to fight my blue mood & distract me of my insomnia! I didn't stop reading till nearly 6 am and I was finished with the book!

Emily is our main character and she's a very shy girl, used to having her best friend Sloane taking the lead in everything and dragging her out of her shell. Once Sloane seems to Since You've Been Gone was chosen as the first book of the book club I'm part of, the Reading Lounge and even if I wasn't entirely too sure if I'd like it. But luckily it was exactly what I needed to fight my blue mood & distract me of my insomnia! I didn't stop reading till nearly 6 am and I was finished with the book!

Emily is our main character and she's a very shy girl, used to having her best friend Sloane taking the lead in everything and dragging her out of her shell. Once Sloane seems to simply up and disappear without a trace, Emily is lost and a bit paralized without her. And then a list sent by Sloane appears and pushes Emily to get out of her shell, her comfort zone and to make friends and rely on herself.

I really enjoyed seeing Emily grow during the summer, finding herself in situations she wouldn't have been before (even less without Sloane next to her) and sometimes losing her nerve before compliting a task but always trying and finding that she's capable of more than she thought she would.

I loved that Emily's family is around, even if they're peculiar and are quite distracted for most of the summer, her parents are there and I simply loved their theater tradition and laid back but not lax attitude. Emily's brother was a riot with his daredevil ways!

I also really liked that we got the flashback moments to when Emily and Sloane met and their interactions and going out, because that way we could really get a sense of their friendship and how much it meant for Emily. I feel the book would have been incomplete without them, not as easy to relate to Emily's sense of loss.

This book managed to make me smile, laugh and giggle loads of times, not only there were fun and witty dialogs but some of the situations were simply hilarious! And the most fun were always those that involved Emily completing a task from the list.

Emily grows, find new friends, makes mistakes, learns from them and by the end of the summer she can stand on her own two feet, doesn't need Sloane to go out and interact with people and discover what she likes or not, but she still wants to find her friend. And once she does, that friendship is stronger for that.

I loved that friendship was such a central theme to this book and that the message for the most part about friendships and interactions was positive, without name calling or slut-shaming or any other pitfalls about female friendships that I abhor in books (and in society in general).

One of those contemporaries that makes me want to read more of them and well deserving of 4 stars! ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, the-readers-lounge

The Reader's Lounge first book of the year, is a amazing rendition of friendship, love, and loss; from the highly acclaimed author of Second Chance Summer and Amy & Rodger Epic Detour. I've been meaning to read this for ages and when it came up as our first book by vote, I was very excited to get started.

Emily is a girl living in the shadows, invisible to the social eye as it were, until she meets a very loud and characteristically vintage girl named Sloane. They first met on one of Em's running The Reader's Lounge first book of the year, is a amazing rendition of friendship, love, and loss; from the highly acclaimed author of Second Chance Summer and Amy & Rodger Epic Detour. I've been meaning to read this for ages and when it came up as our first book by vote, I was very excited to get started.

Emily is a girl living in the shadows, invisible to the social eye as it were, until she meets a very loud and characteristically vintage girl named Sloane. They first met on one of Em's running route, Sloane had locked herself out and was in desperate need to wash her hair before it turned green. Your probably thinking, what a weird girl, Em thought that and so did I! Sloane and Emily have been inseparable ever since. Until, out of the blue, Sloane has just...gone. Emily is completely at a loss what to do, she's phoned, left messages and gone round her house. It's only when a letter arrives that she knows what she has to do... complete the list in hope to find Sloane.

Since You've Been Gone is a novel about finding yourself, going through the motions but also going outside your comfort zone. You are completely surrounded by a world you are unable to identify with because the person who helped you in no longer there. At first I felt like Emily as quite moany to a point, she was so narrow-minded when you think about her character overall. But to be honest it is totally relatable, if you think about it. There is always someone who is the heart of the group of friends that make you a part of them. Now Emily's tie to her and to society as they both know it is broken. What I find is that we see a depth of friendship like no other, where Emily will travel to the world until she finds her best friend.

Emily has met a very unique persona of a friend, so she is used to seeing the world through a different pair of eyes. When she starts to tick off the list, she builds new friendships and new relationships which you see such a difference in Emily, starting with and most importantly with Frank Porter, her romantic interest. Frank is shown as the guy who the most popular, has a beautiful, yet he finds himself stuck for the summer at home. Their first meet was rather adorable as they seem so awkward with each other, but I felt it as if Frank really showed his true self. Frank doesn't push being her friend, but its as if they are meant to be together as they naturally grow and towards each other. With Frank comes Collins, you could say he's the funny guy of the group, always making things light and interesting when it comes to certain points of the list. Finally there is Dawn, a drama-queen none-the-less whilst I wasn't overly keen with her in the beginning purely because I didn't want her to replace Sloane so much either.

As one of Miss Morgan's first books I've read, I believe that this is only the beginning for me and her written prose. Her style, is so easy to connect with and I loved how she incorporates various music Mix's and little snippets of parchment in the book, it really gives a different feel to a contemporary that I wouldn't usually read. Since You've Been Gone stands out from all the rest! A friendship like no other, you really would want to read this!

Rating - 4

This review can also be found on my blog ...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2015

I wasn't planning to enjoy this book as much as I did. I heard great things but never really wanted to pick this one up, boy was I dumb.

from the very beginning I felt connected to the story. the characters were so real and extremely relatable. it was like seeing myself written into the story.

if you are in need of a good read, this will hit the spot!!!! ...more

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Sep 18, 2013 Grace Fonseca marked it as to-read

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Apr 30, 2014 Glass added it · review of another edition

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