Where She Went
discussion
Did anyone else think that this book was better off never written?
Adam isn't a drug addict, in fact if I am correct, he claims that he hated Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, etc. for doing drugs and ruining their lives. And I found Mia not snotty at all, more mature and stronger.But I do agree, this book was pretty lame. it was better than if I Stay though. And the ending was pretty cheesy. But the ending in if I Stay didn't feel complete, so I guess I'm glad that the author went ahead and wrote this.
ME! I thought this book would be a continuation of If I Stay, but I found it to be a total start over and recovery book. Everything that happened in If I Stay was thrown out the window. Forman could have just put "and they were in love once" at the beginning of Where She Went. I was only reading this book after I realized where it was starting from because I needed to see Adam and Mia back together. If I Stay was a great book of struggle. This was just.... not.
I loved this book! More than If I Stay and I cried more for Adam. I did read them back to back too which might affect my reading experience.
I loved both books and I was happy to see she wrote another book because I couldn't be left with them apart. I also loved the fact that Adam did struggle with his band. It made me realize how hard being in the spotlight can be. I liked Adam's POV more than Mia's.
I have to say that I enjoyed the first book better than the second. I was a little disappointed in the second book. I was not sure what I was expecting, but after finishing the book, I did not get the happy feeling I usually get when finishing a book. I think that it was dragged out, and I agree that this book could have been better off not written.
Catherine wrote: "I love Gayle Forman and all, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place. Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a prestigious, snoot..."I agree with you. She should've just left it.
I loved both books but I was even more touched by Adam's point of view. And I love happy endings so I love the end of Where she went, I love Gayle Forman's writting and loved how she included the music in the two books. Well every one has their opinion but I truly enjoyed the story of those two soulmates.(PS: sorry about my english mistakes, I'm french)
NOOOOOO!!!! So glad this was published!!
RayRay wrote: "ME! I thought this book would be a continuation of If I Stay, but I found it to be a total start over and recovery book. Everything that happened in If I Stay was thrown out the window. Forman coul..."Yeah, I know...
first off it bothers me that people call this a pov book, mainly because imo i feel that in a pov book they discuss and recap the same situations. which they obviously did not in where she went. in if i stay, adam is a cool level headed mild mannered "man" as mia would put it. he totally flips the script which i suppose i can understand in those circum. but it just bothered me everything seemed so knew. nota pov book at all
Alana wrote: "first off it bothers me that people call this a pov book, mainly because imo i feel that in a pov book they discuss and recap the same situations. which they obviously did not in where she went. in..."Definitely not a POV book, if it was , I probably would have liked it better.
Mimi ❤ wrote: "Adam isn't a drug addict, in fact if I am correct, he claims that he hated Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain, etc. for doing drugs and ruining their lives. And I found Mia not snotty at all, more mature..."Your right, Adam is not a drug addict. Those pills are just medication for something called panic disorder where you have anxiety attacks which I totally understand he would have. Mia left him for no reason at all because she was a coward and though he was kinda pathetic laying in bed for a year or so that would be a shock and now the band is no longer apart of his life and people are all over him he just couldn't stand it. I loved this book because they got back together and Adam got over his anxiety which is also his reason for being so angry all the time. It was a good ending. I never rely thought Adam could take total rockstardom.
I love both books, but I have to say I'll always like the second one the most WHERE SHE WENT because its rare to hear a guy's point of viewWhich in this case Adam is telling the readers how he's life changed after 3 years that Mia walked away without any explanation.
Hazel wrote: "I love both books, but I have to say I'll always like the second one the most WHERE SHE WENT because its rare to hear a guy's point of viewWhich in this case Adam is telling the readers how he's l..."
AMEN
I liked where she went but i think it was pretty pointless you know. I just hope this won't happen to Just One Year
I even asked my Grandma to read If I Stay and she did! I hope it gave her something since her husband was in a coma when she read it.
Absolutely. I loved If I Stay, but Where She Went really riuned Adam and Mia's relationship for me.
nope I am actually happy that she wrote it because the worst thing that an author could do to me is leave me hanging. I know they say "well make up your own ending" yeah ummmmm that doesn't work for me. and i love this book but even if i didn't i wouldn't wish it gone.
I was so glad to see that there was a sequel to If I Stay, I had no idea when I started. I loved Where She Went even more than If I Stay. I was heartbroken when I finished If I stay, such beautifully written characters....I needed more! Adam is in no way a druggie. And Mia, I don't think she is snooty at all...she was just playing her music and trying to survive after having her life turned upside down. I wouldn't call her prestigious- she's just out of school and just getting her career started. I admit I was ticked off at her for leaving Adam but after reading Where She Went and understanding her reasoning I can't say that I blame her for going. I'm just so glad they got their happy ending...after all the emotions of the 2 books I don't think I could have handled it if they didn't!
Hm...I don't think it was necessary, the first book was fine on its own. However, it was a beautifully written book that was even sadder than the first in my opinion, because the sadness is just at the world, and how things are, and how they just suck sometimes. So, it was good but not necessary.
Catherine wrote: "I love Gayle Forman and all, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place. Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a prestigious, snoot..."So, I haven't finished the book completely, but I love reading from Adam's perspecctive. It is so differnet andalmost more enjoyable than mia's. I'm really angry about the turn of events I have just experience in the book, but I kind of enjoy the fact that Mia took Adam's promise for real. As for their insane personality changes.. Adam hasn't really changed all that much. He is actually fighting to be the Adam from "if i stay". Mia however... I understand why she has become who she is, but I do find it a little harsh. She is a real spoiled brat in my opinion. so, at this point I don't fully agree with you, but I kind of do at the same time. I'm getting mixed emotions about what Forman has done with this sequel.
I thought it was well written but it didn't go the way I wanted. I was much happier with the ending If I Stay and thinking that Mia and Adam were okay.I don't think alot of the things said were really necessary. I still think it was well written and emotional though. :3
I never found this as re-readable as If I stay.. but if Where She Went was not written, the story will some kind left us hanging...
Abby :} wrote: "Whilst I don't agree with Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a prestigious, snooty famous cellist , I do agree this book was better off not written. I rated If I stay 5 star..."I thought I was the only one feeling about that...
Catherine wrote: "I love Gayle Forman and all, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place. Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a prestigious, snoot..."
I felt the same way. I really hated the book. But I can never just stop reading one. I have to finish it. The thing that irritated me the most was that the thoughts of Adam. They were not the thoughts of a male. At least not this male. 1 star, previous book 5 stars.
I felt the same way. I really hated the book. But I can never just stop reading one. I have to finish it. The thing that irritated me the most was that the thoughts of Adam. They were not the thoughts of a male. At least not this male. 1 star, previous book 5 stars.
Larry wrote: "Catherine wrote: "I love Gayle Forman and all, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place. Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a ..."Exactly. It felt really awkward reading it xD
I love love loved If I stay. But I quit reading Where she went. I get that the characters develop and changes. But not all changes are good. Adam turned into a jerk? I quit reading because I didn´t want to ruin If I stay. If I stay would be a good stand alone.
Why do you all have to trash the book? Sure the ending wasn't the greatest. But the story explained a lot. If Gayle Forman had stopped after if i stay then it would have been a cliff-hanger ending and you would all be angry and disagreeable about that. Quite frankly, I liked the story. I liked that both characters developed to the extremes. So what if Adam became a jerk!? I would too if the love of my life left with out actually saying anything and simply cut off all communication. I would be a drug addict if I had no one caring that it was practically my family who died. So just leave Gayle Forman alone. It was a well written sequel with no cliff-hanger ending. Would you prefer they all die?
Ann wrote: "I love love loved If I stay. But I quit reading Where she went. I get that the characters develop and changes. But not all changes are good. Adam turned into a jerk? I quit reading because I didn´t..."I agree :)
Emily wrote: "Why do you all have to trash the book?"
First of all, I was not "trashing" the book. That has such a negative connotation. If I wanted to trash the book, I would've said, "EWW, Where She Went was total shit because Adam is a fucking drug addict and Mia is so stupid now and ugh, I totally hated the book and it should just be burned. " But I didn't. I simply stated my opinion and asked who agreed. It's okay if you disagree, but being negative toward me because of my opinion is not mature.
Emily wrote: "Sure the ending wasn't the greatest. But the story explained a lot. If Gayle Forman had stopped after if i stay then it would have been a cliff-hanger ending and you would all be angry and disagreeable about that. "
I also have a right to demand a great ending. I LOVED the way If I Stay ended. It was the best cliffhanger ever, and I'm the type of person who doesn't need closure to love a book. I think it would've been better as a standalone, and WSW was totally unnecessary, but again, that's my opinion, and all I'm asking is you respect it. I didn't like the extremes both characters went to, and I am NOT degrading Gayle Forman's writing. I happen to love her.
Emily wrote: "Would you prefer they all die?"
It seems like you're drawing rash conclusions. Where did I imply I wanted everyone to die, please tell me?
Abby :} wrote: "I see this way too often, and I'm finally going to voice my opinion on it.What is the point of book reviews if you can't give an honest opinion?! If I don't like a book, I will not sugar coat it. ..."
Thank you! Some people don't understand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion...
It felt like a well written fanfiction. I didn't really earn anything from reading it, but it was nice to see these characters again. Didn't bond emotionally with it like I did the first one.
While I love Gayle Foreman, I too thought this book did not flow with the first book. I think I wanted more of the supernatural qualities from the first. It wasn't that the writing was bad or anything like that...I just didn't feel as connected with characters in this one. But I still enjoyed the read. I like romance but not straight up romance with no paranormal/fantasy/sci-fi element.
Catherine wrote: "Abby :} wrote: "I see this way too often, and I'm finally going to voice my opinion on it.What is the point of book reviews if you can't give an honest opinion?! If I don't like a book, I will not..."
I actually do under stand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I feel that if you wish to voice your opinion then the positive should out way the negative. So, instead of focusing on how bad the book was or certain things about the book don't like, focus on the good parts. Like at least Gayle Forman is a good author. Or something.
Being this negative all the time must be so draining. I don't understand why people can't see the good or positive. I mean it is a book for crying out loud! At least Gayle Forman took a leap of faith and sent her books to a publisher. With vultures like you guys, I would never have that courage for fear of people hating my hard work.
Emily wrote: "I actually do under stand that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, I feel that if you wish to voice your opinion then the positive should out way the negative. So, instead of focusing on how bad the book was or certain things about the book don't like, focus on the good parts. Like at least Gayle Forman is a good author. Or something. Being this negative all the time must be so draining. I don't understand why people can't see the good or positive. I mean it is a book for crying out loud! At least Gayle Forman took a leap of faith and sent her books to a publisher. With vultures like you guys, I would never have that courage for fear of people hating my hard work."
I disagree entirely. If a book had negative qualities, there's nothing wrong with pointing them out. If you want to sugarcoat everything and focus on the positive, then good for you, but honestly, you need to learn to accept constructive criticism if you're going to make it anywhere in the writing world. I'm sure there were people who enjoyed this book. One of those people was NOT me, and I don't have to pretend I liked it, not even a little bit. I totally respect that you liked and/or enjoyed this book, but if you can't accept that I did not like this book and will openly express that, then you don't believe I am entitled to my opinion, because you're telling me to soften up the truth by focusing on the positive instead of the negative. What's the point of a book review if you can't be honest about how you feel? If I didn't like the book, I will tell you that, not say it was a good effort to spare your feelings. Seriously.
I would have to say that this book, though still not a masterpiece is certainly much better written than "If I Stay" which was very immaturely written - it definitely read like a first novel. I found Forman wrote her characters as a cheesy, goofy, cliche who were incapable of forming in depth thoughts or perspectives. I found myself detached from her characters and almost exasperated by their nonsensical actions and thoughts. I found certain scenes especially the chaos Adam caused at the hospital to be unrealistic, cheesy and just plain inappropriate - even as I was reading it I was begging the author not to go there for her own sake. If she wanted to write such a heart-breaking novel then why make the characters actions so whimsical? All in all the novel was just a cringe-worthy attempt at a dark, almost Gothic mystery that a woman of her age should've known would come across as cringe-worthy and false. However "where she went" was mostly marked so high by myself purely because the author had taken such drastic steps to improve her writing and the maturity level of her novel by dulling down the over-dramatics and giving her characters real life situations to work with, a triumph on her part that will serve her well to continue. Also another comment on the author herself is that she, for some reason despite being female, writes far better from a male perspective and should really stick with male characters. Her characters matured, their problems matured, their memories matured and indeed their perspectives and thoughts too. Although there is still many scenes that are simply too dramatic the cringe-factor is invoked once more. The dramatic love making scene that could only ever be witnessed in a Katherine Heigl movie (sorry to say kids it doesn't work that way) was almost repelling - a rusty nail stuck in the middle of a story which up to that point had ran smoothly. Which again added an whimsical sense to the novel. However due to the dramatic maturity in writing, though she's still not there yet, I will stand by my three stars granted to Gayle Forman and hope she continues to alter her writing until it's at the standard I feel it really could be. Definitely a novel better than it's predecessor!
Sammy wrote: "I would have to say that this book, though still not a masterpiece is certainly much better written than "If I Stay" which was very immaturely written - it definitely read like a first novel. I fou..."
I disagree. She should not write from a male prespective. She has no idea how a man thinks and the thinking she did for a male in her book is not male thinking at all. I have been a male for 55 years and have never thought like than or have ever known any male to think like that. I have raised 3 boys.
I disagree. She should not write from a male prespective. She has no idea how a man thinks and the thinking she did for a male in her book is not male thinking at all. I have been a male for 55 years and have never thought like than or have ever known any male to think like that. I have raised 3 boys.
Well as I said the author is obviously new to their trade and lack skill and writes far less articulately than I'd hope for in any author. However little a resemblance you see in her male characters to yourself you should make your opinion based on the massive maturity difference from her first female character to her first male character. Obviously she is an unskilled writer, that much is obvious but the opinion on which perspective she should write from should be based on the difference in the depth of her characters rather than your own personal relation to them
Sammy wrote: "Well as I said the author is obviously new to their trade and lack skill and writes far less articulately than I'd hope for in any author. However little a resemblance you see in her male characte..."
If you did not like the author's way of writing then why in the world would you read another book from her? About 12 years ago I picked up a book that I thought I would enjoy. Never heard of the author before. I enjoyed the book right up to the last chapter. The ending of the story upset me so much that I have refused to pick up any of his books. I have seen at least 5 or maybe 6 books by him since then and it appears he is quite popular. But I refuse to read another book by him.
If you did not like the author's way of writing then why in the world would you read another book from her? About 12 years ago I picked up a book that I thought I would enjoy. Never heard of the author before. I enjoyed the book right up to the last chapter. The ending of the story upset me so much that I have refused to pick up any of his books. I have seen at least 5 or maybe 6 books by him since then and it appears he is quite popular. But I refuse to read another book by him.
Sammy, would you like to be friemds?
well there are many reasons for that 1. I refuse to leave any story unread when I start a book I simply have to finish it, being that this was a sequel I had to read it. 2. no matter how much I like or dislike a book I always tend to read more than one novel from any author in case they either had a good day or a bad day to get a round about opinion - every great author will write at least one bad novel this is my way of testing that. And clearly it works given that I got to see the huge difference and development of this author from one book to another :) and sure why not? :)
Sammy wrote: "well there are many reasons for that 1. I refuse to leave any story unread when I start a book I simply have to finish it, being that this was a sequel I had to read it. 2. no matter how much I lik..."
I to have to complete books. I have read some really bad ones but had to read through it. Its just my nature. Nice meeting you and can't wait to discuss other books with you.
I to have to complete books. I have read some really bad ones but had to read through it. Its just my nature. Nice meeting you and can't wait to discuss other books with you.
Admittedly, I would have loved imagining Mia's and Adam's lives would have played out differently. I think If I Stay can end extremely hopefully depending on your perspective whereas Where She Went is decidedly not optimistic. I think this would be a valid reason to not like the book or wishing it was "never written," if you really needed to believe everything magically works out for Mia.As for the book itself, I think it is refreshingly realistic. Mia's choice to live was going to come with consequences by sheer virtue of the overwhelming tragedy that initiated the choice in the first place. Things like that will drastic rewrite your life, and I think it is worthwhile to acknowledge it.
Catherine wrote: "I love Gayle Forman and all, but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place. Adam was a drug addict, obnoxious rock star and Mia was a prestigious, snoot..."I really think like you, this book is better off veneer written
I absolutely loved Where She Went. I actually felt it held more of emotional punch for me. I think it's because I felt like I knew where If I Stay Was going the whole time and with Where She Went I wasn't really sure if Adam and Mia would find their ways back to each other again. I definitely think (minus the fame part) it demonstrated how a major event that you think will bring two people closer can have the opposite affect.
Alana wrote: "first off it bothers me that people call this a pov book, mainly because imo i feel that in a pov book they discuss and recap the same situations. which they obviously did not in where she went. in..."It bothers me that you don't think it's a POV.
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I'm going to clarify that I was only asking if anyone else felt like this book was a disappointment. Some people have been getting mad at me for expressing my opinion, and that's not very mature. I respect you if you enjoyed this book, but I didn't, and that should be respected, too. Also, if everyone "didn't say anything unless it's nice," then book reviews probably wouldn't be able to exist. And I believe Goodreads is for freely expressing how we feel about books, whether positive or negative. If you don't agree with me, tell me why. If you agree with me, tell me why. But don't just angrily tell me I don't have the right to express my opinion, because that's not right. I have every much as right to hate this book as you have to love it. That's all.
I love Gayle Forman (If I Stay and Just One Day are amazing), but this book was a huge disappointment to me. Everything felt so whacked and out of place in light of the previous book. Adam seemed like a drug addict, no matter how much he tried to deny it, and acted like an obnoxious rock star. Mia came off a prestigious, snooty, famous cellist, and every trace of the Mia I remembered from the last book was also gone. I know they've both been through a lot, but these drastic transitions were too much for me. It's almost as if they obliterated their former selves. In the wake of an accident, I would have clung to my identity like a lifeline. It would be the only thing I had left. I wouldn't entirely reinvent myself. Then it would feel as if I truly had died. But that's just my opinion.
I also couldn't stand reading the book from Adam's point of view, and I really hated the ending, as well as the majority of the book. I know it was trying to give closure to If I Stay, but I actually enjoyed If I Stay's ending, knowing Mia would be alright, and because it was open, it gave me the freedom to imagine how she and Adam's future would turn out. Where She Went kind of just crushed all of that into pulp and replaced it with a dilapidated world with characters who were only shells of the ones I fell in love with. Does anyone else feel this way?