I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Summary:
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 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, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open — until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.
First Sentence: The day after Meg died, I received this letter: I regret to inform you that I had to take my own life.
My Review:
When I first saw I Was Here, I wasn’t planning on reading it. I’m not a fan of Gayle Forman’s If I Stay, which made me feel absolutely no emotion, nor was I a fan of the first book in her other series, Just One Day, which bored me for more than half the book. However, once I saw the synopsis of I Was Here, I couldn’t help but be automatically interested in the book because who won’t be interested in a book about a main character’s best friend unexpectedly committing suicide? I was worried that I Was Here would be as boring as the other two books I’ve read written by Gayle, but I Was Here managed to surprise me.
His face is pure annihilation. “I don’t know what’s more disgusting: reading a dead girl’s email or writing from a dead girl’s email.” (ARC 46)
I Was Here bought out all the emotions that both If I Stay and Just One Day never did. It took awhile for I Was Here to bring a few tears into my eyes, but at least it did. However, I only teared up once and it didn’t last very long. From then on, I still felt some emotions, but it wasn’t as strong as the moment where the book made me tear up.
I Was Here is also darker than Gayle Forman’s other books, which might cause you guys to freak out since If I Stay is already kind of dark for most people. As you guys should know, I Was Here deals with the topic of suicide and most of I Was Here is Cody’s quest to find out the answer to why did Meg commit suicide? This quest to find an answer to this question brings Cody to some pretty dark places that people might be uncomfortable with – at times, I even found myself feeling a bit uncomfortable with what was going on in the book.
How can a person do that? How can they make a decision like that, write an email like that, and then just carry on? If you can do that, can’t you keep carrying on? (ARC 39)
I’ve heard that Gayle Forman described the love interest in I Was Here as one of the hottest guys she’s ever written. I have to admit that yeah, the love interest in I Was Here is kind of hot, but I feel like he’s still a jerk after all the things he has done so that erases all his hotness in my eyes. The love interest never did redeem himself, which is why I couldn’t cheer for the romance – I just accepted it.
The only one small problem I had with I Was Here was the fact that there was some things Gayle bought up, but never fully explored or resolved. It just doesn’t make sense for Gayle to bring up some things, to give you a hint of some things to come, only to switch topics and then never talking about the topic ever again.
Overall, I Was Here was a book that had me constantly engaged unlike the other Gayle Forman books I’ve read. I Was Here is definitely my favorite book written by Gayle Forman so far and I definitely hope she’ll continue on in this new direction.
I felt the same as you about If I Stay and I didn’t plan on reading any more of her books, but if I Was Here is different, then I’d give it a try. Great review!!
Elicia Cheah recently posted…ARC Review: Every Ugly Word by Aimee L. Salter
I liked all Gayle Forman’s other books and this one sounds like something I will enjoy too. And since you liked it more than the Forman’s other work, I’m hoping it will be good. Great review, can’t wait to get my hands on this book :)
Karin recently posted…On the Topic of Angels
I’ve found that her romances fall short for me too, but thankfully the story is normally pretty good. I’m excited to pick this one up. I enjoyed Just One Day, so I hope it’s more like that one that If I Stay
Jen K recently posted…Review: All the Bright Places
It’s awesome you found a Gayle Forman book you liked! It’s wonderful it gave you all the feels and it was a topic which interesterd you.
It would’ve been awesome if the guy wasn’t an idiot!
Lovely review :)
I’ve never read anything from Gayle Forman and to be honest, I never really had an interest. I didn’t like the idea for If I Stay because I felt like I wouldn’t get along with the main character. This one seems like it’s more for me. Suicide stories always get to me. But when I read your comment on the male love interest, it was pretty much as I suspected from the summary. He seemed like the D-Bag character that I would end up loving but I guess not, huh?
I might end up picking this one up but i’m scared about the hype monster *hides*
Nova @ Out of Time recently posted…ARC Review: Soulprint – Megan Miranda
I have never read a single book by the author, but if I were to read one I think it would be this. I like that it is a little darker than the others, and the subject matter is definitely interesting to me. I am glad that you actually liked this one, because it gives me a little hope that I might actually like it too!
Jaime Lester recently posted…Where Dead Bodies Lie ~ Blog Tour Excerpt and Giveaway!
I’m glad you really enjoyed I Was Here! I’ve heard more negative than positive things about Gayle’s other books and I’ve managed to stray away from reading them, but maybe, just maybe I’ll get a copy of this book just to see what it’s about and what happens at the end. Though I’m scared of tearing up. I’ve recently been so sensitive to sad subjects and I end up crying like a baby. But if it moved you, it must really be good! Thanks for your honest thoughts! ^_^
at last your review! okay this sounds like an emotional read but i am glad that at least it doesn’t turn out such a total let down for you. I actually enjoyed Gayle Forman’s books that were written from the males pov like Where She Went and Just One Year compared to their female mc. I do feel that Forman has a knack for writing darker themes. I can’t wait to get my ebook copy. Coz the physical ones won’t be available in my country anytime soon. ah! the downside of not living in the US.
I’m glad that you liked this one, despite not liking her previous works. I actually loved If I Stay, but didn’t like Just One Day. I guess her books are a manner of taste and preference. Great review! :)
Kim @ Divergent Gryffindor: BLOG || VLOG
Kim recently posted…Dress Up That Cover #23 – The Probability of Miracles
Good review. I just reviewed I was here for my blog as well. Personally, I loved If i Stay and Where She Went. But this one just kind of left me cold. Like you, I only teared up once. I thought that with the subject matter there would be a lot more emotion. Not so much though.
Cynthia recently posted…BOOK REVIEW: I Was Here by Gayle Forman
Great review. I think I’ll have more to say once I’ve actually read it – I am looking forward to seeing how the author deals with such sensitive subject matter. Forman’s books have been hit and miss with me, so I’m hoping I’ll enjoy this new direction of hers.
Hannah recently posted…Review: The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) – Maggie Stiefvater
Hey Kelly…so i just finished reading this one the other night and well there was no ugly crying from me…but i did felt very sympathetic towards Cody and the family left behind. But i wasn’t fond of this Ben guy…there was no spark that i would justify how their relationship escalated towards that ending. And it was kinda odd that Cody only kept recounting the times she had with Meg and what she is like when is was alive but there were no live flash backs wherein there is actual convo between them so that i can get a sense of how great and deep their friendship was. So that somehow hinder my connection with Cody and Meg. :/
I agree. I loved If I Stay and Where She Went, but didn’t actually feel a full connection to I Was Here. There was at least one thing in I Was Here that I wished Forman had elaborated on, I’d be interested to know what you’re talking about in the second to the last paragraph.
Amber recently posted…Musical Monday: All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven Playlist
I thought Gayle’s previous books were pretty good, but not SO SO AMAZING. I’m glad you thought I WAS HERE was better than her previous books though! I’m a little worried that the romance didn’t work out since he is apparently a jerk (ew nooo whyy), so I’m going to lower my expectations on the hotness. And why would Gayle leave the reader hanging like that with no more depth on a topic?? I WAS HERE is coming for me at the library, so I’m interested to see how my thoughts compare to yours. Thanks for the honest review, Kelly!
I felt kind of sick after reading If I Stay because it was just so SAD. I don’t know that I can do it again.
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I’ve only read If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman, but I think they are enough to let me know that I definitely want to read this one. Plus, I’m kind of a sucker for books about mental illness and depression. I don’t know why, but I really gravitate towards them.
I’m kind of bummed that there is a love interest in this one. I really wanted it to solely focus on the friendship, but I’m sure I can deal with it. A little romance never hurt anyone, right?
Erin @ The Hardcover Lover recently posted…Book Review: Open Road Summer
I’ve heard so much about this book and it’s definitely on my tbr list!
Your review was great and it actually made me want to read it more. Hope to get my hands on it soon, ’cause I sure do need a good book to get out of this reading slump.
Love these types of books!
xoxo,
Marta
Marta recently posted…review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
I received this one for review and devoured it in a few hours – just couldn’t put it down. It didn’t really last with me like I thought it would for ages after, but it certainly made it impossible for me to put it down.
I agree with you that it was a bit of a pain for her to have brought up things but then never fully reach the end of it – I mean, it’s realistically human, but if you were to plot out everything in the book it’d have had a lot of loose ends.
Idk, at the same time I was gripped by this book, but also slightly disappointed by it?
Katharine recently posted…Review: Cranky Ladies of History edited by Tansy Rayner Roberts & Tehani Wessely
Nice review! This is not my favorite genre of books, though I did read If I Stay so maybe I should try this one too. :)
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Book Spotlight: Onyx Moon by Constance Roberts
Really want to read this! I was pretty meh about If I Stay, but this sounds a lot better! And it deals with some pretty hard-hitting topics, so definitely excited to read this!
I’ve been waiting for this one for way too long! If I Stay is one of my favorite books ever, so if you weren’t a fan of that one and this one made you cry…. kinda nervous for what it’ll do to me!
I feel the same way about her other books! I didn’t feel anything when reading If I stay other than annoyed. I finished both of the books in the series though and I think it’s because of peer pressure. I wasn’t planning on reading this since I didn’t really love her other books but when you said that it’s better than the rest, I might give it a try and see.
Great review :) Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me . . . at all.
not very interested in the premise