Thursday 12 February 2015

Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman.


Book: I Was Here

Author: Gayle Forman

Pages: 288

Read On: Kindle

How Long it Took Me To Read: 2 days

Plot Summary: 

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 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.

General Thoughts: This is my fourth Gayle Forman book and this book though sounded heavy and intense I really wanted to read this. 

TRIGGER WARNING...for suicide, self-harm and depression. Do not read this book if any of these topics upset you. 

Things I Liked: 

1. The writing was pleasant as usual. I enjoy Gayle Forman's writing. 

2. The pace of this book is excellent and I just read it very quickly and didn't want to put it down. 

3. There is an air of 'mystery' in this book, why Meg killed herself isn't clear in the beginning and the readers along with Cody wonder why someone so full of life would suddenly end her life. 

4. Also the 'investigation' aspect of this book was interesting. 

5. I liked how well the characters were crafted in this book. Apart from Meg and Cody, even the secondary characters like their family and friends were all fleshed out well. And you got to know every one pretty well. 

6. I realllllly loved Meg's family- The Garcias are a close-knit and loving family. I especially loved Meg's little brother Scottie. 

7. The small-town atmosphere was also very well portrayed in this book. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. The main boy- Ben- no it's not like I didn't him. He was perfectly alright. I just feel that Gayle Forman is just writing the same boy over and over again. Musician. Angsty. Angry. The boy from If I Stay and Where She Went and this book could be twins! 

2. The latter bits of the book was a little....just a little bit boring. 

3. The ending was a little off...like...meh-ish. 

4. Meg....is a manic-pixie-dreamgirl. I am a little sick....tired...annoyed with reading about 'full of life', 'so talented', 'so gifted' and 'so magical' girls/people who end up killing themselves. I am not being insensitive but it's such a cliche. The full of life girl takes her own life...a bit done to death (no pun intended). 

Rating: 3.5/5 


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