Where She Went by Gale Forman

The first book didn't affect me at all. I read all sorts of reviews where people kept talking about how the book moved them to tears. How they were using whole boxes of Kleenexes to control their waterworks. Okay then. That bothers me a lot because I read the whole book in an hour or so and not once did I have a problem with tears. Maybe it's just me, I believe I have an issue with connecting to books on an emotional level. Yes, that's probably it. I tried really hard to make myself cry in that one, to feel something, anything, but I got nothing. It was sad, yes, it touched your heart, and it was moving. Where She Went has a completely different feel to it. It would be unfair to compare it to its predecessor because this book tugged at the strings of your heart. If I Stay touched them, this one gave it a big, hard yank.

This book is told in Adam's point of view and it's much like its former, in the sense that you get to revel in the past where happiness seemed real. Adam's now a rock star, the profession he, at first, could only dream of. He's got a hot actress girlfriend, several hits topping the billboard charts and stardom people will do anything to have. But he's struggling. He can't get over the past. More importantly Mia. Getting through the day is labor for him. He has to take pills to relieve anxiety and he has to chant encouraging things in his head like mantras. Just to get through a single day. What bothers him the most is the fact that he has to go on tour for about two and a half months. He doesn't like it. Oddly enough, he doesn't want it. To get it out of my system, I have to say that I didn't like Adam. Much like Mia, he struggled with her accident, but much unlike her, he doesn't handle it well. He succumbs to his struggles, becoming annoying, melodramatic and downright rude. Yes, she did a lot to him that caused him a lot of trouble but after meeting her for this first time in years, he kind of acts like a dick. I will probably get crap from people saying that he is pain. Okay, so what? Keep in mind that I can't really connect on an emotional level with most books. Only at the end did this book really impact me. Adam's behavior annoyed the hell out of me and a lot of the time I was just like:

 

And this is just the PG rated version of my feelings. Things can get pretty R rated with me and trust me, you want to avoid going there. Anyway, back to the review. Moving on from Adam to Mia. This girl. Gosh she is strong. Even with Adam being a cranky little baby, she keeps up with him, puts up with his crap. Never once in this book does she let her past bring her down which is awesome. I love you Mia. I love you. She uses the death of her parents as a reason to go on, to become Julliard's rising star. Her whole family sits on her shoulders like angels, encouraging her to run the last lap and keep on running until she drops. And the really cool, sweet thing is, she doesn't want to forget them. Not much of a spoiler, but I'm still going to give a heads up. MINOR SPOILER ALERT! She hangs their pictures all over her apartment walls as a memory. So though they're dead, they're still alive. If that makes any sense. Come on, I know it does.

Mia was a breath of fresh air. And so were Adam's song lyrics. This guy may have been a piece of crap but during his "Time of Dying" (That's a song by Three Days Grace, give it a listen. I think it works well with this book), he's got all this pent up inspiration and eventually, he lets it loose. Here are some of his lyrics:

“You crossed the water, left me ashore
It killed me enough, but you wanted more
You blew up the bridge, a mad terrorist
Waved from your side, through me a kiss
I started to follow but realized too late
There was nothing but air underneath my feet"

-from the song "Bridge"

“Barrel of the gun, rounds one two three
She says I have to pick: choose you, or choose me
Metal to the temple, the explosion is deafening
Lick the blood that covers me
She’s the last one standing
- from the song “Roulette”

 Aren't these beautiful? Anyway, to close off this review I want to say that the songs and Mia were what made it whole. They're the only reason why I didn't chuck this book out my window. Mia. As I said before, I love you. Songs, I love you too. Adam. Please, imagine my middle finger sticking up at you right about now. I don't like you.
2 stars? 2.5 stars? You can be the judge of that.