"Where She Went" by Gayle Forman

264 pages

This is the sequel to "If I Stay," in which seventeen-year-old Mia and her family were in a devastating car accident that killed her parents and little brother. Her boyfriend, Adam, was there for her throughout the trauma. Now, in "Where She Went," we jump ahead three years and the perspective has shifted from Mia to Adam. He's in a rock band that has suddenly and spectacularly shot to the top of the charts. He's living a life of tours, girls, and money that many envy, but despite it all he's miserable. We learn that Mia moved from Oregon to New York after recovering from the accident and broke up with Adam shortly after that. The breakup tore him apart, but the songs it inspired were largely responsible for his band's success. Now we watch as Adam and Mia run into each other in New York City and, in one long night, begin to work through what went on between them.

I was satisfied with the ending of "If I Stay" and didn't give a thought to a possible sequel. When I heard that Gayle Forman was writing one, I was intrigued but not particularly excited. Honestly, I thought the sequel would be all about Mia getting over her family's death and would be super-depressing. When I started reading, though, I really got into it! Right away, I enjoyed having Adam's point of view. I had been focused on Mia because she was the one who was closest to the three who died, but I didn't think about how much he was grieving for Kat, Denny, and Teddy; how much it hurt him to see Mia's pain and physical struggles; and (as I learned as I read) what Mia's rejection did to him. I realized that I wanted to know how Mia had dealt with her pain, but it was ultimately uplifting rather than depressing because by the time we see her, three years later, she is doing well and at peace with her situation. I didn't expect for her to be the "okay" one while Adam fell apart.

I also enjoyed the structure of the plot. Forman uses a lot of flashbacks, as she did in "If I Stay," and I think it works especially well with this story. It felt like putting a puzzle together as all the pieces fell into place as I read. The ending fell into place a little too smoothy--almost like a fairy tale--but I liked where it was going.