Rating (Out of 5): ~4
Genre: YA/NA Contemporary Romance/Grief
Publisher: Viking (Penguin)
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Spoilers?: No.
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.
The Cover:
I really like the cover. It's not a girls face, I like the pose and meaning. I think the feeling of the girl and the background and the colors work really well together. I like the font. I think this was a good job done.
Quotes:
- "'She could do
anything. Solve anything for anyone.’
Alice pauses, digesting that. ‘Except for herself.’” (ARC, pg. 52)
- "Is this how it is
with lies? The first one comes hard, the second one easier, until they slip off
your tongue easier than truths—maybe because they are easier than truths.” (Pg. 94)
- "Life seems to be
about endurance, not enjoyment, not fulfillment.” (Pg. 147)
- "...reading some story
about a bunny that keeps telling its mother all the ways it’s going to run
away, even though, obviously, if the rabbit meant business, it would not be
telling its mother. When you’re serious, you keep quiet.” (Pg. 162)
Review:
I wasn’t too sure
what to think when I started this—I barely even read the synopsis. I mean, it
was Gayle Forman, so I knew I was going to get it. And now I’m really glad that
I requested it.
Cody and Meg are
best friends, and then Meg commits suicide, and Cody doesn’t understand. Now
she’s dealing with her loss, trying to see what she missed, and finding out a
lot more than she expected along the way.
The writing here
was fantastic, as well as Cody’s voice. I was glued to the pages, anticipating
getting back to it when occupied elsewhere.
The talk of suicide
went in surprising places here, much more than I expected it to. And I really
liked that. As well as the hit the family takes, the dynamic changes, how
everyone is hit in some way. I liked the way that Cody was close to Meg’s
family, especially her younger brother, because of her own mother.
Cody ends up going
to Meg’s college house, meeting her roommates, and a lot of other people who
knew Meg, who Cody never would have otherwise met. Alice was really nice, and a
great help to Cody. Harry was a surprisingly nice, helpful guy, as well as
Richard, none of whom Cody thought much of at the beginning.
And then there was
Ben. At the beginning I wasn’t sure I was going to like him, but I did by the
end. His relationship with Cody worked. I did like the way Cody kept convincing
herself she was different, and thus was very difficult for Ben.
I didn’t know what
to expect with this book, and was pleasantly surprised by all of it. I could
not put it down. And I can’t wait for Forman’s next book, whatever it is. Also,
she seems to be writing more new adult then young adult at this point, which is
totally fine with me. I like that age range more.
A review copy was
provided by the publisher, Penguin. Thank you!
