Novel Review: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: May 2014

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Teaser Tuesday.

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.

Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a Stranger? Um...

Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Wait ... what?

The Cover:

I really like this cover. I think it's really pretty, in general, but it's also very good for the book. I like that it is emphasizing the friendship, because that's a huge part of the story, if not the main part of it. Plus, on the inside of the dustcover, and the back of it, has different images of the girls, and I love that.

Review:

This book sounded good when I first heard about it, and I’m so glad I finally gave in and bought it.

Emily is the quiet friend, the one who stays in the background and follows along. She’s never really had a close friend, or stood out before. And then she meets Sloane, and they click. Sloane is the loud one, the adventurous one, who pushes Emily to do more. And then Sloane disappears at the beginning of the summer, leaving Emily only a list of thirteen things to do.

I don’t even know how to explain how much I loved this book. Even though Sloane isn’t there during most of the book, the friendship between them is clear. There are memories throughout, how they meet, how Sloane pushes Emily to do more, how they are just there for each other. There’s a point where the two of them have some differences, but through it all, they’re best friends, and they understand each other. And I liked how Emily went along with most of it, because she wanted to, and didn't feel pressured or make a fuss, until Sloane went too far.

While Sloane is gone, Emily has to figure out who she is without her. She has the list of things to do, and she has to grow in order to do them all. She makes new friends, she falls in love for the first time, and she misses her best friend.

Frank Porter is the best guy. He’s super sweet, and he’s immediately on board with Emily’s journey. He’s the shining star of the school, but they’ve never really spoken before. But now he’s home for the summer instead of at camp. He’s the sweetest guy and the best friend, honestly. And I liked that there was his friendship with Collins as well, and how sometimes they needed to be there for each other more. It was sweet.

I liked the whole group of characters, their progression and their differences. That, along with the list, made the entire novel so much fun to read.

Now I want to talk about Emily, and how I got emotional because of her at one point. Near the end, I cried, because I understood her so well. I relate a lot to Emily, and when everything starts crashing down around her, I completely felt it. I cried, and I hurt for her. Which made the ending that much better in the end.

This book was amazing, and I completely loved it. I cannot wait for her next book, because there’s no way I won’t be picking it up.