I Was Here ♥ Gayle Forman |

I Was Here
Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers 
(January 27, 2015)

• Genre: Thriller
• Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Nobles
• Source: Personal Purchase

Synopsis: Cody and Meg were inseparable... Until they weren’t. 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, and some secrets of his own. 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.

• Cody and Meg are best friends since childhood, one day Meg commits suicide. Cody does not understand why - because there were no warning signs given .. at all. She was supposed to be BFF with Meg, but she realizes she doesn't have the slightest clue. She travels to Meg's college, to her dorm to pack her belongings, and over there she finds some secrets of Meg that no one knows, not even Cody. Cody is on a hunt now to know the exact reason for her best friend's suicide. Was it even truly suicide or something more?  This is a thriller that questions Meg's death, and what really happened..

• Aaaaaaahhh.. It's a novel by Gayle! *fangirls* I really do love that beautiful cover, I think I might love it even more than If I Stay. The cover makes me think, the girl is going on a journey.. Gayle Forman is one of my favorite authors after reading her beautiful novel If I Stay, and Where She Went broke many hearts. I do believe she's one of the first authors to have unique concepts in her previous novels about out of body experience, and that too in Young Adult novels. I've seen mixed reviews about this novel, but come on, it's Gayle! Okay, it's not her best work, but overall I did like this read - I still believe it was a nice attempt outside of her usual writing, and it works. The writing is addicting, and I couldn't put it down. Even though it was 4 a.m, and I needed to sleep - I. COULDN'T.PUT.IT. DOWN. I think the main reason a lot of people aren't that happy about this novel, it's because it's more on the cliche side and it's not young adult anymore. It leans more strongly on stronger YA with it's profanity and sexual scenes - honestly, it wasn't that bad though.

•  Gayle's novels are always on the romantic side, this novel was supposedly about two best friends - then a romance comes in .. I do believe the romance wasn't necessary regarding a novel that was about friendship and suicide. A minor would have done just fine, but it was cliche romance regarding the bad boy with the good girl. I don't like it when girls think they can change the bad boy, even when they know the truth about him..  As I have said before, if authors can make cliche concepts work, I like it then. However, I didn't expect it from Gayle.. It seemed too typical. I DID like the romance though, it was slow burn and you can tell the male lead cared a lot about Cody. The writer always makes her novels extraordinary with depth and emotion. I did like the characters though especially Scottie and Alice, they all reminded me of how people are like in real life. I liked how Gayle picked an approach where the characters are real, even if it's fiction.

• The overall plot of the novel is amazing, it makes one think - If you were going to commit suicide, how would you do it? The thoughts on suicide can make one uncomfortable .. but it doesn't mean the author encourages suicide, not at all - although, the novel has heavy doses about suicide. This is actually inspired from a true story. It's just something to think about, a possibility of what can happen. It shows that when someone commits suicide, it also affects the people around them. Overall, I Was Here is a thriller that keeps you on your toes with Cody, I quite enjoyed it. It didn't make me cry like If I Stay, but it is a moving story with refreshing twists - I actually like this more than If I Stay. I don't believe this is Gayle's best novel out there .. but it's more meaningful and raw than any of her previous work. If the romance was different, then it could have been her best yet.

Recommended for fans of All The Bright Places, and The Silent Sister.

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by to say hello  :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures.. 

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 

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