Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I Was Here ♥ Gayle Forman |

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

I Was Here
Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers 
Image and video hosting by TinyPic(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 StayI 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 
femmmefatalee@gmail.com

42 comments:

  1. 4am wow! This must've been a very good book in that retrospect! I haven't read any of her books and that is something I need to change! I have read excerpts from If I Stay and the book is on my TBR. It seems like this one was pretty good as well, even if it was a little less than the usual standard. Glad to know you liked it :)

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    1. Haha yes, it's a pretty addicting book ♥ It's a thriller, mainly that's why and the author is talented. Waiting to hear your thoughts on her books soon :)

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  2. Aw, thank you so much Diana & of course, heading to your blog right now ♥

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  3. Never heard of this author! I will look at him here!!

    Greets from the EDELFABRIK
    Chrissie

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  4. I love raw books but suicide is a hard topic for me to read about for some reason. Makes me so sad.

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    1. I agree, books about suicide are always a delicate topic.

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  5. I feel like all Gayle's books are built around tough matters. I just started "If I Stay" and reading the beginning, the part with the accident, was really hard for me... Although I really like the style of writing!
    @Vanilla Reads

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    1. Yes, her writing is very addicting<3 Hope it gets better for you soon though, it does get tough as you read on though.

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  6. This is probably the yes review I've read for this book. Most have been more negative.

    I sort of want to read it now just to see why people aren't loving it. She's usually one of those slam dunk - everyone loves it kind of authors.

    Karen @For What It's Worth

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    1. I've seen many negative reviews as well - She set the standards pretty high with her If I Stay novel, although, this one is not that bad at all. Bit cliche, but great concept.

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  7. I am not fan of clichés in booka but I can appreciate novels when author makes them work. Glad to hear this book was one of them. Lovely review, Benish :) (I can call you Benish, right?)

    Btw, I am loving your blog! So glad I stumbled upon it :)

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    1. Of course Lucia, you can call me that :) & you're so right, if only all authors could make cliche work. Thank you so much ♥

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  8. Lovely review Benish. I haven't tried this author yet, but was sent a copy of this on audio. You have me curious to give it a go :)

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    1. Hope you enjoy reading it Kim ♥ It's a tough book, but I did like it.

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  9. I can't wait to get started on this now that I've read your review. Before this review I had heard a lot of mixed things on the book and how it wasn't realistic enough but wow you stayed up till 4 just to finish the book. I have a good feeling about this one!

    Alex @ The Book's Buzz

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    1. Thank you Alex ♥ The book has a pretty unique concept overall, I can understand why people disliked it - but if you just read it thinking any other author wrote it besides Gayle, it can work out just fine. Waiting for your thoughts on it soon :)

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  10. It's nice to see such a positive review of this one. I was really looking forward to it but then read that the romance is terrible and that made me push it a bit back on my buy list. Anyhow, from your review it does sounds like a pretty decent read. I don't mind clichés either if they are used in a great way, so I hope this'll work out for me.
    Awesome review! :)

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    1. Thank you Veronika :) ♥ The romance isn't that bad honestly, it is quite cliche though - but I did liked it. I guess, people didn't expect this from Gayle since she writes about nice guys generally. Hope to read your thoughts on it x

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  11. I still haven't read anything by this author, but I really need to! I'm glad you enjoyed this one and I enjoyed your review as well! I'll have to try and read this one!

    Lovely review!

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    1. Thank you, hope you like reading it Magen ♥

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  12. Beautiful post, really interesting...thx for sharing!

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  13. I am glad to read a positive review for this one. I wanted to read this so badly but now I am unsure because of the reviews. Since I just read Cynthia Hand's suicide book, I think I am going to wait a bit before diving into another. Lovely review.

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    1. No worries Heidi, hope to hear your thoughts on this soon. Thank you ♥

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  14. I only skimmed this review because I plan on reading this book and I'm trying to go in blind. But knowing Gayle Forman, not personally *snickers* but her work always packs a punch to the heart and I can't wait! I love the way she writes and her stories always move me one way or another.

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    1. Haha aw good luck ♥ I hope you do like it though :) *fingers crossed*

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  15. I loved If I Stay and Where She Went and I so need to give this one a try! I love her writing and she just has a way with characters that make them so genuine! Seems like the romance was a bit out of place, though, I find some authors tend to add a romance sometimes bc they think it's required - or maybe to the suggestion of their pub. Still, the rest sounds wonderful! Great review, Benish!

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    1. I agree with you on that, the romance wasn't necessary at all - I guess to appeal to the younger audience, she added that in. Thank you Giselle, hope to hear your thoughts on this one soon :) ♥

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  16. Another great review

    Love Vikee
    www.slavetofashion9771.blogspot.com

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  17. I read If I Stay and Where She Went over Christmas. I liked both books but for some reason they were not exactly what I thought they would be. I'm not really sure why though. This book has been sitting in my cart on Amazon. I'll purchase it when I make my next order.

    Tracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights

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    1. I liked the first book If I Stay more, Hope you like this one though. It's something different from her usual books ♥

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  18. I haven't read anything by Gayle Forman yet, I hope to soon. I'm pretty sure my library has this one it. I am glad to see you enjoyed this one. Great review!

    Amber @ The Book Bratz

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    1. Thank you Amber ♥ Her books are amazing :)

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  19. If ever I try this book this is going to be the third book I read that has suicide ohmygosh! I'm so depressing…GAH! I didn't enjoy If I stay though so it'll take me a while to get to this. HAHA

    www.lite-rate-ture.com

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    1. Haha awww ♥ This is different from her usual writing, so let's see :)

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  20. I wasn't the biggest fan of IF I STAY, but I am getting pretty interested in I WAS HERE, simply because I want to see where I stand compared to everyone else. Yours is only the second positive review I have read for the book, and all the others have been very mediocre, almost bordering on negative. And the point that everyone touches on is the romance, and even you touched on that aspect! So I am guessing it was REALLY unnecessary and detracted a lot from the quality of the book, which is a shame because the rest sounds so good!

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    1. The romance was cliche, probably that's why most people generally didn't like it. It was sweet overall, but I felt it wasn't needed or it could have been different. The plot was amazing though! Hope to hear your thoughts on this one though ♥

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  21. ** Hangs Head ** I haven't read any of Gayle's books as yet. I know, I need to!!
    Awesome to see that you enjoyed this one too!

    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

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    1. Aw, it's alright, You'll get there eventually :) Thank you for dropping by ♥

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  22. I wouldn't say it felt more NA because of the sexual scenes (profanity yes, since you hardly get any in YA, so it felt more realistic to me for that) but I've read stronger sex scenes in YA, but I do think it leans towards the more mature end of YA and beginning of NA for the characters ages and the more Adult situations. This was my first Gayle Forman, and I loved it, too. :D

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    1. YAYY, I'm glad you enjoyed this one as well! <3

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