Review: I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

I Have Lost My Way
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking
Format: eARC
Source: First to Read

To Sum It Up: Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel are three very different people leading three very different lives, but they do have one thing in common. They have all reached turning points and know they are on the edge of something. A freak accident brings them all together, and in each other, they begin to find the intangible piece that’s been missing from each of their lives.

Review: On the rare occasion when I read contemporary, Gayle Forman is my go-to author for the genre, and she hasn’t disappointed me yet. Her latest novel, I Have Lost My Way, is another page-turner, centered around three strangers who meet by what seems like chance. Thanks to her magical storytelling, though, Forman convinces you that these three characters were absolutely meant to find each other.

I Have Lost My Way has a fairly simple premise that belies how deep the characters and the story are. I should say “stories,” because the book not only follows the development of the friendship between the three main characters—Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel—but it also explores their individual backstories. The book switches between third person omniscient and first person narration. Through the latter, we learn how the title applies to each character.

Freya is an up-and-coming singer who mysteriously loses her voice in the middle of recording her debut album. Harun is nursing a broken heart but can’t tell anyone, especially his traditional parents, because no one knows he’s gay. Nathaniel’s character poses a bit of an enigma, but as the puzzle pieces fall into place, what emerges is a story that will shatter your heart.

It’s been a while since a book captured my attention almost instantly and held it all the way to the last page. I devoted every spare second I had to reading this and was reluctant to put it down whenever real life called. Gayle Forman is so gifted at writing characters you feel compelled to read about and care about. I also loved her beautiful portrayal of the diversity that makes New York the greatest city in the world (in this native New Yorker’s not so humble opinion). If you enjoy exquisite storytelling with characters so authentic they could step right out of the pages, then this book is a must-read.

All in All: Another winning novel from Gayle Forman. Contemporary usually isn’t my cup of tea, but her books, including this one, are always compulsively readable.

Review: Just One Night by Gayle Forman

* This review contains spoilers for Just One Day and Just One Year.

Just One Night (Just One Day #2.5)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: After a year apart, Allyson and Willem are reunited at last. They fill each other in on everything that’s happened since they last saw each other in Paris, and to the surprise of both, they narrowly missed meeting again. But they’re together now, and neither plans to say goodbye this time.

Review: I considered skipping writing a review for Just One Night since it’s on the short side, but the completist in me demanded that I see the reviews for this series through to the end. And so here goes a review that’s short and sweet, just like Just One Night.

Although I was okay with the ending of Just One Year, I wasn’t going to complain about the existence of a continuation of Allyson and Willem’s story. Just One Night is like an extended epilogue; we find out what happens immediately after Allyson turns up on Willem’s doorstep in Amsterdam.

And what a lovely reunion it is. These two characters have traveled the world to find each other and to find themselves as individuals, and now here’s their well-deserved happily-ever-after. Just One Night marks a departure from the first person narration of the novels and is instead written in third person omniscient. Not only do we glimpse into the minds of Allyson and Willem, but occasionally we also view them through the eyes of their friends who, in one way or another, have all played a role in bringing them together.

Often I find these eBook-only short stories/novellas give or take, but this one was more than worth 99 pennies. Just One Night provides the perfect amount of closure to Allyson and Willem’s tale, and if you rooted for them all along, you won’t want to pass on this.

All in All: There’s no reason not to check this out, really. I was so thrilled when I found out that there was a bit more to this epic romance, and I was not let down in the least.

Review: Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Just One Year (Just One Day #2)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: Willem only got to spend one day in Paris with Lulu, a girl he met first during a Shakespeare performance and then again on a train headed for London, but that single day has left an indelible mark on him. Lulu is gone, presumably back home to the United States, and Willem has almost no way of tracking her down, even though he does try. He attempts to move on and finally returns home to Amsterdam after two years of nonstop traveling, but Amsterdam doesn’t feel much like home anymore. Everything keeps circling back to Lulu and the day that Willem felt more alive than he had in a long time. Even if he never sees her again, which seems likely, he’ll always feel connected to her and remember the impact she's had on his life.

Review: Sometimes you just need a feel-good read, and the double shot of Just One Day and Just One Year has been exactly that. The journey isn’t all sunshine and smiles for sure, but by the end of both novels, there’s an irrepressible sense that if things are meant to be, they’ll find a way of happening, no matter how high the odds are stacked.

Yet again, Gayle Forman has worked her magic and made me love contemporary. Just One Year is billed as a companion to Just One Day, and that is an apt description. Just One Year is told from Willem’s perspective this time and picks up with explaining why he failed to return to the Parisian art squat—and to a waiting Allyson, whom he only knows as Lulu. Forman employed a similar narrator swap with If I Stay and Where She Went, and once more, it’s put to effective use. But whereas Adam’s story in Where She Went begins a few years after Mia’s in If I Stay, Willem’s arc runs concurrently with Allyson’s in Just One Day. I highly recommend reading these two books back-to-back; as I read Just One Year, I often thought back to where Allyson was at different points on the shared timeline. It was particularly poignant to see how they could be thousands of miles apart, sometimes on opposite ends of the world, yet experiencing the same emotions.

Willem’s backstory gets filled in here, and what emerges is a portrait of a lost young man, still strongly feeling the loss of his father and unable to find comfort from his mother, with whom he’s always had a distant relationship. But, just as that one day in Paris together forever changed Allyson, so too has it altered the course of Willem’s life. Slowly he begins to discover direction, where previously there had been none. I especially loved watching him reconnect with some old friends in Amsterdam; they even help him search for Lulu, despite having so little information at hand. As the novel goes on, Willem’s circle of friends and family widens, and he starts to realize that he’s not so alone.

As they did in Just One Day, Shakespeare’s works play a significant role here. I’ve always been more of a tragedy aficionado, but reading Just One Day and Just One Year has definitely piqued my interest in Shakespeare's As You Like It. Even without being familiar with the latter, the lines that are quoted here just feel so fitting; that’s how powerfully this story is conveyed on its own. I’d love to reread both books someday after reading As You Like It; I have a very good feeling that I’ll only love the two more than I already do.

All in All: This is an absolute must-read if you read Just One Day, and again, I highly recommend reading the books one after the other if possible. Although Allyson’s story resonated more with me just because we share quite a few personality traits, I still found Willem’s tale compelling and brilliantly told. Gayle Forman has such a knack for writing about love but without making it saccharine, and that is why I keep returning to her novels whenever I need a good dose of contemporary.

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Just One Day (Just One Day #1)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased

To Sum It Up: While on a European tour the summer before beginning her freshman year of college, Allyson Healey meets Willem, an actor with a roving Shakespearean performance troupe. After a second chance encounter on board a London-bound train, it seems that fate keeps putting the two in each other’s path. And so, on an uncharacteristic whim, Allyson’s journey takes a detour to Paris with Willem. But after spending an unforgettable day together in the city, Willem disappears. Shattered, Allyson returns home and tries to move on and maybe become more of the daring person she was that day in Paris.

Review: Still dealing with a vicious book hangover from Queen of Shadows, I felt the need to totally change gears with my next read. Just One Day called out to me from the shelf, and at long last, I picked it up.

I loved Gayle Forman’s If I Stay and Where She Went, plus the short story she contributed to the holiday-themed anthology My True Love Gave to Me, so I was very excited for Just One Day. Once again, Forman’s characters, storytelling, and this time, international locales, reminded me why she’s my go-to author for contemporary, a genre that I often struggle with.

I don’t think I’ve ever connected with a protagonist in a contemporary novel as much as I did with Allyson. Like her, I find it difficult to step outside of my comfort zone and would rather retreat to its safety than give in to impulse and the unknown. I also completely understand the compulsion to please everyone, even when it comes at the expense of your own goals and desires. Allyson must further deal with a micromanager for a mother; there is no aspect of Allyson’s life that her mother doesn’t involve herself in. All of these factors create the impression of a life that’s at the very least stifled, but Allyson gets her chance to break out and inhabit a different person once she meets Willem.

About the first third of the book centers around Allyson and Willem’s chance meeting in Stratford-upon-Avon followed by their whirlwind day in Paris. Their instant chemistry is astronomical and makes a very convincing case for the existence of soul mates. This is a huge concession coming from a skeptic like me. The beginning of Allyson and Willem’s story is the stuff that swoons are made of—exhilarating and sweet and for Allyson, liberating. With Willem, she’s Lulu, the person she might have dreamed of being but would never dare to in real life. Their connection is forged so strongly that it’s easy to forget that they’ve just met, making Willem’s disappearance once that single day draws to a close all the more devastating.

When the novel resumes, Allyson is at college and having an extremely hard time moving past what happened in Paris. She’s doing poorly in school and keeps to herself. Her climb out of a deep depression is slow and arduous, but progress is steadily made. Along the way, Allyson learns what it means for her to be Allyson and not the Allyson everyone else, especially her mother, wants her to be. Shakespeare’s plays figure prominently in Allyson’s road to figuring out who she is, and I absolutely loved how Forman interweaved them throughout the novel.

I also love when books carry you away to places you’ve never been, in this case, Paris for me. Just One Day paints a vivid tableau of the City of Light that completely immerses you; it’s like you’re right there. I’ve always wanted to visit Paris, but now more than ever after reading this book.

This was such a fantastic, engrossing read—thought-provoking, poignant, and wonderfully developed. It’s always a little extra satisfying whenever a contemporary read works out for me, as this one did. I can’t wait to dive into the companion novel, Just One Year because I must know the rest of Allyson and Willem’s story.

All in All: I identified on so many levels with Allyson’s personality, so Just One Day turned out to be quite a personal read for me. Even if I hadn’t felt drawn to Allyson’s character from the start, though, I think I still would have gotten as much out of the novel because it’s so moving and so beautifully written.

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Where She Went (If I Stay #2)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Speak

To Sum It Up: Three years have passed since the accident that tore Mia’s life apart and fractured her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam. He has achieved superstardom with his band, Shooting Star, and seemingly has everything he could want: money, fame, and an actress girlfriend. All he can think about is Mia, though, and why she stopped answering his calls and emails. Mia is gaining her own celebrity status in New York, where she now lives. Adam happens to be in the city when Mia is playing a recital at Carnegie Hall, and he can’t pass up the chance to maybe finally find out why Mia left and broke his heart.

Review: Where She Went is told from the perspective of Adam Wilde, Mia’s boyfriend from If I Stay. The story picks up three years after the accident that killed Mia’s parents and younger brother and left her critically injured. Although Adam is now a certified rock star, nothing can fill the void left by Mia’s departure for Juilliard and New York and her subsequently breaking off all contact with him. In If I Stay, Adam promised an unconscious Mia that he’d do anything she wanted, even let her go, if she only woke up. Now he’s living with the consequences of that promise.

This novel was every bit as beautiful and powerful as If I Stay. I even liked Where She Went a tad more. I thought that Forman made a brilliant choice in writing from Adam’s point-of-view this time and showing how Mia’s accident affected not only her but other people in her life, like Adam, as well. We learn about Mia’s grueling recovery from her injuries and her struggle to go on without her parents and brother through Adam’s flashbacks. These scenes are just as heartbreaking as the emotional moments in If I Stay, and once again, I found myself on the verge of tears quite a few times while reading this book.

The aspect of Where She Went that really hit home for me was the depiction of the ripple effect that tragedy can have, how far-reaching and lingering its effects can be. You do what’s necessary to survive when it strikes, but when you have time to think about it, it hurts. On bad days, it hurts a lot. In Adam’s case, the fallout from Mia’s accident still reverberates three years later. Neither his professional success nor a medicine cabinet filled with anti-anxiety medication and sleeping pills can help him get over Mia leaving him. Adam’s a mess, but I never found him overwrought with angst or self-pity. His pain seemed entirely real to me, cutting and raw. At first I couldn’t help being a little upset with Mia for never giving him an explanation for why she so abruptly cut him out of her life. When I finally heard Mia’s side of the story, though, I understood the reasoning behind what she did. And yes, it was another misty-eyed moment for me as a reader. In fact, reading this back-to-back with If I Stay left me feeling a bit like I’d been emotionally steamrolled.

If, like me, you loved If I Stay, then it goes without saying that you need to read Where She Went. Once more, Forman expertly writes about love and loss in a way that is never contrived or saccharine. That is why she has quickly become one of my favorite contemporary YA authors.

All in All: This is another absolutely amazing novel from Gayle Forman. Her characters are just so real, and you’ll be thinking about them long after you’ve finished reading.

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay (If I Stay #1)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Speak

To Sum It Up: Mia is a talented cellist with a close-knit family and a very promising musical career ahead of her. There’s even a place at the prestigious Juilliard School looming in her future. But in a single moment, Mia’s life is shattered by tragedy. As she observes her unconscious self lying in a hospital bed and reminisces about the past, Mia has an extraordinarily tough decision to make. Should she return to her remaining family and friends, knowing how difficult and painful it will be to go on without those she loved the most? Or would it be easier to leave her old life behind and join those she’s just lost?

Review: I’m having a lot of trouble organizing my thoughts on this one, so I hope this review makes sense in the end. I’m always very wary of reading books like this because I absolutely hate it when tragedy is milked for every last cloying drop. I feel the same way about mawkish movies in which I can just tell that the director was probably ordering the actors to turn on the treacle so that the viewers will flood their popcorn buckets with tears. I’m not sure why syrupy books and movies have always bugged me so much; maybe it’s because I don’t like being told how to feel about something. If a book moves me to tears, I want it to be because the story has struck me in a genuine way and not because the author thinks I should be bawling my eyes out at a particular point. For me, there’s a fine line between a veritably emotional read and utter sap, and fortunately, If I Stay never even comes close to crossing into the dreaded territory of the latter.

Despite my skepticism (you might even call it cynicism) toward potential tearjerkers, I picked this book up because the reviews had been so glowing. I figured that if it didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea, I’d just set it aside. That never happened. This novel completely mesmerized me with its heartbreakingly beautiful story. I admit to having a hard time getting through some parts of the book without my eyes welling up, but never once did I feel like my emotions were being manipulated. Never. Nothing in this book ever feels forced.

I loved the portrayal of Mia’s tight-knit family and how close she was to her former rocker parents and her little brother, Teddy. They have their normal family squabbles, though, as shown through Mia’s flashbacks. I loved how realistically all of Mia’s relationships were depicted, including those with her best friend, Kim, and her boyfriend, Adam. The brilliant dialogue played a big role in making all of the characters so three-dimensional. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Forman’s prose.

I know that what I’m about to say sounds incredibly trite, but this book resonated with me in a way that I can’t even articulate properly. There are some truly gut-wrenching, emotionally raw scenes in the book, but the grief and loss do not ring anything but true. I think that it takes a very special writer to accomplish this, and Gayle Forman certainly made a lifetime fan out of me with this stellar novel.

All in All: If I Stay is one of the best contemporary novels that I’ve ever read. If all contemporaries that dealt with weighty material were written like this one, I wouldn’t be so hesitant to read them.