[Blog Tour] I Was Here by Gayle Forman: Review
Author: Gayle Forman
Release date: January 29th 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Series: N/A
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary / Romance / Realistic Fiction
Add to your library: Goodreads
This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend's shocking suicide.
As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness. (via Goodreads)
As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness. (via Goodreads)
A copy of this book was lent to me by Pinoy Book Tours. This however did not influence my opinion of the book or of the author in any way.
Review
I don't know what to say except that I was disappointed in a way when I finished reading this one. I've read a couple of novels regarding the people who have been left behind by someone who committed suicide. Of course, each novel is unique. I thought this one would be a friendship story. Sadly, at the end, romance won out. Not that I have anything against romance, you guys. It was just a little disheartening that the start of the novel reached out for a lot of potential (for me) but it only ended with a romance.
I told Dianne of PBT that I already got teary-eyed only with a few pages in this book. Gayle Forman definitely knows how to give the feels. Throughout the novel, I felt heavy. How will you react if your best friend committed suicide and it was all planned-out? I'd probably lose my shit if I was Cody. Cody though was a strong protagonist. She went out of her way to know the truth. But along the way she met a guy. I honestly didn't feel their connection. The only thing that connected the two of them was Meg. I somehow think that's the reason why Cody was pulled to him. But their romantic attraction? Nada for me. It sort of felt fake, actually.
The things that Cody found out about Meg's suicide was absolutely terrifying and sad. I can't imagine someone going through that. I already have a guess as to why Meg committed suicide and I was right. It wasn't something that Cody can control or anyone else for that matter. Along the journey of Cody, I realized that maybe she wasn't looking for the reason why Meg did it. It was more about her finding a way to make herself feel that it wasn't her fault. It's that guilt. The guilt that everyone feels when someone close to them commits suicide. This is the reason why I felt that the story kind of turned a different way. It would have been nice to actually delve more into that. It made me feel that even if Meg knew about things, it was the romance that saved it. I know it wasn't the point but the romance part somehow made the more important topic just on the sideline.
I Was Here is an emotional and heartbreaking journey of coming to terms with your other half (you'll get it when you read the book) committing suicide. Despite me not liking the romance part, the reality of this book saved it for me. Be ready as Gayle Forman gives you another bunch of the feels!
I told Dianne of PBT that I already got teary-eyed only with a few pages in this book. Gayle Forman definitely knows how to give the feels. Throughout the novel, I felt heavy. How will you react if your best friend committed suicide and it was all planned-out? I'd probably lose my shit if I was Cody. Cody though was a strong protagonist. She went out of her way to know the truth. But along the way she met a guy. I honestly didn't feel their connection. The only thing that connected the two of them was Meg. I somehow think that's the reason why Cody was pulled to him. But their romantic attraction? Nada for me. It sort of felt fake, actually.
The things that Cody found out about Meg's suicide was absolutely terrifying and sad. I can't imagine someone going through that. I already have a guess as to why Meg committed suicide and I was right. It wasn't something that Cody can control or anyone else for that matter. Along the journey of Cody, I realized that maybe she wasn't looking for the reason why Meg did it. It was more about her finding a way to make herself feel that it wasn't her fault. It's that guilt. The guilt that everyone feels when someone close to them commits suicide. This is the reason why I felt that the story kind of turned a different way. It would have been nice to actually delve more into that. It made me feel that even if Meg knew about things, it was the romance that saved it. I know it wasn't the point but the romance part somehow made the more important topic just on the sideline.
I Was Here is an emotional and heartbreaking journey of coming to terms with your other half (you'll get it when you read the book) committing suicide. Despite me not liking the romance part, the reality of this book saved it for me. Be ready as Gayle Forman gives you another bunch of the feels!
About the Author
Gayle Forman is an award-winning, international best-selling author and journalist whose articles have appeared din numerous publications. She is the author of the New York Times bestsellers If I Stay and Where She Went, as well as Sisters in Sanity (HarperTeen)
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