Review & Giveaway: Where She Went

Title: Where She Went
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Books
Pub Date: April 5, 2011
Format: ARC, sent from publisher (Thank you SO MUCH!!)

This is one of those books that I don't even really know how to "review." I don't even really think of it as a book--it's more of an experience. It's emotional, it's physical, it somehow reaches down into your body and demands a reaction. I didn't even realize I was giving it a reaction until I was crying so hard I couldn't read for the tears.

Yep, people, this is a book that will make you emo. But also warm and fuzzy, in a weird, teary way. And despite the fact that I have no idea how to convey how beautiful this book is, I will try.

The sequel to the heart-wrenching If I Stay (told from Mia's perspective), Where She Went (told from Adam's perspective) picks up the story of Mia and Adam three years after the accident, after the grief has been accepted, and after the pain has dulled. Or at least, that's what Adam thinks. But when an aggressive and enterprising reporter tries to find out who the "real Adam Wilde" is (his band, Shooting Star, is now legit and he is super famous), she digs around in his past and makes the connection that he and Mia went to the same high school and were more than just friends, a fact that both he and the band have bent over backward to keep out of the press. After a response in typical rock star-style, Adam storms out of the interview and into the streets of Manhattan.

As Adam walks to blow off steam and clear his head, he just so happens to find himself in front of Carnegie Hall, where Mia just so happens to be playing that very night as part of the esteemed Young Artists Series. And because Adam is a masochist, he buys a ticket to see her play, and then she invites him backstage, and then. *eyes glimmer with knowing*

I refuse to tell you, because you, reader, are hereby charged to get thee to the nearest bookstore and buy at least two copies of this book, because you will WANT to give it to someone. And you'll want your own copy. (Duh.) Anyway, to give you a hint of what was going on with me while I was reading, here are my tweets from the night I read this book. (read from the bottom up. Or don't. You choose!)

Yeahhhhhh. This one is a doozy. I read both If I Stay and Where She Went in one sitting each, and for some insane reason If I Stay didn't affect me as much as Where She Went did. It's a perfect sequel. I mean that. And I really don't know what else to say.

Oh, yes I do! If you are in or around NYC tonight, the brilliant Gayle Forman is having a release party at the Brooklyn Barnes & Noble from 7-9. Yes, TONIGHT! I will be there, with bells on. Rachel from Bookshelf Lust will be there toooooo. So, come hang out with us. We're fun.