Sunday, July 3, 2011

WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman


About three years ago Mia and Adam went their separate ways - Mia off to Julliard and Adam off to live the life of a rock star.

Adam is about to start a European tour with Shooting Star. Since heading off on his own, he has attempted to push aside the emotions he still feels for Mia. Doing so has created a whole new set of problems. Adam is becoming cut off from his fellow band members and the resulting pressure is becoming more than he can take. His days are filled with annoying interviews, meetings, and rehearsals that he only manages to get through with the help of prescription drugs and cigarettes. His equally famous girlfriend constantly berates him about living with a ghost from his past.

In New York City for a brief interview before leaving for the tour, Adam has an angry outburst due to questions from a nosy interviewer. Knowing he won't be popular, he takes off avoiding his flight and, hopefully, the anger of his manager. His thoughts are filled with Mia, and when he stumbles across her name on the marquee for a Youth Concert series, he asks if any tickets remain. Fate intervenes and he finds himself sitting in the concert hall watching her perform.

After the concert he plans to slink back to his hotel and attempt to make up for his earlier bad behavior by contacting his manager. On his way out of the concert hall, Adam is approached by an usher asking him to follow him to Mia's dressing room.

What follows is a twenty-four hour period of emotional ups and downs as both Adam and Mia confront the demons surrounding their complicated relationship. Adam relives the terrible months of watching Mia struggle to recover from the accident that killed her parents and her little brother. He knows he is the reason why Mia left. He had prayed for her recovery and promised he would let her go if that was what she wanted. For three lonely years he has lived with the fact that that must have been her desire.

Can Adam and Mia forgive each other and themselves before each must leave to fulfill separate responsibilities on opposite sides of the world?

Author Gayle Forman takes readers back into the lives of Mia and Adam in her sequel to IF I STAY. With the focus more on Adam and his heartbreak both during and after Mia's family tragedy, Forman broadens the heartbreaking story in an emotional yet realistic direction. She explores the impact of death and separation as two people strive to overcome pain and connect with futures that satisfy them both.


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