If I Stay / Where She Went

Over the summer I managed to get my dad to buy me 'If I Stay' and 'Where She Went' by Gayle Forman and I managed to read them both over about two days. They were quite short books with about 200 pages each but the story just wraps its hands around you and doesn't let go so you end up just reading them in one sitting. 

'If I Stay'  

"Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters."

The first book was brilliant, the author managed to mix detailed flashbacks with the occurrences happening at  the current time without making a wishy-washy storyline like some others have, she made it detailed with out over picking things and showed the emotions of the other characters without making the story too confusing. She describe the gore of the car accident without making it vile for the reader to read and didn't leave in information that wasn't needed. It was beautifully written with characters that didn't seem like a dream. 

Yes, the relationship between Mia and Adam is a bit cliche but we all love a bit of a cliche really, right? And nothing is really original so why not use a cliche as a component to a heavy storyline? The storyline would have been to much in my opinion and she didn't abuse the cliche it was just there, adding a happier emotion to the weight of the situation. This is a must read, it makes you laugh (slightly), smile and cry. It holds your attention unlike other books I have read  and pulls your heart strings without pulling them off completely. 

But oh, the cliffhanger. This book contains a huge cliffhanger that kills you, even if you do have the next book waiting expectantly next to you. My one piece of advice when reading these books is to buy them together. The wait between finishing the first and starting the second will kill you.

Although I love it, I do have one piece of annoyance when it comes to this book. The cover. I know that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but all of the recent redesigns of it has made it look a bit naff to be honest. I have put the first cover here just to make it look truly amazing (like it is).

'Where She Went' 

"Picking up several years after the dramatic conclusion of If I Stay, Where She Went continues the story of Adam and Mia, from Adam's point of view. Ever since Mia's decision to stay - but not with him - Adam's career has been on a wonderful trajectory. His album, borne from the anguish and pain of their breakup, has made him a bona fide star. And Mia herself has become a top-rate cellist, playing in some of the finest venues in the world. When their respective paths put them both in New York City at the same time, the result is a single night in which the two reunite - with wholly satisfying results."

'Where She Went' wasn't as breath taking as the first but it was still amazing. It starts off a bit 'eh' and slow going but once you power through that then it starts to get interesting.

Like the first book, it managed to fill you in with the past without sounding like a mess, it conveyed their emotions and feelings without making it sound boring and confusing and filled you in on everything after that massive cliffhanger without being too in the past. I liked this book because you got to see Adam's point of view instead of Mia's and it wasn't just the same as the first but with a new story line. I think this book is compulsory if you have read the first one you have to read the first one to understand the second.