Book Review: I Was Here, Gayle Forman

Title: I Was Here
Author: Gayle Forman
Published: January 2015
Pages: 270
Source: Giveaway (I think)
Format: ARC
Rating: 4/5
Cody and Meg were inspearable.

Two peas in a pod.

Until... they weren't anymore.

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg's college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there's a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg's heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can't open - until she does. and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend's death gets thrown into question.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

I Was Here tells the story of Cody and her determination to find out why her best friend, Meg, committed suicide. She blames herself thinks she should have seen the signs. It's a very emotional read and my eyes were prickly towards the end.

I Was Here is a very quick and easy-to-read book packed with emotion. It's similar to other books along the same subject, but it's still an interesting read. (I think it would be weird to say I enjoyed it).

The story is mainly set in Washington, but there are also parts set in Nevada. It feels like a standard America-set YA contemporary and so could have been set in any state I think.

The characters are likable enough. Although Cody did annoy me at times, I think she was written well as someone trying to work through their grief and self-blame. Ben gets more likable as the story progresses too. I think I Was Here really just highlights the different ways people work through their grief. All the characters dealt with it in varying ways.

I Was Here does have the absent parent trope which I'm completely over. Cody's mum is around but leaves Cody to her own things. She has no problem with Cody traveling to a big city every weekend. And Cody's father is unknown, all she has is a name. Ben is also in a similar situation.

The story is told via the first person POV of Cody so really gives an insight into her grief. I didn't find the story too predictable - and throughout the first half, I was convinced it was going to go in a different direction regarding Ben's involvement. I'm glad it didn't go how I thought it was going to.

I wouldn't say the plot is particularly fast-paced. The book focuses more on the characters and their feelings rather than plot, but plot is there. I still flew through it though. There weren't any major plot twists and the book ended on a bittersweet note.

I'd definitely recommend I Was Here to teen fans of contemporary fiction. It's definitely a fantastic book to highlight the effect of suicide on family and friends. I don't know if I'll read any more YA by Gayle Forman as I've definitely aged out of seeking out new YA (I just happened to already own this one). But if I see any of her adult fiction in the bookshop I may pick it up.

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