Mundie Moms

Friday, March 6, 2015

I Was Here by Gayle Forman, Book Review


Written by: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Source: Purchased

Purchase: IndieBound | amazon | Barnes and Noble | BAM | Powells

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars -- a mystery that is packed with emotion

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.

On January 27th my kindle had barely registered that it was 9:02 PST when I realized that I Was Here had already downloaded. I might have muttered something about not getting any sleep at all and I dove right into an unexpected surprise. Why unexpected? Because I had no idea that this story was going to be a tricky mystery with a bit of a thriller feeling to it.

I was expecting the emotional turns. This is something that Gayle is simply masterful in writing. But, I wasn't expecting that feeling in the pit of my stomach, that foreboding, that chills-down-my-spine feeling that you get when reading a really well done mystery plot.

Cody and Meg are the tightest of friends, but even BFFs have secrets. When Meg commits suicide, Cody begins to unravel her best friend's footsteps that led to that final decision. Cody is a complex character, full of insecurities and carrying a lot of emotional baggage. So basically, a character that I understood from the very first page. I also understood that devastating feeling of thinking you know someone and discovering that you really didn't know everything about them.

As Cody retraces her friends first term in college, she meets the new people in Meg's life and she discovers a different Meg from the one she knew. Oh you guys, the story will hook you and hook you hard for hours. There were things I expected and things I didn't. Characters I loved and ones that were vile. But in the end, I understood their motivation and yes, the mystery of why Meg committed suicide was crystal clear. In true Gayle fashion, there is that feeling of hope at the end. And in those sad, pivotal moments in our own lives, that feeling of hope is the one we all cling to.

If you enjoy a mystery with depth and characters who are beautifully written, pick up I Was Here. It's just the kind of story to keep you reading through yet another snow storm or even the many hours spent waiting for appointments and school bells. Another Gayle story that goes on my Sharing It with My Kids shelf.

The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight Snippet

Emma and Julian's Parabatai Ceremony by CassandraJean
Cassie posted a rather worrisome snippet from Lady Midnight.  :

“Let me tell you a truth before you die, Emma,” said the voice. “It is a secret about the Nephilim. They hate love, human love, because they were born of angels. And while God charged his angels to take care of humans, the angels were made first, and they have always hated God’s second creation. That is why Lucifer fell. He was an angel who would not bow to mankind, God’s favored child. Love is the weakness of human beings, and the Angels despise them for it, and the Clave despises it too, and therefore they punish it. Do you know what happens to parabatai who fall in love? Do you know why it’s forbidden?”
So who is The Voice? And oh my goodness, that warning!!!!! This is going to be one good and possibly heart-breaking story. 

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