Book Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Quick Facts

My Rating: 5 stars

Series: N/A

Date Read: February 2, 2015

Source: Purchased ebook

Publication Date: January 27, 2015

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

Genres: Young adult, contemporary

Summary (taken from Goodreads): Cody and Meg were inseparable.

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.

Review

Cody and Meg were best friends. They told each other everything. So when they separate for college and Meg kills herself, Cody wonders why she didn't talk to her. Why couldn't Meg come to her about something so important? Is it because Cody didn't visit like they planned? Because they didn't speak for about a month?

Her journey to find answers begins on a simple trip to collect Meg's things. There she meets Meg's old roommates, as well as someone else who might have the answers - Ben McAllister. Did Meg confide in him? Was he, ultimately, the reason she chose to die?

It's always hard for me to review books like these. I love all of Gayle Forman's books, and this one is no exception - which leaves me with little to talk about. There is not one thing I would change about this book, given the chance.

The characters were amazing. I fell in love with so many of them throughout the story, and I loved watching Cody, especially, learn and grow. The writing, of course, was wonderful and heartfelt, and the story itself was heartbreaking, yet hopeful. It dealt with a difficult subject, and handled it so well.

All I can really say is that I had very, very high expectations for this book. And every single one of them was met.