I Was Here

it was entertaining but I just cant handle the main character.
She left kittens in a car to go party.
She is “not like other girls”
She picked a fight with a toddler.
She throws herself into insanely dangerous situations and gets mad at people who worried for her.
Yeah, she was going through grief and probably wasn't thinking but it just happened way too often.

The other characters had so much personality while the main character was so bland, how??!??

I find this book to be really important. Similar to All The Rage in that it tells the story of an issue society tends to shy away from. This is the story of Cody and how Cody moves on and deals with the death of her best friend, Meg. And it isn't simply Meg's death, but Meg's suicide. This is the story of how Cody tries to piece together why Meg did this when there were no clues.

I love Gayle Forman's writing and this book was no exception to that. Gayle Forman has a way of just pulling you into this heart-wrenching story and captivating your attention as you read. While I still prefer If I Stay, this book was still an fantastic read.

For me the true issue with this book was the romance, I did not care for it and would have preferred a story without it. Yes, this was Cody dealing with the loss of her best friend and she needed someone to lean on, but I'm not sure I agree with having that turn romantic. It would have been sufficient to have them be friends rather than it turn into something more.

After finishing this book, I'm left with this feeling of disappointment that this story is true for so many people. It is highly disappointing to me that there are people who experience what Cody went through every day. I think it is important that stories such as Cody and Meg's continue to be told and that society continues to address these issues.

The story was a bit slow at times but for the most part it kept me interested. I didn't feel connected to the characters and at times, Cody was simply unlikeable. I didn't feel a connection between Cody and Ben and their relationship wasn't very believable to me. I don't believe Cody got the closure she needed in Meg's death and I was a bit disappointed in the end.

I will scream forever (until they give in and comply) that Goodreads needs half stars. I would legit give this 3 and a half stars. But I guess I'll give it the extra half because I love Gayle Forman's writing usually.

The thing is, the bones of an amazing story are here. Cody's best friend Meg took her own life. While cleaning out her room, Cody finds some encrypted files on Meg's computer that may lead her to find out why she committed suicide. This book should have made me feel something. Anything, really. It should have made me sad and hopeful and angry. But it didn't. I didn't really feel anything when I read this. It was just another YA book for me.

The romance aspect was a huge turn off for me. It seemed completely out of place and unwarranted. And honestly, it felt like a reach by the author to make it more appealing to YA readers. That kinda sucks, whether that's what she meant by it or not. Maybe she just felt like it needed a side plot. Idk, it just wasn't for me.

Really, I think I'm giving it three and a half stars because the bones of the story are there. I get what she was going for. It just felt lacking in execution. And also for the writing style. Obviously, Gayle Forman is a talented writer and I've always enjoyed her flowing writing style.

Qué pienso, pregunta Goodreads. Pienso que es bastante cruel no poder spoilearlos, decir que partes me gustaron, que partes pusieron en una situación conflictiva, o cómo es que este es un libro de Gayle Forman encontrarás un libro espectacular.No puedo decir mucho más porque todavía falta un poco para que se publique, solo que no sé como es que hace Gayle pero siempre tengo que decir que “este libro fue más personal de lo que esperaba” ¿me espías Gayle?También en: El Extraño Gato del CuentoReseña:Cuando tu escritora o escritor favorito publica un nuevo libro, creo que la emoción que nos invade es 80% alegría y 20% terror de que su nuevo trabajo no nos guste, en algunos usuarios puede variar pero se entiende la idea ¿Verdad? Luego está Gayle Forman que lo primero que piensas cuando anuncia nuevo libro es “Voy a sufrir cuando lea esto... PUBLÍCATE YA”. Entonces, mientras tengo de fondo a mi banda favorita Willemette Stone, te hablaré de la última publicación de querida Gayle, I WAS HERE. Forman nos ha llevado desde el dolor de tomar la decisión más difícil (Si Decido Quedarme) a la desesperación más grande (Just One Day & Just One Year), ¿qué se propondría ahora? Se propondría sorprenderte con el nuevo giro que toma su escritura, preguntarte por qué: ¿Por qué las cosas tienen que pasar así? ¿Por qué no nos damos cuenta de las pequeñas pistas, los pequeños detalles? Desde el momento en que el libro nos habla de suicidio es obvio suponer un caso depresión ¿Por qué más tomaría una decisión tan drástica una persona? Cómo una persona que siempre ha sido muy sincera con su problema de depresión, este libro ha sido bastante incómodo leerlo a veces, porque una de las cosas que uno piensa cuando esta enfermedad te toma más fuerte es ¿qué será de mi familia, mis amigos? Y para darnos esa respuesta Gayle nos trae a Cody, la mejor amiga de Meg y su superviviente.Algo que es muy resaltante en el libro es la forma diferente en que Gayle escribió I Was Here, más oscura y adulta, no sé si es por el tema bastante serio del libro pero es algo que una como gran admiradora de la narrativa de Forman noté.La escritora ha dicho que en este libro tendremos a uno de los protagonistas masculinos más sexys que ha escrito. Y sí, Ben tiene LOS ojos, el aura de chico malo, es (como no) músico PERO. Al terminar el libro no sentí esa añoranza instantánea como lo sentí con Adam o Willem, Ben McCallister es un personaje muy conflictivo, tiene muchos momentos adorables, otros bastante sexys e intensos, pero es toda la historia en conjunto que no me hace quererlo sacar del libro, soy muy resentida... No engaño a nadie, quizá no lo tendría como prospecto de BookBoyfriend pero si pudiera sacarlo del libro, no habría fuerza de la naturaleza ni mágica ni satánica que me lo impediría.No, no te voy a contar más de la historia porque los libros de Gayle son para experimentar personalmente, sin ni un pequeño detalle adelantado. Solo diré que: saca megáfono TIENE QUE HABER UN SEGUNDO LIBRO, DEMASIADAS COSAS CONFLICTIVAS QUE ESTE GATO TIENE RESOLVER, NO PUEDE TODO QUEDAR ASÍ, ES HARAM baja megáfono Gracias.Prepárate para odiar a un personaje, para pensar y correr a abrazar a tu mejor amigo.(clic para escuchar fireflies)Twitter   Blog   Pinterest   Tumblr   Instagram   Facebook

1. I am a fan of Gayle Forman's writing and most of her books.
   2. This was a book for book club and it sealed the deal that I hate book clubs and I won't participate again unless it's a book I really want to read.
   3. I really really dislike contemporaries and especially contemporaries such as this.
   
   
   My biggest gripe with this book is that in book club these were all adults reading these books and giving thoughts and opinions on suicide as adults. This book is ya/NA and mostly YA. I came to know Gayle Forman as a YA writer. With that said, it is not far fetched to believe many of the readers will be young and impressionable. My issues with contemporaries is that they bring awareness to a certain issue or topic but instead of bringing some type of resolution or giving folks perhaps going through this a way out/hope, it instead glorifies the issue/topic and in my eyes gives individuals info on where to find what they need to go ahead and reach their objective.
   
   As someone who has worked with youth, I want them to be hopeful, I want them to realize that there are people are out there that really do love them and care for them and want to see them win. I want the youth to be able to reach out if they are struggling. I want them to realize there is no shame in the hardships they are facing and experiencing and that they should feel like they can reach out for help.
   
   The adults I read this with were of the mindset that people should be able to decide their own destiny and make that decision to take their lives if they should feel they need to. I guarantee you if these people were their kids they would have a totally different mindset. They don't realize that this book was not written for us. It was written for much younger folks who on a regular experience things with so much intensity that you don't realize until much much later in life that some of those things were intense but others were not so much. I'm not of the school of thought to minimize the experience of anyone, at any age. I'm of the school of thought that I should let folks feel what they feel but hold their hand, give a different perspective and hold their hand knowing they are not alone and that this will be rode out. Hopefully with a positive outcome when all is said and done.
   
   I didn't even feel a connection with the child that took her life. I didn't understand why she took her life. It felt more out of curiosity. Like it was done just to see if it could be done.
   
   This just all didn't sit well with me. I normally don't pick up books like these and you can take my review with a grain of salt. I won't hate on you for that.