Book Rant: I Was Here
Umm... *insert spoiler warning here* This on, straight from Goodreads!
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Like all Gayle Forman books, this one is full of raw emotions, yet it took me on a completely different emotional journey than any of her previous. From the beginning, you are thrown into emotion behind the best friend of a girl who had recently committed suicide. As someone with several friends and family members that had been directly affected by suicide, I knew this one would be a trough one to read.
Forman handles the subject with the delicate hands of someone who truly understands the pain following a suicide. It's clear, based on her author's note at the end, that this comes from interviews and close encounters with friends and families of victims. I really felt Cody's range of emotions as she felt them-- anger, fear, denial, regret. It was all so real. And the fact that this whole book was largely about her trying to remove the blame from her friend.
In the end, I'm angry at Meg's parents for keeping this secret from Cody, though I cannot blame them. They may have loved her like a daughter, but Meg WAS their daughter. They did what they felt was right to help and protect their daughter. In the end, would a different choice had made a difference? Perhaps. But that doesn't matter. There were a lot of unnecessary secrets that caused a lot of problems. If Meg's parents had been honest with Cody, perhaps she would not have been so insistent on finding All_BS. And if she had told them about her suspicions, perhaps they would have put her mind at ease. Though Cody also points out this was really about finding her own strength-- something she truly needed after feeling like half of her had been torn away. She always felt that Meg was her better half, yet she was the one strong enough to resist the BS (get it?) and keep on living. The journey built her into an independent character, able to handle her own emotions; she can understand and appreciate the people around her.
Obviously, I need to talk about this relationship with Ben. Similar to Cody, I found myself both rooting for this couple and repulsed by the idea. Her draw to Ben was immediate and overwhelming. Yet even forgetting about the fact that he might have hurt Meg during her downfall, just the fact that they had been together-- that Meg had given herself completely to Ben and the emotion that brought to her, made the thought of them being together incomprehensible. It just added to her guilt and need.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is I was on this emotional journey with Cody. I felt everything she felt and needed everything she needed. Gayle Forman, you truly know how to bring on #allthefeels.
View all my reviews
Hey! This one wasn't all that long!
I Was Here by Gayle Forman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Like all Gayle Forman books, this one is full of raw emotions, yet it took me on a completely different emotional journey than any of her previous. From the beginning, you are thrown into emotion behind the best friend of a girl who had recently committed suicide. As someone with several friends and family members that had been directly affected by suicide, I knew this one would be a trough one to read.
Forman handles the subject with the delicate hands of someone who truly understands the pain following a suicide. It's clear, based on her author's note at the end, that this comes from interviews and close encounters with friends and families of victims. I really felt Cody's range of emotions as she felt them-- anger, fear, denial, regret. It was all so real. And the fact that this whole book was largely about her trying to remove the blame from her friend.
In the end, I'm angry at Meg's parents for keeping this secret from Cody, though I cannot blame them. They may have loved her like a daughter, but Meg WAS their daughter. They did what they felt was right to help and protect their daughter. In the end, would a different choice had made a difference? Perhaps. But that doesn't matter. There were a lot of unnecessary secrets that caused a lot of problems. If Meg's parents had been honest with Cody, perhaps she would not have been so insistent on finding All_BS. And if she had told them about her suspicions, perhaps they would have put her mind at ease. Though Cody also points out this was really about finding her own strength-- something she truly needed after feeling like half of her had been torn away. She always felt that Meg was her better half, yet she was the one strong enough to resist the BS (get it?) and keep on living. The journey built her into an independent character, able to handle her own emotions; she can understand and appreciate the people around her.
Obviously, I need to talk about this relationship with Ben. Similar to Cody, I found myself both rooting for this couple and repulsed by the idea. Her draw to Ben was immediate and overwhelming. Yet even forgetting about the fact that he might have hurt Meg during her downfall, just the fact that they had been together-- that Meg had given herself completely to Ben and the emotion that brought to her, made the thought of them being together incomprehensible. It just added to her guilt and need.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is I was on this emotional journey with Cody. I felt everything she felt and needed everything she needed. Gayle Forman, you truly know how to bring on #allthefeels.
View all my reviews
Hey! This one wasn't all that long!