Where She Went

Where She Went by Gayle Forman is a sequel to If I Stay.  In the first novel Mia was in a coma after a huge car accident where she lost her parents and her brother.  This novel takes place three years after the accident.  Adam meets Mia after her recital and we are given background on Adam's life in the past year through flashbacks.

I'm going to start out with saying that the book was very well written.  The characterizations were done well and it answered all the questions that readers might have as to what happened to Adam and Mia.  However, I didn't like it and found it unnecessary.  Mia and Adam have both gotten to the highest possible point in their musical careers which I found very unrealistic.  As for the plot, it consisted of Mia and Adam walking through New York City and discussing their relationship with flashbacks interspersed throughout explaining Adam's breakdown and subsequent rise to fame.   Readers who like character studies and who really want to know what happened to Mia and Adam will like this book however, it doesn't have the brilliance of If I Stay.  It is rather like the last book in the Jessica Darling series in which the entire plot takes place as a discussion between two characters.  I just needed more plot

Appropriateness:  This book features characters that are over 18.  Adam has substance abuse issues, depression and suicide is discussed.  There are some illusions to sex but nothing blatant.  The lexile of the first book was 830 putting it around a sixth grade level.  I would recommend this series to teens 14+