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Kurai

Kurai

I Was Here - Gayle Forman

I had high expectations for this book after If I Stay and Where She Went, and I wasn’t disappointed. I Was Here definitely won’t be for everyone, but parts of it resonated with me in a way I didn’t expect. There’s a lot going on in this book, both up front and beneath the surface – about secrets, family, friendship, and forgiveness, and Forman handles it beautifully.

 

The romance was a huge disappointment for me, but I also felt like the focus of the main story wasn’t on that, so I was mostly able to ignore it (thankfully). 

I hated how it was justified, but what can you do.

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Cody’s mission to learn the truth behind Meg’s suicide really pulled me in and kept me turning the pages. Her anger and heartbreak fueled her through her journey, and the lengths she went to made me almost want to look away because the direction she went in made me so uncomfortable. 

I wasn't really surprised at the "truth" - I felt like it was put out there in plain sight throughout the story, but Cody didn't let herself see it - and I felt like it was part of how Cody could eventually forgive herself for what she felt was her role in everything. It was her closure... and that part of the story was really important to me. I felt like the closing line of this book sneaked up on me, and it left me in tears. Like... shit. :( Was not expecting that at all.

(show spoiler)

 

Overall, I thought this was a really strong book, if really tough to read at times, and I’m looking forward to reading more of Forman’s works in the future.