***THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR IF I STAY. TO READ MY REVIEW, CLICK ***

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

I admit, when I heard there would be a sequel to If I Stay, I was dubious. If I Stay was an emotional read that left me thinking hard about the choices Mia had to make. Although Where She Went is a very different book from If I Stay, the entire novel worked beautifully, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Where She Went is told from Adam’s point of view which I thought worked well, because I think Mia’s voice could’ve started tired or disjointed in the event of a sequel. Adam’s character is nicely depicted--still sweet and caring, but a little more jaded. I also thought it was a good idea to continue with the story but get his perspective, because it seems likely to me that more people will identify with Adam’s end of the tragedy as opposed to Mia’s.

I can totally see why some people might not like this story, because it’s rather dependent on chance, and the characters don’t make choices that are entirely rational. However, Forman is naturally good at characterization, and several of the chapters served as flashbacks which nicely fleshed out Mia and Adam’s respective stories. Ultimately, I think these flashbacks also helped justify a lot of the characters’ decisions. Also, Forman’s writing was as stunning as ever.

Forman has accomplished a difficult feat in writing a sequel that was just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. Where She Went is all at once a quick, painful, uplifting, and inspiring novel. As if the quality of this duology wasn’t enough to leave me wanting more, after hearing Forman talk about her upcoming novel at a signing in December, I’d like more of her books yesterday.

Disclosure: I purchased a copy of this book.