Waiting on Wednesday: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Waiting on Wednesday: Episode Two

 

 

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

 

Release Date: 29th January 2015

 

Pages: 270

 

Goodreads Summary:

 

When her best friend Meg drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything - so how was there no warning?

But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington.

About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, who broke Meg’s heart. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open - until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 

Thoughts:

 

THAT COVER?! OMG! It's so beautiful and it'll match both my If I Stay and Where She Went covers. Gayle Forman has become one of my favourite authors of all time this year and I need more and more of her writing. What I love most is that her books are never all that long, but they're full of depth and emotion. I'm desperate to get my hands on an ARC copy (Simon and Schuster, if you are seeing this then please consider sending me one. It's my birthday this month.) because I MUST read this book.

 

 

What book are you impatiently waiting for?

Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Book Name: Just One Day
Author: Gayle Forman
UK Release Date: 2013
UK Publishers: Definitions (Random House)
Summary:
When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

Praise for Gayle Forman:

'Read it and weep.' Daily Mail

'Moving and heartwarming.' Guardian

'A book that makes you feel truly grateful to be alive.' Irish Independent

Review:

 

I seriously did not think I was going to enjoy this book because it's based on adventures across Europe, but I actually really did. In fact I didn't even like it. I loved it!

The writing in this book is brilliant! I never felt like there was anything wrong with the writing, it flowed, showed off the emotions of Allyson and the descriptions of each place she went; England, Paris, New York, Boston, Amsterdam was so clear and wonderful that you almost felt that you were there. Until you realise you're not there and then you're left disappointed.

The whole idea of just getting on a train to Paris is crazy, but it worked in this book. It gave me a thrill and seeing Willem and Allyson, or LuLu as he calls her together was like watching Christmas lights being turned on at Christmas, seeing fireworks on bonfire night. It was beautiful and magical. I just kind of wished that they worked it out because they are special when they're together, and I know she see's him at the end, but they need to be together NOW!

My only problem with this book was actually nothing to do with the writing or the characters or anything that included Gayle Forman. The main problem was the editing. You can clearly tell that the editor hadn't done a good job on this book. There were so many mistakes, such as words being the wrong way round, words missing like 'to' and 'the' and there was even an extra " after the person had finished speaking, and it did get on my nerves. But I tried not to think about it too much.

Overall, I give this book a 4.5 Stars! It's definitely one of my favourite contemporaries that I've read, and I was so sure it was going to get the full 5 Stars which is why I wanted it to succeed because only two contemporary books have 5 Stars. I knocked this down by .5 Stars because of the editing. However, I would highly recommend this book. Beautifully written.

Quote:

'Moving and explosive. Your emotions will be all over the place.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk

Book Review: Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover

                                                          
Book Name: Maybe Someday
Author: Colleen Hoover
UK Release Date: 2014
UK Publishers: Simon and Schuster
Summary:

Sydney is living in an idyllic bubble - she's a dedicated student with a steady job on the side. She lives with her best friend, has a great boyfriend, and the music coming from the balcony opposite hers is fast becoming the soundtrack to her life.

But when Sydney finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, her bubble bursts. The mysterious and attractive man behind the music, Ridge, gives Sydney hope that she can move on and they begin the write songs together. But moving on is harder than she expects, Sydney can only hope...

Maybe someday...

Praise for Colleen Hoover:

'I can't recommend it highly enough. Read this book. Live it. Love it. Allow it to take over you heart. It's an unforgettable journey that every reader should take. 5++ Star!' aestasbookblog.com

'Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension.  kirkusreviews.com

Review:

I've heard such amazing things about Colleen Hoover and it's only made my desire to read her books grow and grow. And I got paid. Which led to me buying Maybe Someday. It arrived two days late. I read it.

First off I would advise everyone, and I mean EVERYONE to go into this blindly. Don't read reviews, don't even ask your friends what they thought of it because you will get spoiled. Just buy it and read it. And then you can gush with all your feelings and Fangirl all you like.

The prologue starts out with some awesomeness.

I just punched a girl in the face. Not just any girl. My best friend. My roommate.

I mean c'mon. All I could think was 'What has this girl done to get punched in the face?' I came up with many different ideas before I carried on reading.

She called her fat
She ate the last bar of chocolate
She "borrowed" her makeup
She kissed her boyfriend

Yeah, she didn't kiss her friends boyfriend. She slept with him, many times over the two years of Sydney and Hunter had been together. And just having that as a prologue made my stomach flutter with excitement. Who doesn't love a good bitch fight.

However, the story isn't about a girl who found out her boyfriend and friend have been having an affair. It's so much more than that.

It's a story of a girl finding out what exactly love is and how talented she really is when it comes to song writing. It's also a story about not judging everyone and how far you'd really go to not become someone or something you hate.

Colleen warped me into Sydney and Ridges world and I could've stayed there forever. You're met with secrets, friendship and a lot of flirting.

I just could not get enough of this book. And the biggest bombshell for me was when I found out Ridge was deaf. I know no one was expecting it because the back blurb doesn't say that, and it normally would, which is great because it's becoming a normal thing. And, Sydney, just treating him like a normal person meant so much to me because we shouldn't treat people who are unique any different than we would want to be treated ourselves.

Overall, I just absolutely adored this book. There were a few problems, but they were minor and didn't really take away from the book, only added to it! And the way that we could listen to the songs that were written as we went along seriously helped me to get in the mood for the writing and story. I cannot recommend this book enough! 4.5 Stars!

Quote:

'Colleen writes with such elegance that you're warped into the characters world and feelings. Beautiful.' Bookbitchreviews.blogspot.co.uk