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 could not stop reading the first book in this pair, If I Stay, and anxiously awaited for this novel to appear back on my school's library shelves. While I found the conclusion of the first novel satisfying, I absolutely fell in love with Mia and Adam, and could not wait to see their story continued. As so rarely happens, I not only found this book on par with the first - I actually liked it even more.
What made this book stand out from the first was the switch in first-person perspective from Mia to Adam. Oh Adam... what a fascinating person. He fit within the "tortured artist" archetype without completely making me roll my eyes; actually, I was drawn in to everything he felt. Watching him explore what happens when personal pain leads to extreme success - and the accompanying emptiness - made me ache right along with him. His enduring love for Mia gave him even more appeal, and all I wanted was to see him happy. Similarly, Mia has moved past her devastating accident to a point, but hasn't completely forgotten (which only seems natural, I would say). At first I mostly wanted to punch her, being a staunch member of "Team Adam," but by the end I could understand the choices she made. This, I think, is the strength of Forman's writing - she shows characters in completely soul-crushing situations, and makes them act in believable, relatable, and interesting ways.
The plot of this novel was somewhat weaker than the first, as it seemed a little contrived. But, Adam's narrative made it worth reading. While the story of Adam and Mia's meeting again in New York wasn't terribly interesting, save a few key surprises, I absolutely loved getting the backstory of Adam's life after the accident. Seeing his rise to superstardom and the rock and roll lifestyle added great interest to an otherwise predictable plot. However, predictable though it seemed to me, I still yearned for the ending of this book. There were plenty of surprising moments to keep me reading until I got to it.
Overall, the content of this novel isn't objectionable, as long as a reader goes into it understanding Adam's situation. After all, he has now become a worshipped "rock star," so with that comes some stereotypical bad behavior. None of this behavior was described graphically though, so I don't think most readers would have a problem with it.
Adam and Mia have become two characters to whom I am genuinely attached - to me, that shows what a great set of novels is all about. Though I wanted their story to end so that they would be happy, I personally was sad to let them go. I can't wait to share these books with my other romantic girlies - they are truly something special.
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