Where She Went by Gayle Forman | Rating: ★★★★★

“It would’ve been easier to die. It’s not that I want to be dead now. I don’t. I have a lot in my life that I get satisfaction from, that I love. But some days, especially in the beginning, it was so hard. And I couldn’t help but think that it would’ve been so much simpler to go with the rest of them. But you—you asked me to stay. You begged me to stay. You stood over me and you made a promise to me, as sacred as any vow.”

Sequels can be often difficult to garner attention. It’s no easy task attempting to keep the magic of previous installments and allow the appropriate amount of growth in characters to make the story realistic as it can be. Gayle Forman, naturally, does so gracefully in the sequel to her bestselling and beloved novel If I Stay.

Whiles If I Stay focuses on the thin life between life and and deathand the loss of nearly your entire world; Where She Went focuses more on the aftermath of those it touched as well as discovering how to live in a world of grief. It reminds us all that life goes on and that thought tragedy strikes you down, it isn’t impossible to move forward. Mia has to discover herself again; relearn many things and figure out how to live again.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman | Rating: ★★★★★

"It's okay,' he tells me. 'If you want to go. Everyone wants you to stay. I want you to stay more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.' His voice cracks with emotion. He stops, clears his throat, takes a breath, and continues. 'But that's what I want and I could see why it might not be what you want. So I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It's okay if you have to leave us. It's okay if you want to stop fighting."

Every now and then, there comes a young adult novel that becomes beloved by people of all ages. If I Stay is certainly one of those books that captured the hearts — and tears — of its target audience and more. With If I Stay we see that sometimes the hype of a book is really, really worth it and I promise you, you’ll feel something by the final pages.

Whether that feeling is love or heartbreak or both.

Gayle Forman captures the feeling of loss incredibly and spins it into a unique story that shows us one girls struggle between life and death. Although the story is absolutely tragic, the way Gayle tells it is unique and inspiring: something about Mia’s story will make you truly think. It’ll touch your heart and make you wonder: is this what it’s like in near death experiences, for some people?

When you lose something, and are severely damaged yourself, do we have a choice in the matter when it comes to if we stay or go? And can you really recover, mentally, from something like losing your entire family?

Torn Away by Jennifer Brown | Rating: ★★★★★

Although I’ve only managed to get my hands on two novels by Jennifer Brown, she is on the fast track to becoming one of my favorite authors. There is something genuine in her writing; a raw emotion that takes you away and puts you in her characters shows. She takes you away on a journey of self discovery, loss and manages to capture each emotion beautifully.

She truly is a talent not to be missed in young adult literature and deserves way more credit that she gets. Her writing in Hate List is beautiful and Torn Away is no different. Boy, does this woman know how to touch the heart.

Torn Away is heartfelt, at times difficult to read in its tragedy — but it’s worth every good review it gets and honestly, no summary or review will do it justice. I can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy (I received an egalley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review).

I honestly feel like this novel is something I’ll be thinking about for a very, very long time and will recommend it to just about anyone I can. It will haunt you, that’s for sure — and be sure to have a box of tissues on standby.

(Spoilers!)