Review
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Praise for I Was Here:
"I Was Here is a pitch-perfect blend of mystery, tragedy, and
romance. Gayle Forman has given us an unflinchingly honest
portrait of the bravery it takes to live after devastating loss."
—Stephen Chbosky, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The
Perks of Being a Wallflower
“Irresistible tear-jerker” —New York Times
“A heartbreaking novel about coping with loss from the
bestselling author of If I Stay” —People
"As she did in If I Stay, Forman offers an introspective
examination of the line between life and death, and the courage
it takes to persist."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Forman sifts through Cody’s shifting psychological landscape
with a sure and delicate hand, developing a character that
readers will recognize themselves in. . . a relevant book as well
as an absorbing one.” —BCCB, starred review
"Part tautly paced mystery, part psychological study of suicide
and its aftereffects. . . An engrossing and provocative look at
the devastating finality of suicide, survivor's guilt, the
complicated nature of responsibility and even the role of the
Internet in life-and-death decisions." —Kirkus Reviews
"Suicide has always been a subject in YA literature, and to her
credit, Forman handles it sensitively and gracefully, raising
important issues of the ethics and morality of the subject. The
combination mystery and love story is sure to reach a wide
readership and excite essential discussion. . . This latest
offering should generate massive teen interest." —Booklist
"Cody's struggle with grief and complicity is intense and
affecting up until an emotional gut-punch of a conclusion. Once
this compelling case is closed, what remains is a haunting,
elegiac tale about enduring and understanding loss. " —The Horn
Book
"Teens will clamor for this latest offering from the author of
If I Stay." —School Library Journal
"Hugely popular Forman, author of the accled If I Stay among
others, has another best seller here. This novel’s strength lies
in its depiction of main character Cody, a young woman torn by
conflicts but sustained by her own sense of purpose." —VOYA
“Takes tragedy, guilt, friendship, inspiration, heartache, and
bravery and mixes them all up in a blender of feelings” —Bustle
Praise for If I Stay and Where She Went:
“Beautifully written.” —Entertainment Weekly
“An achingly gorgeous portrayal of rejection and rekindled
love.” —USA Today
“A page-turner, tearjerker and romance all in one.” —BookPage
“Pitch-perfect...a moving, skillfully crafted novel.” —VOYA,
starred review
Praise for Just One Day and Just One Year:
“Offering mystery, drama, and an evocative portrait of
unrequited love, this open-ended novel will leave fans eagerly
anticipating the companion story.” —Publishers Weekly, starred
review
“Readers were enthralled with Forman’s If I Stay books, and now
she’s captivated them again as they fall in love with her
characters in Just One Day.” —NPR’s The Roundtable
“As satisfying as both of these books are, readers are going to
wish for a third.” —Booklist
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About the Author
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Gayle Forman is an award-winning, internationally
bestselling author and journalist. She is the author of Just One
Day and Just One Year, and the companion e-novella Just One
Night, as well as the New York Times bestsellers If I Stay--which
was made into a major motion picture of the same name--and Where
She Went. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and
daughters.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1
The day after Meg died, I received this letter:
I regret to inform you that I have had to take my own life. This
decision has been a long time coming, and was mine alone to make.
I know it will cause you pain, and for that I am sorry, but
please know that I needed to end my own pain. This has nothing to
do with you and everything to do with me. It’s not your fault.
Meg
She emailed copies of the letter to her parents and to me, and to
the Tacoma department, along with another note informing
them which motel she was at, which room she was in, what poison
she had ingested, and how her body should be safely handled. On
the pillow at the motel room was another note—instructing the
maid to call the and not touch her body—along with a
fifty-dollar tip.
She sent the emails on a time delay. So that she would be long
gone by the time we received them.
Of course, I didn’t know any of that until later. So when I first
read Meg’s email on the computer at our town’s public library, I
thought it had to be some kind of joke. Or a hoax. So I called
Meg, and when she didn’t answer, I called her parents.
“Did you get Meg’s email?” I asked them.
“What email?”
*****
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