His feelings are understandably raw throughout the book, and he expresses them well in the lyrics of fictional album Collateral Damage. It's satisfying to get Adam's perspective on the difficult months after Mia wakes up to discover she's entirely orphaned, and also hear him relate the earlier days of his relationship with Mia - including how wonderful the Hall family was to Adam, who always felt part of the clan. As in If I Stay, the author effectively intersperses the present with flashbacks that fill in the gaps of the three-and-a-half years since Mia's accident. The messages (grieving the loss of your family but knowing they are always a part of you learning to let go of your first love - and embracing a second chance at romance) will also connect better with more sophisticated teen readers.įorman again expertly explores tough topics such as grief and letting go of love, this time using Adam's continued uncertainty and despair to create the dramatic tension in the novel.

There's lots of mature language and mature material (Adam admits on several occasions that he's been with 'more girls than he can count' since his break-up). Adam's anger can be volatile and disturbing at times, and he lashes out at several people in the book: He thinks about 'smacking' a reporter and paparazzo, pushing someone he loves against a wall, and hurting his bandmate. Parents need to know that this angsty coming-of-age romance is the dramatic sequel to Gayle Forman's tearjerking New York Times bestseller If I Stay. Drug use and drunken behavior, as well as one minor character's substance abuse, is referenced as part of Adam's rock-star lifestyle.ĭid you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide. Adam is a chain-smoker and mentions how he started smoking and can't stop because it calms his nerves.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman