I Was Here Hardcover – January 27, 2015

I liked that this novel touched on some serious subjects that need to be heard, yet it was still a good and quick read. Forman's voice is strong, simple, and forward, and I liked the way she developed each character. The story really highlights what Cody goes through, as well as other characters, instead of focusing its attention wholly on Meg; this was a big factor in my positive review because if you take your own life, you don't get to tell your story. Cody's character even comments on this fact. With stories about this subject matter (or even TV shows), I feel that there is always so much focus on the character who took his/her own life, when there should really be focus, just as much if not more, on the characters whose lives are negatively affected by someone else's decision -- the guilt, the bitterness, the discomfort, the disappointment, the regret -- all the feelings that are conjured up with one person's irreversible action. While a lot of this story is bittersweet and heart-wrenching, it is accurate and feels very real, unlike other YA fiction that focuses a decision or tragedy like this around guilt tripping others and adding dramatic effects to get more viewers and readers.There is something for everyone in "I Was Here". It's full of mystery, tragedy, drama, romance, and even a little comedic relief here and there. I cannot express how much I enjoyed reading this -- I think it only took me about three or four days to breeze through it because I loved it so much. Forman is a fantastic author, and the way she developed this story to highlight and pay homage to a real-life occurrence of the same situation was truly touching, inspiring, and even heartbreaking. Although it's labeled as YA fiction, I think it's for all readers. I enjoyed reading this YA fiction as an adult; I picked this one up to soften my distaste for novels in this category after seeing "13 Reasons Why" come on the scene and feeling like there had to be a more realistic portrayal of the questions we all have surrounding suicide and mental illness. THIS BOOK is the one people should be reading if they want a closer look. Maybe not solely this book, but this one is a good start, and it helps start the conversation that needs to be had in our society about what we can do for those with mental illness, and sometimes, maybe even what we cannot do, or what we feel we could have done, or what we will always wonder, day after day... THAT is the impact that this type of tragedy has, as this novel depicts. Beautiful story - I definitely recommend it.

Cody and Meg had been best friends for many years, and despite the separation due to college—Meg was away at Cascades College—they still felt like two halves of one whole. But something had changed. Cody thought it must be their very separate lives, or it could have been something they had argued about.Before Cody has figured it out, though, she is shocked by the discovery that Meg has killed herself. In a motel room all alone. And she had scheduled the release of her suicide notes, making it clear that everything was planned out to the last detail.Joe and Sue Garcia, Meg’s parents, are devastated, and when Cody offers to go to Tacoma to pick up Meg’s things, they seem relieved.I Was Here was a journey, one taken by a grieving young woman who cannot believe that her best friend would willingly leave this life. A journey that will provide unexpected answers, and not the ones Cody was hoping to find.We are offered a peek into the life Meg lived with her housemates, none of whom really knew her. We see how Cody comes to realize that, despite what she has hoped to prove by her investigation of the Final Solutions website and the people there who seem to “mentor” young people into how to kill themselves, what she discovers instead is a way to make peace with who Meg was…and who she was, too. Not a mystery, really, but a winding exploration of the meaning of friendship and connections. A book I could not put down. 5 stars.

I tend to not read Contemporary YA. I'm not sure why, because when I do, I devour it. Maybe that's why I don't? Maybe because I think I read them to quickly. Doesn't matter. I was pretty excited for "I Was Here" after I adored her If I Stay Duology (I still haven't watched the movie, btw) last year, I knew I would pre-order anything by her in the future--and I did just that. I received this book in the mail the day after it was released, and I started it a few days later because I was finishing up another book. I knew it was going to be sad--I mean, even the synopsis is kind of sad. I mean, we open at a teen's (I think she's a teen, all we know is she is under 21 maybe?) explanation of attending her best friend's funeral and various prayer services. So that should be sad, right? But I didn't feel sadness. I didn't feel sympathy for the main character--and it's not like I was just removed from the action of the entire book, I felt for Meg's parents, and Meg's little brother (his portions were probably the most emotionally connected I felt throughout the entire book). But I just didn't care about Cody. Most of the time I found her to be unnecessarily keeping secrets and then whining because no one else knows what's going on.The introduction of Ben McAllister, and his connection with Meg, and that Cody seeks him out, was a great point and a realistic aspect of the story. I feel like if my best friend killed herself, I would absolutely seek out the last person that she contacted. So, I really liked this plot point, and I liked Ben a lot as a character. He was probably the most realistic responses to the obsession that Cody develops with finding out more details of Meg's suicide. Overall, I gave this book 3/5 STARS--I don't know what was missing exactly, just that I wasn't blown away. It didn't even give me the emotional rawness, and good cry that Forman's other books have.