REVIEW : I Was Here by Gayle Forman

RELEASE DATE : January 27, 2015
  

Cody and Meg were inseparable... Until they weren’t. 

When her best friend, Meg, drinks a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how was there no warning? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.

 *possible spoilers*

Whenever I pick up a book by Gayle Forman, I have already purchased the box of tissues that I will undoubtedly need for the read. She is a guaranteed tearjerker for me. I Was Here, is no exception to this rule. This book hit me harder than I expected. Cody learns of Meg's death in a rather impersonal way imo, leaving Cody and Meg's family in serious shock.

Why didn't they see this coming? Who's fault is it really? How did we fail her?


Cody takes on the duty of cleaning up Meg's college life, which is where everything takes a turn. She meets the roommates and the one night stand. She gets the laptop.

There is this joke about how when you die, all you want is for someone to delete your browser history. Well, this played into the story perfectly.

Cody learns that Meg didn't suddenly just up and decide to off herself. There was a much darker detailed outline to it all. From a suicide support forum to a mysterious one-on-one personal guide, Cody makes it her job to find out what really happened.

Cody and Ben. I expected it and really loved seeing them come together over this matter. I didn't find it to be cheesy. I thought it was very well done. The death of Meg truly changing two people who were her friends.

As someone who deals with depression, this was very difficult at times. When Cody gets into the mindset of how Meg must've felt, and she lets herself be honest on that forum, it felt very real for me. It's something that I could relate to. There are just some things you never feel comfortable saying in "real life". Ive always thought it was easier to talk to strangers than people who know you.

This is a really beautiful read. I think Gayle handles difficult topics in such a wonderful way. She gives it all a real feel.

 I Was Here by Gayle Forman via @amazon