I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman
4.5 stars
I Have Lost My Way follows three young teenagers who have lost their way in the world and through a random freak accident all come together to rescue each other in one day. Freya is an up-and-coming popstar who has lost her voice and has been abandoned by her father who is back in Ethiopia and has a rocky and nonexistent relationship with her sister. Nathaniel is a boy who is in New York for darker reasons that simple tourism and has found himself completely alone in the world. Harun has just lost the love of his life—a young man—and feels shame about what his Muslim family will think when they find out. These three people are diverse in feature, background, and experience, but they are connected by their feeling of loss and uncertainty. They don’t know what their way is and this is the story of them coming together. I love Gayle Forman. She was one of the first young adult authors I read when I got into the genre and I absolutely adored her writing style. Her style is still the same. It shines in odd moments and I’ve never thought that Forman’s strength lies in plot, her strength lies in characters. The characters are so strong in this story that they are the plot. Essentially this is a nearly plotless novel, but it packs an emotional punch. The type of punch that I expect Forman to deliver, but I didn’t blubber like I baby like I usually do with her novels. I think it’s because I’m reading this at a time in my life when I’m not lost, but if I had read this as a teenager, I can promise that I would’ve been bawling and that this would have had a severe impact on my life. This story isn’t easy to get through and at times it can be very overwhelming, but it is worth it.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
“When a broken bone heals, it’s stronger than it was before the break,” she replies. “Same holds true for broken hearts.”
The characters are so, so beautiful. Freya has a deep strength and desire to be loved but feels like she is betrayed turn after turn. The only people who truly love her are her fans and she is about to lose those. She is biracial and has deep connections to her Ethiopian roots much to her mother’s dismay. She is very isolated. Nathaniel’s father was eccentric and had full custody of him. He experienced his grandmother dying of cancer and has a prosthetic eye after one of his father’s experiments goes horribly wrong. He has been alone without contact for two weeks. He has been isolated. Harun is from a Muslim family and has recently been broken up with by the man he loved. He is afraid to tell his family who he truly is and isolated himself from the Muslim faith. These characters are so fleshed out and I felt as though they were real people with real stories. Forman did a remarkable job.
Character Scale: 5
Overall, I recommend this to fans of Gayle Forman’s previous works as well as readers who are looking for new adult that explores deeper themes outside of romance. There is romance in this novel, but it is not the forefront. The main theme here is finding yourself and that is a theme in many college students’ lives. An important novel for those within my age group, entering it, or leaving it. Highly recommended!
Plotastic Scale: 4.25
Cover Thoughts: Honestly, I hate this cover.
Thank you, First to Read and Penguin, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars
I Have Lost My Way follows three young teenagers who have lost their way in the world and through a random freak accident all come together to rescue each other in one day. Freya is an up-and-coming popstar who has lost her voice and has been abandoned by her father who is back in Ethiopia and has a rocky and nonexistent relationship with her sister. Nathaniel is a boy who is in New York for darker reasons that simple tourism and has found himself completely alone in the world. Harun has just lost the love of his life—a young man—and feels shame about what his Muslim family will think when they find out. These three people are diverse in feature, background, and experience, but they are connected by their feeling of loss and uncertainty. They don’t know what their way is and this is the story of them coming together. I love Gayle Forman. She was one of the first young adult authors I read when I got into the genre and I absolutely adored her writing style. Her style is still the same. It shines in odd moments and I’ve never thought that Forman’s strength lies in plot, her strength lies in characters. The characters are so strong in this story that they are the plot. Essentially this is a nearly plotless novel, but it packs an emotional punch. The type of punch that I expect Forman to deliver, but I didn’t blubber like I baby like I usually do with her novels. I think it’s because I’m reading this at a time in my life when I’m not lost, but if I had read this as a teenager, I can promise that I would’ve been bawling and that this would have had a severe impact on my life. This story isn’t easy to get through and at times it can be very overwhelming, but it is worth it.
Whimsical Writing Scale: 4.5
“When a broken bone heals, it’s stronger than it was before the break,” she replies. “Same holds true for broken hearts.”
The characters are so, so beautiful. Freya has a deep strength and desire to be loved but feels like she is betrayed turn after turn. The only people who truly love her are her fans and she is about to lose those. She is biracial and has deep connections to her Ethiopian roots much to her mother’s dismay. She is very isolated. Nathaniel’s father was eccentric and had full custody of him. He experienced his grandmother dying of cancer and has a prosthetic eye after one of his father’s experiments goes horribly wrong. He has been alone without contact for two weeks. He has been isolated. Harun is from a Muslim family and has recently been broken up with by the man he loved. He is afraid to tell his family who he truly is and isolated himself from the Muslim faith. These characters are so fleshed out and I felt as though they were real people with real stories. Forman did a remarkable job.
Character Scale: 5
Overall, I recommend this to fans of Gayle Forman’s previous works as well as readers who are looking for new adult that explores deeper themes outside of romance. There is romance in this novel, but it is not the forefront. The main theme here is finding yourself and that is a theme in many college students’ lives. An important novel for those within my age group, entering it, or leaving it. Highly recommended!
Plotastic Scale: 4.25
Cover Thoughts: Honestly, I hate this cover.
Thank you, First to Read and Penguin, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Have you read I Have Lost My Way? Are you a fan of Gayle Forman? What are some of your favorite novels about finding a path in life? Let me know down below in the comments!
Beautiful review! I love books that, well, gives me all the emotions and it seems like this one certainly does the trick. I have never read a book by Gayle Forman so far, but I'm really looking forward to it now, you make it sound really beautiful! :) Thank you for sharing! :) x
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!!:D I hope you love her and are moved by her wonderful novels like I am. Thank you for taking the time to read my review!
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