If I Stay + Where She Went by Gayle Forman Review PLUS Trailer Analysis

Hello readers and welcome to the start of another week. Can you guys believe that August is nearly upon us? I sure can't! Coming up on Thursday is my 4 month blogiversary. I cannot believe it has already been that long. What an adventure we have been on readers! I hope for many, many more blogiversaries to share with ya'll!Today I have one of my specialties for you guys today! Excited? Well, you should be, because today I am bringing you guys one a OneGuysGuideToGoodReads specialty: a series review! “A series review?” You may ask, and I would respond “why yes, a series review my good chap”. Anyways, here’s how this works. Ethan here LOVES to read. He also loves to read series, HOWEVER, I have a hard time starting a series that I know isn’t completely out yet, because I oftentimes forget what happens by the time the next book in the series comes out and I usually do not have time for rereads or when I DO make time for a re read, the series ending is so horrible that I wish I hadn’t reread the books (*cough cough* Veronica Roth, I’m looking at you…). Anyway… As stated today I am bringing you guys another series review. If you guys have been following me, you would have seen a few months ago where I did a series review of Chelsea Fines The Archers of Avalon series and had a whole lot of fun with it, then last month I did a series review of Jennifer L. Armentrouts Covenant series which you guys really seemed to like! Then a week later I threw another series review in the form of K.A. Tucker's Causal Enchantment series at ya! They always go over well so I always get excited to write them. Today on the chopping block I have the EXTREMELY popular Gayle Forman YA series: If I Stay! Many readers are itching to get their hands on this one because of the movie coming out in the next few weeks so this is the perfect time to checkout the series.

Alright before we dive into specifics, here's the covers, synopses, and Goodreads links about each book plus a little about the author, Gayle Forman.

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.
Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life.

And three years he's spent wondering why.

When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good - or can you really have a second chance at first love?

Gayle Forman

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 and Where She Went. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and daughters.

Find Gayle Forman

Website ** Twitter ** Facebook ** Goodreads

Alright now that we've got the books and author intro out of the way. Let me show you guys the trailer for If I Stay which comes out August 22, 2014! In my thoughts I'll cover both books AND the trailer.




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My Thoughts:

I won't lie to you guys, I was a little nervous going into this review because I know this series has HUGE acclaim right now and that I can be a little over critical of things that are "in". I have tried to take that into consideration in writing this review. Let me start at the bottom and work my way forward. It'll make sense, just stick with me. I actually only read this series after I saw the movie trailer!

The Trailer
Okay. My reaction upon seeing the trailer is "woah, I don't like cheesy love stories, but this looks amazing". That cast looks great, the music picked for the trailer looks like it fits the situation spot on. I definitely want to see this film. Oh wait. It's based off the bestselling Gayle Forman book? I should probably see what the hype is about!

If I Stay

Wait... are you guy sure this is the same book that awesome trailer was based on? No. I'm not being funny. Not at all. In fact there is nothing funny about If I Stay. No, you're right, it isn't a comedy, but uh... could it have been any more depressing?

Okay. I will just start out by saying I was not a huge fan of If I Stay. This was my first foray into Mrs. Forman's work and I almost couldn't finish it. I have been told that maybe it's because I am a guy, but I really just did not care for this story as much as many people undoubtedly have. I read the whole thing in one sitting, it was a very easy read and I really liked that about it, but even for a YA novel it just seems so... "young". Okay, before you start seething from my thoughts, let me get some of the positive aspects of the book out of the way.

I love the storyline. I'll be as spoiler free as possible here. I thought the story of Mia being the sole survivor in a horrible accident would make for a story with a great plot and full of emotion. On that front, Forman definitely does not disappoint. The book is sad to nearly the point of tears, but I almost wonder why it needed to be so damned depressing? I felt all the feels that I was supposed to, but in the end, I just didn't see why. Mia's family was great and I loved how Forman told us their story in the form of flashback as often as possible. It was a nice touch. I'll come back to the flashbacks in just a bit.

Okay here's a few of my bigger negative thoughts about If I Stay. First off, those flashbacks were ridiculously crazy. They were in no order and they seriously come out of nowhere. At times I didn't know if I was reading the present or a flashback so it made the story really hard to follow at times. Most of them added to the plot, but some... not so much. My thinking here is that this was a 200 page novel. I was much more worried about Mia in the present than all these back stories that didn't mean anything in the end.

Second problem. The trailer makes Adam out to be one of the biggest characters of the movie, which is great, except oh yeah wait... He isn't hardly in the book. Sure Mia has a boyfriend, yes he is there, and yes it is very heartbreaking, but at no point in this book did I think Adam was as big of a character as he should have been. He was her boyfriends for God's sake. he should have been WAY more of a primary character than her now dead family. Maybe it was just me, again, but him being all there and stuff for her (even canceling the defining show of his career, which I totally understand) and Mia just kind of being like "meh" was pretty hard for me to take in.

I loved the characters of book one. Mia, Kim, Adam, Teddy, the family. Seriously, they were all great, I just wish we had seen more of them. More of them alive, that is. My biggest issues were with Mia's character as a whole. The story is gut wrenchingly emotional but Mia really got on my last nerve. Unfortunately that didn't change in book two. I'll get there in a second though.

All-in-all I am giving If I Stay a 3 Star overall review. I know that may seem a little harsh, and it kind of is, but I really really disappointed by this read. I really hoped it would meet the hype and not just be another read that's ridiculously overrated by the masses. Judging by the trailer I had really high hopes that were ultimately crushed. If the film is half as good as that trailer makes it look then I have no doubt that I will enjoy it far better than the book.


Where She Went 
I will start out by saying the most important thing about this book. I liked it WAY more than If I Stay! My biggest issues were, again, with Mia.

I'll go ahead and knock all the negatives out of the way first this time. The very first line of the synopsis gives away my biggest problem: "It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life." Wait. WHAT?! You mean to tell me after all that she left him? Oh yeah. That was the tipping point for me with Mia. I am just done with her. Book two, thankfully, takes place from Adam's POV three years after book one. Adam had shot to superstardom when his band, Shooting Star, hits the scene in a huge way. Essentially they are the One Direction of this book universe. Adam is the biggest thing since sliced bread, yet he cannot get over the devastating loss of his one true love, Mia. Why did Mia leave Adam? Because she is selfish. No seriously, I'm not going to run the entire book here but there is a confrontation and it was THE DUMBEST thing I've ever heard. Mia treats Adam like absolute crap and yet we're still supposed to love her? No. Mia has basically ruined Adam's life and now we have to forgive her. Like I said, no spoilers, but the scene in question takes place atop the Brooklyn bridge. The same bridge I would have pushed Mia off of, had I been Adam. I don't use memes, EVER, but this seems appropriate here:
                                                        
The angst is STRONG with this one. Now it has come to my attention that maybe I don't like this aspect of the story because it really does hit close to home with me. Guy treats girl like princess, guy gets left out in the cold. Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone has been there, but I felt like I seriously could relate better to Adam more than many other characters I have read. Adam was extremely misunderstood and really pushed aside in book one so I was really glad to hear all about his life. Adam is a great character and may be added to the list of my favorite male book characters, which is the only reason I am reviewing book two so high. Adam has a great story. Again, like book one, I read this in one sitting. The difference being that I read this one so fast because I was in love with it, not because I wanted to hurry up and finish it!

The interesting thing about Where She Went is that is takes place over the course of a single day yet so much happens. We see a remarkable character transformation from Adam, and thankfully a somewhat happy ending. This book also featured heavy use of the flashbacks which were just as distracting this time around, except this time they added to the story. I love classical music more than I like rocking out, so you would think I would appreciate the class and elegance of Mia's story... wrong. Adam seriously kept me interested from page one.

The emotions were in check and well written, Adam's character development was phenomenal, and the ending was.... somewhat satisfying (you can tell that it was the easy way to please fans). I am so glad I didn't stop after book one because book two really hit it out of the park. If there was a way I could have JUST read book two, I probably would have. IN FACT here's my suggestion. Let's ditch this whole two book thing and just make it one book. One book in two parts. It'd still only be about 400 pages and I would have been way happier. I cannot imagine having had to wait 2 years for this second novel in the series to come out, I would not have been happy, at all.

Overall I am giving Where She Went a solid 4.25 rating I had lots of problems with this read as well, but nowhere near the issues I had with book one. I highly recommend this read, however book one needs to be read first so it's really a moot point.  Take it however you will readers, but book two is well worth suffering through book one!
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Where can you get your copy? Click the links below to be taken to Gayle Forman's store pages!

*Disclaimer $4.99 is rather pricey for an ebook. Just saying*

 Amazon | Barnes & Noble 

Alright readers, there you have it. My series review If I Stay by Gayle Forman. It may not have been my favorite series of all time, but I'm still glad I check it out before the film's release later this summer (8/22). I know LOTS of people love this series so I just want to point out that mine is only one of thousands of reviews of this series. Please read the series for yourself and don't solely make decision based off one reviewer! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini (Book vs Film: Which Was Better?)

Hello readers and happy Thursday to ya! Today I am going to try something new here on the blog and see how well it goes over. I love reading, obviously, but I love movies just as much. Movies based on books? Even better! I really like book movies so I am thinking that when possible, I am going to do book vs movie adaptation reviews when possible. To kick it off, I am staring off the party with the synopsis and author bio on Ned Vizzini's 2006 novel It's Kind of a Funny Story and then comparing it to the 2010 film!

The Novel 

It's Kind of a Funny Story (2006) 

Before we start, here is a little info about the novel and the author, Ned Vizzini.

 



Like many ambitious New York City teenagers, Craig Gilner sees entry into Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School as the ticket to his future. Determined to succeed at life-which means getting into the right high school to get into the right college to get the right job-Craig studies night and day to ace the entrance exam, and does. That's when things start to get crazy. At his new school, Craig realizes that he isn't brilliant compared to the other kids; he's just average, and maybe not even that. He soon sees his once-perfect future crumbling away. The stress becomes unbearable and Craig stops eating and sleeping-until, one night, he nearly kills himself. Craig's suicidal episode gets him checked into a mental hospital, where his new neighbors include a transsexual sex addict, a girl who has scarred her own face with scissors, and the self-elected President Armelio. There, isolated from the crushing pressures of school and friends, Craig is finally able to confront the sources of his anxiety. Ned Vizzini, who himself spent time in a psychiatric hospital, has created a remarkably moving tale about the sometimes unexpected road to happiness. For a novel about depression, it's definitely a funny story.




Top: Original 2006 release cover
Bottom: 2010 Re-released movie-tie-in edition cover
For the record, I read the bottom edition









Ned Vizzini

Ned Vizzini is the award-winning author of It’s Kind of a Funny Story (also a major motion picture), Be More Chill, Teen Angst? Naaah..., and The Other Normals. In television, he has written for MTV and ABC. His essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Salon. He is the co-author, with Chris Columbus, of the forthcoming fantasy-adventure series House of Secrets (April 2013). His work has been translated into eight languages.

Vizzini died on December 19, 2013.

Visit Vizzini's Goodreads page by clicking here
Visit Vizzini's Wikipedia page by clicking here 

 



The Film
It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)

Okay, Since the film and the book are kind of based off the exact same thing, here's the official movie trailer! Click the film poster above to be taken to the IMBD page for It's Kind of a Funny Story. Here's the trailer:






Okay. Now you know where we are here with the book and the movie. So here's my thoughts on the both of them:

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Book vs. Film: My Thoughts

I am currently taking a break from my usual reads. I wanted to try something different, so I went to my team with a list of what exactly I wanted: different, not a romance, and written by a male author. This is one of the many works I was suggested. My initial reaction when seeing the synopsis was pretty positive, but by the time I had finished the book, well... I really didn't know what to think. Let me explain.

This was a very easy read, which I liked. The content was very... well... different? Okay. I guess I should just be blunt here. The book is about a 15 year old boy who spends 5 days in an adult psychiatric ward battling depression after having suicidal thoughts. Okay, simple enough. The point of the story is how Vizzini is supposed to perfectly capture the insight of the 15 year old male mind. He was at one point a 15 year old male, as was I, so you would think he would have it down right? No. I have never been to NYC, I live in a town of less that 3000 people and have no desire to live in NYC, but I highly doubt any parent would give their 15 year old son the freedom in NYC that Craig seems to have. Sure he is responsible and smart and stuff, but I don't understand how he gets away with all this stuff. So essentially my biggest issue was with Craig himself. His problems, in my opinion, are a direct result of his lifestyle. So he has school stress? Who doesn't? So he has girl problems? Who doesn't? I'm just saying that I don't see what the big deal was here. I totally understand stress and can honestly tell you that I have dealt with the horrible effects of helping a loved one cope with clinical depression, so I know it isn't anything to take lightly, but Craig just really didn't do it for me. I didn't feel sorry for him like I should, I guess. In fact, I found Craig to be a bit whiny.

I was never a "wild-child" and honestly, my mentality seems to be a whole lot like Craig's. Which really could have worked, EXCEPT the book spends every other page talking about Craig and his friends "chilling" (which means they smoked pot, religiously) and about his constant obsession with masturbation. I realize he is a 15 year old bot, but Jesus, get over it. I got so sick of reading the words "jerk-off" in this book that I almost stopped. It would have been funny, but the way I read it, it was as though Vizzini was mocking teenage males, much the way a female author would have written the part.

Like I said, I liked the storyline and I think the book had an absolutely amazing message, I just think there were other ways to get there. The other characters of the book were amazing, especially Noelle. Noelle is our love interest and is also in the hospital with Craig. She has self-inflicted numerous cuts to her face in her bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts. She is really a deep character with a whole lot of emotion and I LOVED her story. She really had issues. I wish there could have been some more Noelle story in the book. The "romance" was played off very nicely. Noelle was great, but the other "residents" of 6 North were just as interesting. I really enjoyed their characters.

Two characters I DID NOT LIKE were Aaron and Nia. I'm sorry, but again this goes back to my Craig problem. If yo have such awful friends, THEN FIND NEW FRIENDS. Jesus, this is why the kid has problems. Why does he keep trying to make it work and WHY does the book end with everyone making things work? No, no, no, no, and no. Seriously. His friends are losers, straight up losers. I'm just saying life as a 15 year old in NYC must be WAY different than life as one in the Midwest.

I know I sound like I was really down on the book, but overall I really did like the positive message and the storyline, I just think it could have used... well... more. I give it about a 3 star rating. Now the movie on the other hand is a different story:

I don't think I have ever said this about a book to film adaptation, but: THE MOVIE IS BETTER! No seriously. Much better. Everything I hated about the book is rectified in the movie. The casting was GREAT and totally spot on. Noelle (Emma Roberts [American Horror Story: Coven]) had a much larger part as well! It was the perfect length and everything. The brain maps were fun, the jokes were actually funny, seriously, I LOVED this movie. Obviously a whole bunch was cut out of the book to make the movie flow, but I liked it that way. Craig's friends and family played a limited role in the film, but all it did was reaffirm my views of Aaron and Nia (which were played by the AMAZING Thomas Mann [Beautiful Creatures/Project X] and Zoe Kravitz [X-Men: First Class/Divergent]. The actors did a wonderful job with their parts, but the movie did nothing to make me like their characters more.

The film took a fairly depressing novel and turned it into a Drama/Comedy. It was depressing and sad, but seriously, I laughed SO many times, which is rare for me. Also, the actor portraying Craig (Keir Gilchrist) did a great job with the character (who was 16 in the film, why change a year?)! Also Bobby (Zach Galifianakis) was given a much larger role than the book which was pretty cool. Overall, I loved the film and would rank it pretty high on my list, I just cannot believe I liked it better than the book, I don't think I've ever had that happen.

In conclusion, and this may be the ONLY time I ever say this: skip the read, go watch the movie. It's 90 minutes of great story and a few good laughs that will leave you warm and hopeful about the future of today's depressing teenage generation. Anyways, that's my spiel about It's Kind of a Funny Story. Like I said, I was neither here nor there for the book, but the film is a must watch. The story was really great for me to read for some personal reasons dealing with some demons I have been fighting lately so I am glad to have read it, but I don't know that I'd read it again, make sense? Oh well. You guys got it!

Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan