[Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman]

"I Was Here"
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: None
Pages: 288
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Date Published: January 27th, 2015
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Format Read: Purchased hardback

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Summary:

Cody and Meg were inseparable.
Two peas in a pod.
Until . . . they weren’t anymore.

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, who broke Meg’s heart. 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.

I Was Here is Gayle Forman at her finest, a taut, emotional, and ultimately redemptive story about redefining the meaning of family and finding a way to move forward even in the face of unspeakable loss.

-Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To I Was Here,

Well, you just hit me in all the feels. Seriously, there was not a moment where I was not feeling big emotions as I read through your pages. I love that you weren't afraid to deal with some really big topics and that you did it in a way that was filled with such great hope. I cried and I cheered and I just wanted to give everyone in my life a huge hug when it was all over and done with. Thanks for being what you are, because you do it so well!

-The White Unicorn

I Was Here is amazing. Of course, it's also written by Gayle Forman and everyone here knows just how much I love her writing and the way her books speak to me. This book is no different. This book deals with a lot of social issues, but it does it in the most tasteful way. Forman gives us a story of a girl trying to figure out what to do after she gets left behind by her best friend. This book is about suicide, mental health and dealing with the fallout of tragedy.

The book starts out with a death. We don't even get to know Meg before she is taken away from us, and yet, somehow, Forman makes us feel her loss in the pages. There is so much raw emotion coming out of Cody, that we know how sad she is. And we also feel the shock that she feels as she goes on a journey to figure out what made Meg take her own life. 

The book is also drenched in a love story and a mystery. Cody meets all the people who were a part of Meg's life at college and in a way finds a new family there. The background characters are unique and likeable. Which really shouldn't be a surprise. Every single character that gets introduced to us is needed in the plot. Forman has a way of using every person she writes, no matter how small their role is. It's magical.

I don't know how she does it, but Forman knows how to write a love story that is real. And Ben and Cody's story is no different. It's not the main focus of the book, but it's there, and it gets used. I love that Forman touched on the fact that sometimes you meet a person when everything is messed up. It's refreshing. 

In the end, I loved that this book is about Cody finding herself, her life and love (in that order). Meg plays such a large role in the book and I'm glad that she was here. By the time you're done reading it, you will be too.

Rating:

 5 Unicorns = Get your hands on this NOW!

[Review: Little Peach by Peggy Kern]

"Little Peach"
Author: Peggy Kern
Series: None
Pages: 208
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Date Published: March 10th, 2015
Publisher: Balzer & Bray/HarperTeen
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

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Summary:

What do you do if you're in trouble?

When Michelle runs away from her drug-addicted mother, she has just enough money to make it to New York City, where she hopes to move in with a friend. But once she arrives at the bustling Port Authority, she is confronted with the terrifying truth: she is alone and out of options.

Then she meets Devon, a good-looking, well-dressed guy who emerges from the crowd armed with a kind smile, a place for her to stay, and eyes that seem to understand exactly how she feels.

But Devon is not what he seems to be, and soon Michelle finds herself engulfed in the world of child prostitution where he becomes her “Daddy” and she his “Little Peach.” It is a world of impossible choices, where the line between love and abuse, captor and savior, is blurred beyond recognition.

This hauntingly vivid story illustrates the human spirit’s indomitable search for home, and one girl’s struggle to survive.

-Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To Little Peach,

It has taken me awhile to put my thoughts into words about you, and still I'm not sure that I can do it correctly. You're not a pretty book. You're a book that made me cringe and feel uncomfortable and wonder what is wrong with the world. That being said, you're also a very important book. You share an honest look into the world of child prostitution and I commend you for that. You're not supposed to be a pretty book, but you are an important one, so thank you.

-The White Unicorn

I have to come out of the gate with a warning for readers on this one. The book is about teen prostitution and everything that goes along with it. The book deals with things like rape, child molestation and abuse, as well as prostitution. So tread carefully with this one. Though I'd suggest this book to anyone who can stand it, because I think that it's an important read.

Kern gives us a 200 page story packed with brutal truths. It's a story that starts out less than ideal and only gets worse from there. The shiny bits distract from what is really going on and soon you realize just what Michelle has gotten herself into. At the age of 14, she only knows that she has nowhere to go and so when Devon steps into her life and promises her a real family, she doesn't say no. 

Soon we are introduced to a slew of seedy characters. Some we come to actually like, such as Kitty, Baby and Michelle, and the rest end up showing off their true colors. I'm still trying to figure out how to feel about the people portrayed in this book. The lies and deception that they all hold are the kinds that make things feel like they are better than they are, but even that can't last forever. 

It's the story at the center of this book that makes it so good. No matter what happens to Michelle there is this feeling of hope and survival. As she peels away the layers that have become her life, she finally sees just what has become of her life, and once again she tries to change her circumstances. She lives through things that people should never have to deal with and yet she never gives up. 

As you can see I'm still struggling to put to words my thoughts on this little novel, but I can say that it touched me and that I think it is a book that needed to be written and that it should also be read.

Rating:

4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!