I did this one backwards, I'll admit. I picked up Gayle Forman's novel without realizing it was a sequel. Now I need to backtrack, but this isn't really the kind of story that allows that.
Even so, I loved this novel.
Three years after Mia dumped him, Adam is a tabloid wreck. He's launched their breakup into a chart-climbing album, but the band and the music don't fill him like they used to. The groupies love him, his girlfriend is a high-maintenance celeb, and reporters single him out, further isolating him from the band that used to be his family. In the midst of a panic attack, Adam decides to linger in NYC for a day without the band. And that's when he stumbles upon Mia.
She's done with Julliard and performing at Carnegie Hall. When she finds out he's in the audience, she drags him backstage to talk, and a short conversation turns into a strange night on the town: bowling in the Port Authority bus station, taking the Staten Island ferry at 4 am, and finally uncovering the ghosts of their past. For all the pain that has passed between them, this is a surprisingly joyous book, with an ending I didn't quite expect.
This is a beautiful, utterly believable novel of lost love, missed chances, and waiting for the timing to be perfect. It was "Before Sunset", only more true. If you are a sucker for romance and troubled young men, this is a great book for you.
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I think every book should stand alone, even a sequel. Since you loved this one without reading the first one, that says it does!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Karen! It was an awesome read.
DeleteThat's a great book! I read both books, but this one is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteShould I go back and read the first, or do I know too much?
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