Book Review: I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

.

BOOK review
Started on: 9 April 2018
Finished on: 13 April 2018

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

Title: I Have Lost My Way

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Soho Press

Pages:  368 pages / 274 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2018
Price: Rp 152,000 (http://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4.5/5

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"It's the hoping that makes it hurt.
Harun knows that.
Nathaniel knows that.
Freya knows it too."

Freya is on her way to becoming a star until she suddenly lost her ability to sing while recording her debut album. Harun was raised in a Muslim family with strict beliefs and high expectations, and revealing his secret will disappoint his family. Nathaniel has just lost everything and went to New York with a desperate plan. On one fateful day, the three of them happens to be in Central Park—where each of them contemplates on their own lives and how they seem to have lost their way.

"They may be complete strangers, with different lives and different problems, but there in that examination room they are measuring sadness the same way. They are measuring it in loss."

When an accident that involved the three of them happened, Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel ended up spending the whole day together. Even though they never knew each other before, they're all very comfortable with one another and found themselves unwilling to go separate ways. Throughout the day, their secrets and their past are revealed one by one.

"She looks at Harun, at Nathaniel. Unlike her mother, or Hayden, she does not believe in anything resembling destiny. But at that moment, it's hard to believe that the three of them were meant to meet."

image source: here. edited by me.

It's quite difficult to summarize this book without spoiling too much because it's actually quite short and a lot of secrets are revealed as the story goes. First of all, I have to say I still really enjoy reading Gayle Forman's writing. She writes with simple words yet they're always so full of emotions. Out of all her other books, my favorite is still If I Stay, but I think this book comes in a close second. It is written in both first and third-person perspectives alternatively, so the readers get to know what happens from the outside and also what's happening inside of the characters individually. Besides that, the story flows really well with the dual timeline—one happening in the present day, the other one is a variety of flashbacks from the three main characters' lives. From beginning to end, there's an element of mystery that keeps me eager to read more as the secrets of each characters are slowly revealed. As the three of them got closer to one another, I also felt deeply connected with them at the same time. 😊😊

"But something gives her courage. Or maybe hope. Or maybe hope gives her courage."

The three main characters of this book: Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel; each has their own stories about loss. The way Gayle Forman writes about them and their struggle makes it so relatable. Some of the issues include family relationship, cultural pressure, self-identity, acceptance, loneliness, etc. The writing feels so heartbreakingly honest, and I can't help myself from feeling emotional after reading all those events that these characters have to go through. I can't say I have a favorite character from this book because they're all very different from one another in terms of personality and growth. But I think the story that breaks my heart the most is Nathaniel's story about loss and the consequence of what he did towards the end of the story. 😢😢 Seriously, Gayle Forman's writing makes my heart aches as if I was the one going through the even that happened.

"Did time heal everything? Or were some things broken beyond repair?"

"To be the holder of other people's loss is to be the keeper of their love. To share your loss with people is another way of giving your love."

Overall, I really enjoyed this short and simple book but at the same time it feels really deep and emotional. Even though I can't say much about the story or characters without giving away too much, I hope my review would be able to show how much I enjoyed it. One thing that I wasn't too happy about was the ending. I feel like Gayle Forman just left me hanging there with that ending. She just leaves us to our own imaginations as to what will happen next. 😂😂 Anyways, I decided to be hopeful and optimistic about the ending; because that's all I want for Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel: for them to finally find their own happiness and figuring out their own ways. ♥️♥️

"He asks God to help Nathaniel. To help him find Nathaniel. To help him find Freya. To help all three of them heal one another."

 by.stefaniesugia♥ .