REVIEW: I Have Lost my Way by Gayle Forman

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult

Publisher: PenguinTeen

ISBN: 1471173720

Format: Hardback, Paperback, E-Book,
Audio-Book

Release Date: 27th March 2018


Links: Goodreads, Amazon.com, Indigo,
B&N, Book Depository

Website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook


Rating: 9/10


Synopsis:

Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose. When a fateful accident draws these three strangers together, their secrets start to unravel as they begin to understand that the way out of their own loss might just lie in help­ing the others out of theirs.

Review:



**This book was sent to me by Penguin Random House Canada in return for my honest review**

I've never read a Gayle Forman book before so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading. But I'm pleased to say I loved this book. 

The story features three main characters. The first is Freya, a singer who loses her voice, Harun who is Gay and a Muslim and, Nathaniel moving to New York. All the events take place in one day with flashbacks providing background to the three main characters. Each has, as the title suggests, lost their way, and Gayle Forman explores how, with the help of one another, they can get back on the right path. It is a novel told in quiet intimate details, and in moments between characters. 

Freya is an 'almost famous' singer who has uploaded her songs to Youtube but while recording her debut album loses her voice. She has an Ethiopian father and a white Jewish mother. Through flashback chapter we learn how her relationship with her father has affected her life, goals and her relationship with her sister, Sabrina.

Harun is struggling with announcing to his Muslim parents that he is Gay. His nervousness led to his secret boyfriend, James, to break up with him. Honestly, I was routing the two of them throughout the novel and was hoping everything would be resolved. 

Nathaniel had perhaps the most interesting back story. After his Mother leaves him to move to California and get remarried he quickly becomes more independent. You're left wondering how he ended up in New York City alone, hungry and how he came to lose one of his eyes. As his story unravelled, I felt more and more sympathetic with his character. 

The book flicks between the three characters which I actually enjoyed. My favourite chapters were the flashback on their lives. It really made you sympathise with them more and become more invested in what could happen.

The main thing I wasn't as fond of in the novel was the one-day romance. It felt almost unnecessary and I think the book would have worked just as well without it. I also wish it had been a little longer and the ending less open-ended. 

I was sucked into this book and the characters as soon as I started reading. The book was an emotional rollercoaster and the characters were beautifully written. If Gayle Forman's other books are anything like this one, then I know I'll love them.