I Have Lost My Way
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4.2 • 38 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
The New York Times bestseller from the author of If I Stay
“Heartwrenching…If you are ready to be emotionally wrecked yet again, you are in luck.” – Hypable
A fateful accident draws three strangers together over the course of a single day:
Freya who has lost her voice while recording her debut album.
Harun who is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved.
Nathaniel who has just arrived in New York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose.
As the day progresses, their secrets start to unravel and they begin to understand that the way out of their own loss might just lie in helping the others out of theirs.
An emotionally cathartic story of losing love, finding love, and discovering the person you are meant to be, I Have Lost My Way is bestselling author Gayle Forman at her finest.
“A beautifully written love song to every young person who has ever moved through fear and found themselves on the other side.” – Jacqueline Woodson, bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
After being brought together by an accident in New York City's Central Park, three struggling teenagers form a fast, powerful friendship in Forman's elegant and understated novel, which alternates between their day together and flashback sections that carefully expose her characters' losses. Freya, a singer on the cusp of stardom, has lost her voice, her sister, and her father. Harun has been dumped by the boyfriend he's terrified to tell his Muslim family about. And Nathaniel has landed in New York City alone, leaving behind an unpredictable father incapable of caring for him. Forman (If I Stay) occasionally references the parable of the boiling frog, in which a frog in a pot of water doesn't notice a gradual increase in temperature and is eventually cooked to death. In some ways, she performs a similar trick: readers may be so caught up in the intensity and warmth of the bond Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel form that they're caught off guard by their story's final act. But readers won't finish the novel lost or bereft; this is a celebration of the lifesaving power of human connection. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Captivating
4.5 stars
I have Lost My Way is a powerful and beautifully written novel. It’s a story of three teenagers who over the course of only one day, mature emotionally, and profoundly affect one another’s lives.
Freya, Haran, and Nathaniel were feeling depressed and lost. Although they were all strangers when they met accidentally in NYC, they became fast friends. Each one of the teens, unfortunately, carried deep psychological scars. Together, however, they found a way to help one another survive, heal and change.
I connected with each character in this book, but Nathaniel broke my heart. From a very young age, Nathaniel became the caretaker for his mentally ill father. When he met Freya and Haran in NYC, Nathaniel was at his breaking point. Freya, a famous teen singer, felt love only through her fans. She agonized over what would happen to her when her fans discovered her horrendous secret. Haran is a gay Muslim and ashamed of his sexuality. He’s in love with a male friend, and afraid to tell his Pakistani parents.
I have Lost My Way is a poignant story, yet heartwarming, and sweetened with a dash of romance. It’s a story about love, loss, friendship, and finding the strength to be who you really are.
Thank you, Penguin Publishing Group-Viking Books and Edelweiss, for my advanced review copy. I loved it!
Lost
I fell in love with Gayle Forman's writing in 2009 when I first read If I Stay. The writing is heartbreakingly beautiful and it's easy to forget that the events of the story are taking place in a such a short period of time.
I Have Lost My Way addresses a topic that every single person in the world experiences in some way: loss. Loss can be a powerful binding factor for people who need to know that they're not alone. These three characters have experienced different kinds of loss but the connection they share because of their experiences is insanely powerful.
This book broke my heart, put it back together, then broke it again. I was invested in Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel from the first word and couldn't stop reading this book until I finished in one sitting. The end of this book was perfect but I selfishly hope that like If I Stay and Just One Day, there will be a follow up so we can check in with these characters again.
*This is my voluntary review of an advanced reader copy*