BOOK REVIEW: Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

 

Overall, you should give this book a try if you’re looking for an unexpected and adventurous summer novel with a theme of friendship and if you like “school nerd falls in love for shy girl” type of romance.

 SUMMARY:

Emily is about to take some risks and have the most unexpected summer ever. Hellogiggles.com says, “Basically I couldn’t be more in love with this book,” from the bestselling author of Second Chance Summer and Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour.

Before Sloane, Emily didn’t go to parties, she barely talked to guys, and she didn’t do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—someone who yanks you out of your shell.

But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. There’s just a random to-do list with thirteen bizarre tasks that Emily would never try. But what if they can lead her to Sloane?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Wait…what?

Getting through Sloane’s list will mean a lot of firsts, and with a whole summer ahead of her—and with the unexpected help of the handsome Frank Porter—who knows what she’ll find.

Go Skinny Dipping? Um…

THOUGHTS:

Someone once told me that this book is slow paced but it’s good. I’m glad they told me that because I really have no patience with slow-paced books. If I hadn’t known this was gonna be slow-paced, I would’ve put it down and marked it as “dnf” when I was only 50 pages in.

Since You’ve Been Gone is a book that will make you feel like your own best friend is gone. It kind of irritated me at the start, how Emily seems so co-dependent with Sloane. But as the story progresses, I understood where she’s coming from. The thought that this co-dependency in friendships really exist in real life. That’s when I started to feel sad and empathize with Emily.

What I really liked about this book is how the title is open for interpretation. Since Sloane has been gone: a) Emily has been getting out of her comfort zone more, b) Emily has been getting to know herself more, c) Emily has been spending a lot more time with her family, d) Emily has learned that her world couldn’t just revolve around one person, e) Emily has appreciated the people who love her more.

What I didn’t like about it though was how we didn’t really get to see what happened with her new friendships. It just had the happy ending with her romantic relationship, but nothing about the new friendship she discovered over the summer.

Overall, you should give this book a try if you’re looking for an unexpected and adventurous summer novel with a theme of friendship and if you like “school nerd falls in love for shy girl” type of romance.

BUY LINKS:

Shopee | Amazon [Paperback] | Amazon [Kindle]

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