I enjoy the way that Forman weaves a story. I Have Lost My Way mirrors her work that I have strongly connected with, but it didn't quite feel like a slam dunk. But reading her work is never a waste of time and reflects her strong storytelling ability - I am just not sure why it didn't resonate.

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed Gayle's If I Stay series, so I was really looking forward to this book, the premise was quite intriguing.

However, the execution was quite different to what I was expecting, but this could be because of the layout of the eBook I was reading, which had some jarring chapter separators.

I really enjoyed when the book picked up and the three protagonists started to interact, Nathaniel's story broke my heart, and the way they bonded and looked after each other was heartwarming.

But the ending, did leave me feeling somewhat lacking. It all built to this crescendo, and then ended.

It subconsciously reminded me of If I Stay, and has similar themes I think (though I don’t remember much of If I Stay/Where She Went) but is better? Freya, Harun and Nathaniel each have different parts of their past they need to heal from, thus the whole “I have lost my way” thing. I love how diverse this set of characters is, enough that the insta-love didn’t infuriate me? However I do think the ending was a little disappointing, yet in a good way. One word I’d use to describe I Have Lost My Way is poignant, and if you’re looking for a relatively short well written, delicate tale about three people of vastly different backgrounds trying to move on from loss, this is the book for you.

I really enjoyed this book about people who are lost and find themselves after a chance encounter. Told from 3 POVs, the book takes place over a single day which gives everything a kind of urgency, but also allows the characters to delve into details of specific moments.

There are places where things get a little mawkish, but overall, it's a quick, emotional read.

I got a bit lost with this book. Could not really connect with all the characters. If a book does not grab me, pretty soon I get really bored

Freya is an up-and-coming singer who can longer sing. Harun is gay and struggling to come out to his Muslim family. And Nathaniel has just arrived in New York and is feeling very alone. The three teenagers meet under unusual circumstances in Central Park, each one thinking, “I have lost my way.” For varying selfish reasons, they decide to stick together for the day, but they soon discover that they need each other in order to find themselves. Freya puts it perfectly when she says she “does not believe in anything resembling destiny. But at that moment, it’s hard not to believe that the three of them were meant to meet.”

The book takes place over the course of only one day, alternating between the present told in the third person and the past told in the first person by each of the three narrators. Each character takes us back in time and slowly reveals their story of loss. The writing is simple and direct. There are no flourishes or literary devices here. Yet, it is compelling, raw, and honest.

I Have Lost My Way is an emotional ride, and I was bawling my eyes out by the end. This is my first Gayle Forman book. Readers are saying it’s not as good as her others. In that case, I’m off to get every one of her previous books right now.

Warnings: coarse language, sexual references, LGBTQ themes, suicide references.

I came into this book expecting an emotional ride.

Somehow, I was still unprepared.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. The characters drew me in, and I came to care for most of their struggles. There were times I felt detached from them, though for the most part I was engaged in their lives, and the way they all came together.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. It is a strong contender in that coming-of-age young adult genre.

I really enjoyed this entertaining book. It was not what I was expecting so was pleasantly surprised. It was both sad and sweet and easy to devour.

I Have Lost My Way is an exquisitely beautiful story. While it is written for young adults and will, I think, appeal enormously to that cohort of readers, this is a book that I found fascinating despite being well and truly past that stage in my life. Nathaniel, Freya, and Harun are all in their late teens. Each is facing a crisis in his or her life and none has any idea how to cope with it. I loved the way the characters learned to lean on each other and discovered bonds of friendship and love that enabled them to move on in their lives. Their characters are well developed, each with their own unique voice, and each seemed very real to me. This story is a page turner and one I will happily reread in the future.

Unique. Powerful. Unforgettable.

I must admit, I was slow in reading this one. I found it a bit difficult to get interested at the start; so many characters and so much information was thrown at me that I felt a little disconnected.

However, the three protagonists (yes, three points of view!) quickly changed that and wormed their way into my heart.

Freya, Nathaniel and Harun are strangers who meet under the most unusual of circumstances and embark on a different kind of adventure, each drawing strength from one another in a way that I've not read before.

Their stories were heartbreaking, their struggles so real and so relevant, that I would highly recommend this book to any teen (or adult, for that matter).

It was such an intriguing read, so poignantly written; a definite stand out that I won't forget. For a fairly short book, it sure packs a punch! So many issues were covered and yet it still left me wanting more!

This was such an interesting story! Very quick read. I loved the opening of the story, how we were introduced to the 3 MCs and what they were all doing at the same point in time, and how they all connected. I always enjoy seeing that.
Freya <spoiler>I really wished she had gotten her voice back. I am very pleased to see the relationship getting back on track with her sister :) And I really hope Nathaniel and Freya develop a strong relationship</spoiler>
Nathaniel: I love how he showed his passions at points throughout this book, what he enjoyed doing in the past. Initially, I thought him to be a rather weird character, but I think that's the point. I'm pleased Foreman unravelled him for us so we could properly appreciate him. <spoiler>My heart completely went out to him when he came down the stairs and said 'you're marrying James?' I facepalmed and couldn't believe it. Of course it would happen to the most insecure of them :( Just so glad it all ended well.</spoiler>
Harun: I understand how he feels, about family expectations and all of that, but I'm actually siding with <spoiler>James today. There's no reason why he should settle for someone who is ashamed to be who he is. I'm pleased James didn't take him back, but I really wished we'd seen his reaction to Freya's video! I wished Harun had talked to his sister about it, or vice versa, so that he wouldn't have been alone.</spoiler>
I'm really pleased I got accepted for this book, and that I actually got around to reading it!

An explosive insight into the world of three young strangers who are flung together in New York City for just one day. A cleverly spun little tale that reminds us all about the important things in life; the power of love family and friendship. Perhaps too in this time of Instagram Facebook and Social media, Gayle Forman holds a mirror to the reality that what you see is seldom a true reflection of life.

I often try to read outside my usual genres. As a budding writer this is often the best advice given. However, reading this book reminded me why I don't often stray. I was disappointed. The characters never really got off the page for me. And I found it hard to connect to any of the so called issues they were going through. I couldn't finish this book.

An easy read by Gayle Forman which covers three different characters across one day. Freya, Harun and Nathanial bump into each other and while they started as strangers, they quickly form a connection - each of them struggling with their own demons but ultimately looking out for each becomes a priority.
As the day went on I realised that while I didn’t feel like I really got to know the characters I was still barracking for each of them and wanting only good things to happen for them. I do always love a story of young people learning who they really are and accepting it and this one fit the bill nicely. Definitely recommend for fans of Gayle Forman’s other books as well as anyone who feels like stepping into New York for a day.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster (Australia) for my review copy via Netgalley.

3.5 stars
I Have Lost My Way is the latest YA novel by award winning author Gayle Forman.        It was a quick read and one I enjoyed a great deal although  I readily admit I have a soft spot for this genre.

The story alternated between Freya, Harun and Nathaniel, three wildly different characters with one thing in common - they each feel bereft at recent life shattering events and can't help feeling they've lost their way in life.    Freya has been on the fast track to musical fame but her voice has abandoned her and she fears the failure and annonymity that must surely result.     Harun has lost his first and only love because he didn't have the courage to come out to his muslim family, whilst Nathaniel's family has suffered a mortal wound and he's feeling completely alone in the world.    All three were highly likeable characters and they each piqued a strong sense of compassion within me.   

The book touched upon an array of issues including mental health, broken families, the fickle nature of fame and the sacrifices required to achieve it, homosexuality, the challenges associated with being a Muslim American.     Despite these tough topics it was not all doom and gloom.    These young people only met by chance but in the space of one eventful day they supported  each other in unexpected ways.    In doing so they discovered the magic of friendship, the healing powers of sharing each others losses, and began finding their way back to more hopeful and positive futures.

Thanks to Gayle Forman, Simon and Schuster (Australia) publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I so needed a Lovely Book, after reading too many thrillers featuring horrible selfish people back to back, so this was the perfect pick from my remaining ARCs. Completely different to my normal choice of book, this was immediately engaging and unexpectedly moving.

The story takes place over the course of one day, with flashbacks revealing the characters’ secrets in onion layers. Freya, an indie singer on the cusp of fame, has suddenly lost her voice, and is feeling lost and terrified about what this means, as her bossy mother shuttles her between specialists to try and fix her, as ordered by the controlling producer who is promoting her. Arun, 19, has just broken up with his first boyfriend and can’t talk to anyone about it, as he has hidden his sexuality from his conservative Muslim family. And Nathaniel has just arrived in New York after growing up with a mentally unstable father. Each one is desperately lonely, and when united by a freak accident, they discover how to reach out towards friendship.

This is a short, beautiful story, with diverse characters (in the modern sense of the word) who are real but appealing. I don’t read much YA anymore, it all got too samey, and this is not typical YA really, possibly why I liked it so much. Yes there’s a love story, but it’s not a romance, and it’s so much more. I even liked the somewhat open ending because here was a real sense of hope.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I Have Lost My Way, the latest young adult contemporary novel from Gayle Foreman, is a book that I did not know I needed until I read it. This is a book that, at its center, explores friendship, acceptance, and loss. With a diverse cast, this emotionally charged book looks at one fateful day in the lives of three teenagers had me completely enthralled from opening page.

The book, which is told in alternating points of view, opens with Freya. She is a rising star whose life seems centered upon becoming a singing sensation. Her mother acts as her manager and has Freya’s life seemingly planned out for her down to the minute. Until recently, everything was going smoothly. But when Freya loses her singing voice, and is unable to sing for three weeks, her team begins to slowly drop her—when the novel opens, she has already begun losing recording time, and an upcoming meeting with her temperamental producer is certain to be filled with bad news. Freya decides to take off for the day, heading into Central Park. It is here that she crosses paths with Nathaniel.

Nathaniel is presented to the reader at first as a tourist. His story is slow to unfold over the course of the novel, but he is a heartbreaking and moving character that is worth the time it takes to get to know him. He is in New York for the first time, alone, with only a stolen and outdated library guide-book, a bag with few belongings, and very little money. Nathaniel’s world is changed when Freya quite literally stumbles into his life after falling off of a bridge and landing directly on top of him, knocking him temporarily unconscious.

At this point, the reader is introduced to Harun, a bystander who saw the fall occur. Harun is familiar with Freya’s music and recognises her instantly. Harun is in the park hoping to run into his possibly ex-boyfriend. When he sees the accident occur, he rushes over to help. Together, the three teens embark on one life-changing day together in New York City.

The thing I loved most about this book was the depth of each character. Despite this being a rather short novel told in alternating viewpoints, by the end I felt so thoroughly attached to each of the three main characters that it felt as though they were my friends, too. While the novel takes place over the course of one day, each character’s background is explored in flashbacks. As the story progresses, you find out more about the pain that each of them are carrying. Freya has a strained relationship with both her sister and her mother. Her father, with whom she was incredibly close, left their family and moved back to Ethiopia years ago, and slowly stopped reaching out to her. Nathaniel lost contact with his mother after his parents divorced. His father, though brilliant and his best friend, suffers from mental illness, which has often forced Nathaniel into the role of the adult as he was growing up. Nathaniel himself suffers from depression, feeling entirely unseen. Harun has grown up in a strict Muslim family, leaving him afraid to come out as gay. This has caused intense strain on his relationship with his boyfriend, James, whom he can only sneak away to see once a week. Harun’s fateful day in the park comes only a day before he is supposed to leave for six weeks to find a wife.

Each of these characters is suffering from an immense loss, but as they bond throughout the day, each helps gives the others courage to overcome these tragedies, to fight through the pain, and to feel alive again.

I inhaled this book in two sittings. The all-in-one-day format, paired with Forman’s gorgeous writing, made this novel fly by. Once I got to the final, breathtaking pages, I truly didn’t want it to end.

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.

I have lost my way is a novel that we all can relate to. I think we have all lost our ways at some stage in our lives.
Three POV, three lives equal three exceptional stories.
This book follows three characters as their lives collide in one day – and their lives are forever changed.
First, we meet Freya who is a half Ethiopian and half Jewish upcoming famous singer, she has lost her voice and she is not sure if it will be permanent.
Secondly, we meet Haran who is a Muslim from Pakistan. He is too afraid to come out to his family.
Thirdly, we meet Nathaniel who only has one eye, he has just arrived in New York with just a backpack. He has cared for his father his whole life and now he is on his own.
This was an entertaining read and the characters were very relatable. I enjoyed the POV of all three characters it helps to you understand what they are going through.
Our heart stings are pulled as we follow their stories ad Gayle has us rooting for the characters as each deal with a different kind of loss.

Gayle Forman has written a book the deals with some very substantial themes such as mental health, abandonment, suicide, and homophobia. She opens our eyes up to the daily struggles that so many people face in today’s society. This book was so different from all of her other books but I must admit I was hooked from the beginning. It was an incredible emotional roller coaster of a ride.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster (Australia) and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an open and honest review.

Trigger Warnings for mental health, abandonment, suicide, and homophobia.

I Have Lost My Way is one of those books you need to savour. At the beginning of this book I didn’t know any of the characters, just as Freya, Nathaniel and Harun didn’t know one another. Yet as their stories unfolded I saw myself in each of them and began to feel like one of their people. I don’t think it matters with this book if you can relate personally to any of the character’s specific circumstances and why they find their lives colliding that day.

What matters is that all three have lost their way. I want to tell you all about their individual stories but it’s best you gradually get to know each character as you read. Told from all three perspectives, this is a story of love, friendship and discovering who you really are.

They each feel invisible in their own way. They all feel alone in their lives, whether they’re surrounded by adoring fans, a large family or no one at all. Their stories shine a light on the lengths we can go to in order to try to fit into the mould that others have created for us when we know deep down our shape looks nothing like that of the mould. Freya, Nathaniel and Harun share one fear: ‘if people knew the truth about me I would truly be alone’ so they hide parts of themselves from the world. I don’t know about you but this aching loneliness resonated with me.

I’m sure they and I aren’t the only ones who have ever felt this way, and that’s one of the strengths of a Gayle Forman novel. You feel. You feel for her characters and ultimately your glance turns inward and you examine yourself. There’s a feeling of inclusion in Gayle’s novels and as her characters slowly let others in and in doing so expand their lives, you feel a corresponding expansion of your own. You may begin reading with little or no understanding of where a specific character is coming from, and you may even find yourself judging them preemptively, yet as they bare their soul your heart opens.

There are some things I’ve noticed in all of Gayle’s novels. Regardless of the overall theme I get sucked into the story almost immediately, generally by the end of the first page. There’s at once a simplicity and complexity to her writing; easy to read yet with a depth you fall into without realising. I fall in love with her characters, idiosyncrasies and all, and find myself thinking about them long after I finish reading their stories. They have the ability to change me from the inside out.

Favourite Passage (of many!): “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.”

Best Description of Books Ever: “little empathy-delivery devices”. 💕

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for reminding me why I love everything Gayle writes and reigniting the need to devour her entire back catalogue while I wait for her next empathy-delivery device to imprint itself on my heart.

I read a lot of Gayle's books and really enjoyed them, so I had high hopes for this book and while it wasn't bad I just didn't enjoy it as much as I had enjoyed her prior books. The characters were likeable and each had their own personal struggles but this made the book hard to follow at times. I did like how diverse the characters were and how you could see a lot of different cultures along with how certain experiences shaped them. The story flowed nicely and I enjoyed how the story mostly took place over less than 24 hours with flashbacks added in to give depth. I did find that the book ended really abruptly and while this worked fine in If I Stay it didn't fit with the flow of this book and there needed to be an epilogue or another chapter to tie things together. If you liked Gayle's other books you will like this one but go into it with an open mind and be prepared to leave with questions.