Where She Went Reading Response

            When things go wrong, people tend to place the blame on others, but the people that they blame are often times the people that hold them together. “Where She Went”, by Gayle Forman, is about a young adult named Adam who is going through tough times in his life.  His old girlfriend, Mia, was in a major car crash where her entire family died except for her. After reconstructing her life, she went on to become a professional cellist. Adam believed that she had forgotten about him and he became angry and depressed. For a while he believed that his depression had been caused by Mia leaving, but after meeting her again in New York City after three years, he finally sees that she was the one who got him through each day. In the story, Adam realizes that all the things he has and has had are the things that keep him going.

            
            Throughout the story, music played a significant part in Adam’s life.  When Adam talks about when he used to watch Mia while she was playing her cello he says, “The truth was that I also wanted to understand what she heard in the silence.” Adam wanted to love music the way Mia did, whether he was playing it or listening to it.  Mia always understood each note that was played, which only increased her love for every song, and Adam soon learned how to do the same.  During the time when Adam was depressed, he said, “It takes a lot of effort to stop listening to the music and give him my attention.” Music is a way for Adam to distract himself from the rest of the world and even his life.  It isn’t about the fame or the fortune for him. He genuinely loves and appreciates music, and Mia most likely had a lot to do with it.

            
            Throughout all the problems Adam faced, Mia also played an important role in Adam’s life. Even when she wasn’t there with him, she still kept track of everything that was going on. While on a camping trip Mia and Adam took before the accident, Adam says, “We kept whispering to each other, telling stories from our childhoods, deep, deep into the night until finally Mia forgot to be scared and fell asleep.” Mia felt safe whenever she was with Adam and Adam felt safe with her. He also trusted her with his deepest secrets. It was true love, through and through. And although Mia wasn’t around, she still kept Adam with her at all times. When Adam meets Mia again in New York City, Mia shows Adam that she has his old guitar. “Mia is the one who bought my guitar for some exorbitant sum, which means Mia knew it was up for auction.” The only way for Mia to have gotten his old guitar was if she had kept track of what was happening with Adam and his life. She still cared about him enough to buy his guitar for a large amount of money. This came as a shock to Adam because he believed that she didn’t care about him anymore and this shows that maybe he was the one who didn’t care.

            
            After seeing Mia again, Adam realized that he had brought depression and anger upon himself and Mia had nothing to do with it. After he sees Mia with his guitar he says, “I’ve blamed her for all of this, for leaving, for ruining me.” Adam realizes that he was the one who ruined himself, and he wants to be the one to change himself back. At the end of the story, when Adam is singing at one of his concerts he says, “It’s no longer an angry plea shouted into the void.” Adam changed his perspective on his life. He is no longer angry at the world because he finally understands what he didn’t understand before.

            
            There is a drastic change in the mood, tone, and the attitude of Adam from the beginning to the end of the book. At first Adam was deeply depressed. He was under tons of pressure from his band that had quickly skyrocketed into stardom, and he had so many unanswered questions for Mia. He hid himself away from the world, and even though he believed it was all Mia’s fault, I believe that it was also Mia who held him together. Mia and music literally saved Adam’s life. Together they were able to dig him out of the hole he had buried himself in, and by the end of the story Adam was back to his old loving self. I predict that in the future Mia and Adam will stay together forever, and music will always have a special place in both of their hearts.