I Have Lost My Way - Gayle Forman

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve read any YA, but I’ve recently been on a kick, requesting quite a few books from my local library. I’d actually never heard of Gayle Forman until her name popped up on my Goodreads feed, and after a bit of digging I decided to borrow her latest work, I Have Lost My Way, from the library.

I Have Lost My Way takes place on one day, in Manhattan, and brings together three strangers who are all lost and looking for something to bring back some sort of meaning to their lives. There is Freya, the up and coming singer, Harun, heartbroken but convinced he must remain the “good” son for his parents, and Nathaniel, the boy whose father never grew up. The narrative skips between the present and the recent past, with Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel’s voices each telling their own stories.

The novel deals with a lot of tough topics: suicide, estranged family, religion, coming out as gay in a family that will most likely not accept it etc, but I often felt like it hovers on the edge of being both unbelievable and stereotypical. There is something dreamy about Gayle Forman’s writing that makes you feel like you are floating above the characters’ lives, watching from above and hoping that they make it through OK. This is nice in essence, as it makes for a gentle flow through the narrative, but it also left me desiring more, wanting to feel more invested and involved somehow.

That said, I raced through the book in less than a day, wanting to find out how they all made it through. It was a good read, and an interesting plot but I just needed a little bit more depth to dig my teeth into I think!