Author: Morgan Matson
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Goodreads
The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best friend—the one who yanks you out of your shell.Review by Nara
But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just… disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. There’s just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try… unless they could lead back to her best friend.
Apple Picking at Night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a Stranger? Wait… what?
Getting through Sloane’s list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go Skinny Dipping? Um…
I've read all three of Morgan Matson's books so far, and I can definitely say that Since You've Been Gone is my favourite of the three. I think this is mostly because of the protagonist, Emily. Emily is insecure and slightly awkward, but that's what is so fantastic about her: she's extremely relateable. I mean, I don't even know how many times I've gone to a party and felt a bit awkward in the corner, wanting to go home, or how many times I've wanted to gain a bit more confidence and do things I might not normally do (but of course, I always have to think about the consequences...) Since You've Been Gone is all about Emily trying to break out of that role of only being the awkward friend, and come into her own right as a fabulous, independent person.
The romance is just fantastic. Mostly this is due to it being extremely slow burn: the characters start off as friends, and this eventually evolves into something more. Honestly, this is the best type of romance- you can really see the connection between the characters before it switches to a romance. The other thing that makes the romance fabulous is that Frank is a fantastic love interest. He's just so nice. Gahhh it's always the nice ones that get me!
Of course though, the romance actually isn't really a dominant thread in the plot- it really only comes into fruition in the very last couple of chapters. The main plotline is to do with friendship- Emily struggling to understand why Sloane has disappeared, Emily making new friends while Sloane is gone, Emily completing the list in order to bring Sloane back (she thinks). And I feel like that's the way the book should be.
So, while you're pondering about whether or not to get a copy of this book, let me set you a list of tasks!
1. Buy the book (don't even think about it, just get it)
2. Read the book
3. Flail about the book
4. Flail some more
5. Reread the book and repeat tasks 3 and 4 ;)
Incredible
Ratings
Overall: 9/10
Plot: 5/5
Romance: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 1.5/5
This post is a part of Contemporary Conversations, hosted by The Thousand Lives and Talking Bookworm.
