Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Stand-alone novel
Genre: YA contemporary
Pages: 480
Format: paperback
Source: bought
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Since You’ve Been Gone was a great book. It was good in a way that you didn’t realize until you just so happen to be halfway done with it after reading for a few hours. 😀

the plot

I loved the story. It was unique, but also simple and fun. The main goal was for Emily to do all the things on the list Sloane left for her and hopefully figure out where her best friend had gone. But along the way, there were friendships and crushes formed and lost, and traditional teenage drama; it was written in a way that made it stand out. I enjoyed it, and sped through it quicker than I thought I would. 🙂

the characters

I liked Emily, I did. But it took some time for me to really like her, and feel for her. While I related to her more in the beginning, when she was shy and awkward, I liked her a lot more in the end, when she was bold but not arrogant. I feel like there should be more girl leads like that in YA that are naturally like that, rather than developing over the course of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I do like character development, and Emily’s was solid, but I just felt like I had seen it so many times before. Hopefully this makes sense. 😉

My favorite character was Sloane, hands down. She might have seemed like a stereotypical wild girl, but I loved her. I wish she was in the story more. Yes, there was a handful of flashbacks and a bit of time with her and Emily together, but I just wanted more of her. I couldn’t really relate to her, the exception being her spontaneity. I can’t really explain why, but she just seemed like the kind of girl I would love to know personally. 😀

My feelings for Frank are similar to my feelings for Emily. I liked him, but I didn’t really like him until around three-quarters through. I can’t pinpoint why, except maybe that he just felt a bit too much like an adorably awkward good boy, and again, I’d read that before. I know this will most likely be seen as an unpopular opinion, but it just took me longer to find the appeal in him everyone else did instantly.

the setting

This book took place in a small town in Connecticut, and I’m pretty sure that’s a first for me. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with that setting, as minor and odd as that may sound. It was interesting, but as with many contemporaries, described simply and minimally. However, as I’ve said before, it doesn’t bother me because it’s a real place and therefore doesn’t require much detail. 😉 (My favorite place/part was the beach behind Frank’s house.)

the relationships

I loved Emily and Sloane’s friendship. It’s easily one of the best I’ve read about in a contemporary, and it was just so amazing to read about. Some people might’ve seen it as cliché, the shy girl and wild girl becoming best friends and being each other’s around-the-clock confidant, but I didn’t. To me it was a friendship I dream of having. Close friendships between two girls will probably always be a weak spot for me in books. ❤

Then there’s the budding romance between Emily and Frank. Again, this will most likely be an unpopular opinion, but it took me some time before I decided to ship them. I mean, if I didn’t really like them right away, how could I ship them right away? In the end, though, when I had decided I did like them both, I also knew they just fit together. 🙂

the twists

There weren’t any major twists in this book, but I thought it was intriguing to see how Emily would interpret the things on the list and gather the courage to do them. Some of them made me feel awkward or nervous for her, but others were enjoyable: skinny-dipping, for one, and also dancing until dawn. This is what kept me reading, and rather quickly, I might add. 😉

overall

Since You’ve Been Gone had a few flaws, but in general I found it to be very enjoyable and worth the hype. I’ll definitely have to look into more of Morgan Matson’s books. 😀

my rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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Have you read this book? Is it on your TBR? If you have read it, what did you think? I’d love to know! 🙂

I posted a library haul video and started reading Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember. 🙂 I hope you all have a fabulous day/night! ❤

Until next time…

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