I Have Lost My Way Review: Finding Their Way Together

A powerful story of empathy and friendship from the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of If I Stay.

Around the time that Freya loses her voice while recording her debut album, Harun is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved, and Nathaniel is arriving in New York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose. When a fateful accident draws these three strangers together, their secrets start to unravel as they begin to understand that the way out of their own loss might just lie in help­ing the others out of theirs.

An emotionally cathartic story of losing love, finding love, and discovering the person you are meant to be, I Have Lost My Way is best­selling author Gayle Forman at her finest.

Gayle Forman is queen in my books when it comes to YA contemporaries and I Have Lost My Way was everything that I wanted it to be (despite not knowing anything about the plot). It’s beautifully crafted and written and is definitely my favourite contemporary so far this year.

I Have Lost My Way is a story about loss and friendship. It’s about the coming together of people who are feeling lost and just need the support of someone who doesn’t judge. And that’s probably all that I can tell you about the novel because I think the reading experience for this book will be the most enhanced when not knowing anything about it. But for those who need a little bit more information… I Have Lost My Way follows Freya, an up-and-coming singer, Harun, a boy who has been devoted to his family but feels the need to run away to be who he truly is, and Nathaniel, who has travelled to New York City for a secret purpose. The three of them meet and come together when someone falls on top of someone else. And that’s all I’m going to say.

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.

This novel is written in multiple perspectives, which I absolutely love but might not be for everyone. The novel alternatives between chapters written from a third person omniscient point of view to chapters written from each character’s point of view. It also switches between past and present in a sophisticated way. And that’s exactly how I would describe Gayle Forman’s writing in this book: sophisticated. Her prose is so beautiful and I could read it all day long.

The cast in this book is wonderfully diverse despite it not being an #ownvoices novel. Freya is half-Ethiopian and embraces her heritage. Harun is Pakistani and the book is filled with his culture. There are also LGBTQIA+ characters and I just loved how Gayle Forman always tries to pop in characters that aren’t straight cis white into her books. Having said all this, I can’t vouch for the representation in the novel.

If I had one criticism of the novel, it would be the open-ended conclusion of the book, which is pretty much synonymous with Gayle Forman at this point (don’t even get me started on Just One Day and Just One Night, both of which I absolutely love anyway). The book kind of speeds towards the ending and I was left feeling just a little bit unsatisfied. Having said that, the book is complete and you won’t be left hanging that much.

I could not recommend I Have Lost My Way anymore highly. I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed the themes of friendship and loss and loved the way they were explored and not overshadowed by other themes. I liked the three main characters and their relationships with each other. And as always, Gayle Forman does not disappoint with the writing.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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Jenna

Co-Blogger at Happy Indulgence Books

Jenna is an Aussie blogger and reader who loves to indulge in great books and great food. She is a doctor (of philosophy) and can usually be found fangirling about something, devouring delicious food, or taking a nap. You can find her on Twitter @readwithjenna and on Instagram @readingwithjenna.

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