Written by Lindsey Williams
I Have Lost My Way, the latest young adult contemporary novel from Gayle Foreman, is a book that I did not know I needed until I read it. This is a book that, at its center, explores friendship, acceptance, and loss. With a diverse cast, this emotionally charged book looks at one fateful day in the lives of three teenagers had me completely enthralled from opening page.
The book, which is told in alternating points of view, opens with Freya. She is a rising star whose life seems centered upon becoming a singing sensation. Her mother acts as her manager and has Freya’s life seemingly planned out for her down to the minute. Until recently, everything was going smoothly. But when Freya loses her singing voice, and is unable to sing for three weeks, her team begins to slowly drop her—when the novel opens, she has already begun losing recording time, and an upcoming meeting with her temperamental producer is certain to be filled with bad news. Freya decides to take off for the day, heading into Central Park. It is here that she crosses paths with Nathaniel.
Nathaniel is presented to the reader at first as a tourist. His story is slow to unfold over the course of the novel, but he is a heartbreaking and moving character that is worth the time it takes to get to know him. He is in New York for the first time, alone, with only a stolen and outdated library guide-book, a bag with few belongings, and very little money. Nathaniel’s world is changed when Freya quite literally stumbles into his life after falling off of a bridge and landing directly on top of him, knocking him temporarily unconscious.
At this point, the reader is introduced to Harun, a bystander who saw the fall occur. Harun is familiar with Freya’s music and recognises her instantly. Harun is in the park hoping to run into his possibly ex-boyfriend. When he sees the accident occur, he rushes over to help. Together, the three teens embark on one life-changing day together in New York City.
The thing I loved most about this book was the depth of each character. Despite this being a rather short novel told in alternating viewpoints, by the end I felt so thoroughly attached to each of the three main characters that it felt as though they were my friends, too. While the novel takes place over the course of one day, each character’s background is explored in flashbacks. As the story progresses, you find out more about the pain that each of them are carrying. Freya has a strained relationship with both her sister and her mother. Her father, with whom she was incredibly close, left their family and moved back to Ethiopia years ago, and slowly stopped reaching out to her. Nathaniel lost contact with his mother after his parents divorced. His father, though brilliant and his best friend, suffers from mental illness, which has often forced Nathaniel into the role of the adult as he was growing up. Nathaniel himself suffers from depression, feeling entirely unseen. Harun has grown up in a strict Muslim family, leaving him afraid to come out as gay. This has caused intense strain on his relationship with his boyfriend, James, whom he can only sneak away to see once a week. Harun’s fateful day in the park comes only a day before he is supposed to leave for six weeks to find a wife.
Each of these characters is suffering from an immense loss, but as they bond throughout the day, each helps gives the others courage to overcome these tragedies, to fight through the pain, and to feel alive again.
I inhaled this book in two sittings. The all-in-one-day format, paired with Forman’s gorgeous writing, made this novel fly by. Once I got to the final, breathtaking pages, I truly didn’t want it to end.
Will you be picking up this latest young adult release from Gayle Forman? Let us know in the comments below!
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.
