Fast Facts:
Book Title: Since You’ve Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Genre/Audience: Teen fiction; friendship, dating
Rating: 7/10
Worth the read?: Sure!
The last book I read in 2018 was slow-going. I started Since You’ve Been Gone before Christmas but struggled to get into it at first. I picked it up and put it down a few times, declaring that I just wasn’t in the mood to read.
Finally, though, I read enough of the book to be sucked in—and from there things went much faster. It was a good story, unique from many teenage books in that the protagonist, Emily, focuses more on her best friend Sloane than she does on any potential love interests. I liked that a lot.
Ultimately, my biggest struggle with the book is that I hardly related to Emily. I found being in her head incredibly annoying.
Character struggles
Emily is vastly different from me. Where I am outgoing, talkative, and willing to take control of any situation, Emily is introverted, awkward, and shies away from being seen as a leader. She is a wonderful character, and by the end, we had mostly made peace with one another. But goodness gracious, I think I would just go absolutely insane if I were her.
The major driving point for the plot is that Emily’s best friend has disappeared from town without a trace—except for a single letter, mailed to Emily from an unknown address, with a list of 13 things for Emily to do that summer. The tasks range from “kiss a stranger” to “ride a darn horse, ya cowpoke.”
Emily is convinced that if she completes everything on the list, she’ll somehow find Sloane. Pushing through her fear and awkwardness, Emily is adamant that she will complete the list. Little does she know, she doesn’t have to do it alone—teaming up with new friends Frank, Collins, Dawn, and her little brother Beckett along the way.
character triumphs
I most admired Emily’s unexpected bravery and tenacity. Emily first seems incapable of taking risks, but Matson writes her growth well. By the end, there is clear development in Emily’s narration.
My biggest qualm with the writing is that this book is heavy on information dumps—long, drawn out paragraphs of nothing but extraneous detail. Oh, and there was that Emily narrates her height at least five times throughout the book, almost every time doing this by saying that she “has about four inches on” Sloane. (There I go again, being bothered by repetition.)
Ultimately, Matson seems to write teenage characters well and, based on how annoyed I was by Emily, really seems to understand how to convey characters’ thoughts. I have another book of hers that my friend let me borrow, and I think I’ll read it soon. [P.S.—future me, the one editing this post, has already read it, and it’s super good. Blog soon!]
moving ahead
Well, friends, this is officially the end of my 2018 book reading challenge, “A new [book] state of mind.” I am so excited that I finally fulfilled my goal of reading 50 books in a year and blogging about each one!
Thank you so much for following this journey and for sending me messages with book recommendations, leaving comments with your own thoughts, and for just generally being great. I can’t wait to share more books with you in the 2019 journey, lovingly titled #Inspired50 by my dear friend Noel (whose blog is everything you need, check her out at Noel Neverlanding!)
In the meantime, I’d love to hear your book recommendations for 2019! You can leave a comment below, follow me on my social media accounts, or head over to my contact page and send me a line!
Until next time, happy reading, friends!
Nikki
Leave a Reply