I Was Here by Gayle Forman

Forman, G. (2015). I was here. NY, NY: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).

Meg and Cody knew everything about each other, or so Cody thought. Meg commits suicide and per Meg’s parents’ request, Cody travels to Seattle to collect Meg’s things only to uncover secrets Meg never shared with Cody. After digging in Meg’s bedroom she uncovers emails between Meg and a boy named Ben. Cody tracks Ben down and they strike up an unlikely relationship and is by her side throughout her journey. Cody discovers messages to a group called The Final Solution that encourages people to kill themselves. Cody and Ben begin a difficult journey of finding out who these people are and tracking a specific person down, Bradford, who did most of the encouraging. After Cody confronts him, she travels home and tells Meg’s parents who aren’t surprised since Meg suffered from depression. They don’t blame Bradford because it was still Meg who made the decision. I Was Here is a realistic fictional book by Gayle Forman. The inner struggle with two friend comes full circle. With one friend committing suicide and another getting so entangled in her friend’s mysterious life where she begins to wonder if she wants to die because she is so sad. Gayle Forman was able to create a suspenseful book that kept the reader wondering what Meg will uncover next, while gracefully displaying a raw side of a common contemporary issue in society, teen suicide and depression. I Was Here elegantly demonstrates what the true meaning on friendship is. This book was on The New York Times Best Seller list in 2015. I would recommend this book to junior high or high school counselors, so they can get a better understanding of what suicide does to loved ones. It could better guide their approach to this situation if it were to come when dealing with students.