I Have Lost My Way

Written by Gayle Forman

Narrated by Nicole Lewis, Sunil Malhotra and Michael Crouch

The New York Times bestseller from the author of If I Stay
 
“Heartwrenching…If you are ready to be emotionally wrecked yet again, you are in luck.” – Hypable
 
A fateful accident draws three strangers together over the course of a single day:
 
Freya who has lost her voice while recording her debut album.
Harun who is making plans to run away from everyone he has ever loved.
Nathaniel who has just arrived in New York City with a backpack, a desperate plan, and nothing left to lose.
 
As the day progresses, their secrets start to unravel and 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.
 
“A beautifully written love song to every young person who has ever moved through fear and found themselves on the other side.” – Jacqueline Woodson, bestselling author of Brown Girl Dreaming

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9780525636267

Gayle Forman

Award-winning author and journalist Gayle Forman has written several bestselling novels for children and adults, including Not Nothing, the Just One series, and the number one New York Times bestseller If I Stay, which has been translated into more than forty languages and in 2014 was adapted into a major motion picture. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her family.

Reviews for I Have Lost My Way

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thank you to ayle Forman, PENGUIN GROUP, Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for the advanced reviewer copy of “I Have Lost My Way” in return for an honest review.

I love Gayle Forman. I love, love, love Gayle Forman. I have read almost every single one of her books in less than twenty four hours, because I have so deeply loved and been moved by her books (bested brightest favorites If I Stay and For Just One Day).

This book is another departure from the topics she was writing earlier, and it’s another new foray of writing type. I feel a little sad this sample was only a sniper, but I am very interested in where it is going so far and quite inclined to pick up the full copy and continue on where this one stopped.

[readingbeader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Freya, Harum, and Nathaniel all meet in NYC and spend the day together. Each of them have a secret, and each of them feel so alone. But in the span of only one day the three very different people form a close bond of friendship and love.

I was not expecting to like this one, but I really did.

[lilibrarian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Freya, an up and coming singer, has lost her voice. Nathaniel has lost his father and is totally alone. Haroun has lost his boyfriend, and is afraid of losing his family's love. By chance the three lonely souls meet in Central Park, and over a single day realize that they need each other.

[paperdolllady · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Three strangers, who’ve lost their way, accidentally fall upon one another in NY’s Central Park. Almost famous, Freya, is an internet singer/songwriter, who has -- hopefully, only temporarily -- lost her singing voice. Harun, a first-generation American -- whose parents years ago came to America from Pakistan and are now successful business folks -- has had a recent romantic disappointment that Harun has been keeping secret from his family. Completing the trio, Nathaniel, has ventured to the city from a faraway place to see what he and his father had plans of “one day” seeing. And so, this day of coincidence becomes one of destiny. But will this trio, together, discover a path to find their way?

It is their separate backstories, done in increments, that creates an exceptionally compelling plot. Skillfully written, it’s a structure that generates a perfect buildup to such a satisfying ending. This book is undeniably a story of destiny, and of how people arrive in one another’s lives just at the time when they’re most needed. Here's one very special book by Gayle Forman for those "young at heart" of all ages to enjoy.

[carolesrandomlife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Have you ever lost your way? I have. I don't mean those times when I needed to stop and ask for directions when I was trying to find a location although I have certainly been that kind of lost. I am referring to the kind of lost where your life has hit a point and you can't think of what to do next. Those times that you have no idea where you can even go from where you are. I have lost my way. More than once. I am happy to say that each time I have been lost, I have been able to eventually find a new direction to go.

I have very little in common with the characters in this book but I was still able to relate to them. I understood Harun's need to please his family and his fear of losing their love if he shows them who he really is. I also understood Freya's fear of losing the one thing that is such an important part of her identity. I understood Nathaniel's need to not be a bother to anyone while living his life under the radar because "it's all good" anyway. I haven't been in the situations that Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel find themselves in during this story but I found each of their characters very easy to like and I really wanted to see them find what they needed in life.

I really did enjoy reading this book. This is the first of Gayle Forman's books that I have had the chance to read so I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started. I have to tell you that I loved her writing style. I sat down to read just a chapter of this book because I had things around the house and the next thing I knew it was 200 pages later. I was drawn in by the words and the images that they painted of these characters.

I really liked that the story was hopeful. These three characters are all at a low point in their lives and meet through a chance encounter. It turns out that meeting each other is exactly what they needed. I enjoyed watching them come alive and reach out to each other. Their bond developed very quickly but it felt completely authentic. I knew that they would be able to find their way together.

I would recommend this book to others. This is a pretty quick read that packs a punch. I wanted to know exactly what brought them to the point where they feel lost and cheered them as they started to connect with each other. I can't wait to read more of this talented author's work in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Viking Books for Young Readers via Bookish First.

[clp412 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love all three characters in this story. They all had their own problems and challenges and they unexpectedly meet in Central Park. The story takes place over one day as they work together to help each other without realizing how much they are also helping themselves. Their individual struggles and their growth together made this book absolutely perfect. Each character was so different but as the story continued I was rooting for all three characters equally and shared in their changes. While I couldn't relate to any of the characters the author did an amazing job of pulling me into the story and kept me wanting to know what would happen next. This book is YA, yet it appeals to readers of many genres and I will be recommending to many. Thanks to BookishFirst and Penguin Random House publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

[lissaj_4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Three young people are wandering around New York dealing with lives that have gone off the rails when they (literally) fall into each other.  Freya is an up and coming pop star, Harun is a young Muslim man who has not yet come out to his family and Nathaniel is left troubled after a tumultuous life with his father. This is a short novel, that I read over the course of one evening, but I was able to become utterly immersed in the character's troubles.  It did end rather abruptly, and while everything was pretty much resolved there definitely could have been more, so I wonder whether there will be a sequel? Highlighting how even short acquaintances can have a huge impact, this is a easy, pleasant read.  I received an ARC of this book through Bookish First in exchange for an honest review. 

[heike6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Always a sucker for alternating perspectives, I was all about reading this book right away. I read it on the plane and it was... nice. I would recommend it if there weren't so many better options out there. The characters are all supposed to be very different people with their own problems who find themselves together for a day, and how that friendship helps them grow. I would have liked the voices to be a little more different from one another.

[mandkrue86 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Gayle Forman

I Have Lost My Way (258 pages/ARC)

This ARC was kindly sent to me by Penguin Random House as part of a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you!

Release Date: March 27th 2018

Three young strangers happen to meet at a park in New York City under the most unusual of circumstances. While it seems like they could not be more different from each other, they do have one thing in common: they have all experienced some kind of loss. While Freya, an aspiring musician, still has not yet come to terms with why her father left her and her sister behind and seems to have lost her voice as a result, Harun loses his boyfriend over his fear of telling his Pakistani family that he is gay. At the same time, Nathaniel is living with the shadow of his mentally ill, child-like father, who forced him to step into the shoes of the parent leaving him feeling alone and unloved. The three young adults find themselves spending their day together after a weird yet somewhat fateful accident (Freya falls off a small bridge and lands on top of Nathaniel) brings them together. During the course of only twelve hours, they learn how to deal with their losses, to rely on each other for help, and, more than anything, that none of them will ever be misunderstood or alone again.

When I started reading the book I did not expect to finish it in one sitting. From the first page, I was absolutely fascinated by the three characters and their very different lives. I was immediately able to sympathize with all of them and relate to their apparent need to please and care about those around them rather than to look after themselves. The friendship that they build is beautiful and surprisingly realistic, despite the unusual circumstances under which they meet. Forman tells their stories from different perspectives, using both past and present tense, as well as a first-person and omniscient narrator to present their lives. Her words bind you to this novel and keep you from putting it down until the very last page and make you hope and wish that you yourself will find friends like Freya, Nathaniel, and Harun one day. Excellent New YA contemporary! Must-read!!

Rating: ★★★★★

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Three strangers - who have each lost their way - meet under a bridge in Central Park.
One has lost the voice on which her career depends, another is understandably a
Cowardly Lion, while the third is suddenly homeless.

As a single day and the story unfold, we see Freya's selfishness turn to compassion,
Harry's sensuality move beyond fear, and Nathaniel's confusions confront reality.

In a single day, a deep, enduring friendship evolves, surprising us and all three of them.

Their stories grow, not without heartbreak and loss, but with a measured gentle strength
in both plot and dialogue. It will be hard not to make a movie that stays true!

Readers might wish that the dated "loogie" and the frog cruelty would be gone -
they add nothing to the plot.

[sleahey_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although the premise of this book is not particularly credible, the story is thought-provoking and satisfying. Three older teens in New York City, who have never met before the twelve hours described in this novel, come together and find meaningful friendship and stronger sense of themselves. The narrative starts with Freya, a famous pop singer who has lost her voice. While wandering in Central Park trying to escape her obligations and fears, she falls off a bridge, onto a stranger named Nathaniel, and meets Harun whom she convinces to help her get medical treatment for Nathaniel. It turns out that Harun is grieving the loss of his boyfriend and resisting coming out to his family, and Nathaniel has come to New York to commit suicide following the death of his father. During the course of the day they connect and identify with each other and find mutual support for facing their demons. While we may not know New York or people like these characters, we can relate to each one's need for independence and standing up to the forces in their lives.

[susan0316 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't read a lot of YA but since I really enjoyed LEAVE ME, I thought I'd give this one a chance. I was pleasantly surprised to find such a wonderful well written book that I couldn't put down until the last page.

The book is about three 19 year olds who meet by accident (literally) in a park in NYC. There is Freya, a singer being groomed for pop stardom who has lost her voice; Harun, a Muslim who is afraid to tell his family that he's gay plus not understanding why his boyfriend has left him and Nathaniel who had a tough childhood living with his father and has run away to NYC. All three feel that they have lost their way in their lives but can they find themselves again through their instant friendship?

This was an interesting book about feeling lost and alone in your life that just doesn't happen in the teen years. I thought it was well written and I think it's time that I read more YA books if this is a good representative of the genre

Thanks to Bookish First for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.