I Was Here book cover
9-12

I Was Here

By Gayle Forman

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If I Stay comes “a heartbreaking novel about coping with loss” (People).
 
When her best friend, Meg, commits suicide by drinking a bottle of industrial-strength cleaner alone in a motel room, Cody is understandably shocked and devastated. She and Meg shared everything—so how did she miss the signs of Meg’s depression? But when Cody travels to Meg’s college town to pack up the belongings left behind, she discovers that there’s a lot that Meg never told her. About her old roommates, the sort of people Cody never would have met in her dead-end small town in Washington. About Ben McAllister, the boy with a guitar and a sneer, and some secrets of his own. And about an encrypted computer file that Cody can’t open—until she does, and suddenly everything Cody thought she knew about her best friend’s death gets thrown into question.
 
I Was Here is a pitch-perfect blend of mystery, tragedy, and romance. Gayle Forman has given us an unflinchingly honest portrait of the bravery that it takes to live after devastating loss.”
Stephen Chbosky, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Educator Resources

  • Gayle Forman Discussion Guide

    Download

State Awards

Recommended reading lists from your state's teacher or librarian associations!
  • Colorado
    • Blue Spruce Book Award, 2017
  • New Hampshire
    • Flume Teen Reader's Choice Award, 2016
  • Iowa
    • Iowa High School Book Award, 2016-2017
  • Alaska
    • Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award

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