Monday, April 18, 2011

"Where She Went"

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist.  Her YA novels include If I Stay, on which she tried out the Page 69 Test back in 2009.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, Where She Went, which is the sequel to If I Stay, and reported the following:
Wow, this test is uncanny!

Page 69 takes place on the street outside of Carnegie Hall. Mia and Adam have not seen each other for more than three years. Adam is a rock star now, a miserable, anxiety-ridden, self-loathing rock star, and Mia is just beginning her professional cello career. She has just given her first solo performance at Zankel Hall, in Carnegie Hall, and Adam, who is in New York for one night before leaving on a European tour, has slipped in to watch her—anonymously, he thinks. But Adam Wilde can do nothing anonymously anymore. Word gets to Mia that he’s in the audience and she calls him backstage after the recital. This leads to a very awkward reunion as the former lovers attempt polite chitchat. But Adam is unable to ask the questions that have haunted him for three years—the new book is from Adam’s point of view—and after a few unbearable minutes, he excuses himself from Mia’s dressing room. Page 69 finds Adam on the street, full or rage and regret, having missed this one opportunity. He’s about to have a panic attack, out of anxiety pills, lighting up a cigarette. And then there’s that familiar voice:

“You should quit,” Mia tells him

This time, they don’t blow their chance. This moment begins Adam and Mia’s all-night traipse through New York City—and through their past.
Learn more about the book and author at Gayle Forman's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: If I Stay.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue