I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Forman

“They may be complete strangers, with different lives and different problems, but there in that examination room they are measuring sadness the same way. They are measuring it in loss.”

I Have Lost My Way is a one-sitting type of novel: it is short, the prose simple, and the story goes straight to the point.
Following three different, yet similarly ‘lost’, young adults, I Have Lost My Way tells of their ‘unlikely’ (or fateful) encounter.
What I liked is that in spite of some sentimental moments, I Have Lost My Way is for the most part rather down-to-earth: it portrays three different ‘complicated’ families with sympathetic yet direct approach. The more ‘purply’ moments are balanced out by more realistic ones (eg. awkward and embarrassing moments/fears). The issues that our three protagonists face are established from the very beginning: occasional inclusions of past events pepper the main narrative (which takes place during the course of one day).
The problems/issues raised by this novel aren’t always well developed: juggling three different characters isn’t easy, and given the shortness of this novel, there wasn’t the time/space for Forman to fully expand each topic she attempts to tackle.
A few poignant moments are lost in a storyline that sadly doesn’t really deliver: promising start, good in-between, and then it all seems very rushed up. It was as if the story was sprinting towards its –rather inconclusive – conclusion.

Pros:
✓simple, easy-to-read prose
✓inclusive characters and themes; Freya, Harun, and Nathaniel, all possessed an individual voice.
✓engaging narrative
✓the relationship between the three protagonists

Cons:
✗instalove…the romance could have been hinted at rather then so quickly established
✗Forman attempts to weave too many things in at once and ends up neglecting her own story
✗the ending clashed with the rest of the novel…
✗a lot sentimental phrases that at times seemed unnecessary

My rating: 3 stars

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