Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Title: Since You've Been Gone
Author: Morgan Matson
Pages: 449

 

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just...disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night?
Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn?
Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger?
Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she'll find?

Go skinny-dipping?
Wait...what?

 My Rating:✰✰✰✰✰

 

Since You’ve Been Gone was a great summer book all about friendship and getting out of your comfort zone. The story follows Emily Hughes who has a tough time coping on why her best friend, Sloane, disappeared at the beginning of the summer. Days later, Emily finds that Sloane had sent her a list with things to do, all of which are out of Emily’s comfort zone and things she wouldn’t normally do, especially without Sloane with her. But she decides to take on the list anyway, thinking that it will lead her back to Sloane.

I loved this story and the theme of friendship and self development. The Emily at the beginning of the book is very different than the one at the end of the book. She was very relatable and felt like a real shy character.

 It was very fun reading about each thing she did and I even felt her accomplishment as she crossed of each thing. Each time she did a task, it was like a part of her shy shell fell off and she was becoming her own person. Some of the things on the list were crazy and she was very bold to do them, such as kissing a stranger and going skinny dipping.

I was so happy that she managed to find her own friends and make good relationships with new people. Frank was so nice and sweet and he was always there for Emily and helping her out. He seemed a little too perfect but still seemed like a good character. Collins was very outrageous and random and Dawn was a nice friend that Emily was able to talk to. They all had a great relationship and they helped Emily a lot with her list.

I really liked Morgan Matson’s writing and the flashbacks that explained some of the things in this book (for example; Penelope) really helped and it allowed us to see just how close of friends Sloane and Emily were. It was clear that she needed to be more of her own person since she always depended on Sloane. I was very happy with the ending and I hope that they all with remain friends afterwards.

I did enjoy this book and it did make me want to accomplish more things in the summer. This book was all about taking risks and living life to the fullest.