Book Review | Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Title: Since You've Been Gone

Author: Morgan Matson

Publication: May 6th, 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: ARC Borrowed from Rachel (Thanks Rachel!)

Rating: 5 out 5 stars

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Synopsis: The Pre-Sloane Emily didn't go to parties, she barely talked to guys, she didn't do anything crazy. Enter Sloane, social tornado and the best kind of best  friend - the one who yanks you out of your shell. But right before what should have been an epic summer, Sloane just... disappears. No note. No calls. No texts. No Sloane. Theres' just a random to-do list. On it, thirteen Sloane-selected-definitely-bizarre-tasks that Emily would never try... unless they could lead back to her best friend. Apple Picking at Night? Ok, easy enough. Dance until Dawn? Sure. Why not? Kiss a Stranger? Wait... what?

Getting through Sloane's list would mean a lot of firsts. But Emily has this whole unexpected summer ahead of her, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected) to check things off. Who knows what she'll find?

Go Skinny Dipping? Um...

Review: I finished this book over a week ago and it's still floating around in my head. I have to say this review will be a whole lot of raving, because this book was a whole lot of greatness. 

Let's start off with Emily. Emily was completely relatable to me, in fact, she reminded me a lot of myself, which made me love her even more. She's shy (unless she's with Sloane), sensible, and mature. She was a character that you don't see very often and I really appreciated that. It was a wonderful experience watching her become herself, and finding her missing pieces of herself when she thought they were gone forever. 

I love the lists in this book. From the list that Emily has to complete to the various playlists that are within the book, I loved them all. I find that I appreciate additives, such as playlists and (handwritten) lists within the stories because it makes them seem more real to me. 

The relationships in this book was a highlight for me. You get to see a variety of them with Emily. From her relationship with her brother, to making new friends. From her past loves to a potential new one (that car sunroof/rain scene had me glued to the book). They were parts of the book that I really enjoyed reading about. 

This book is a chunker, coming in at nearly 450 pages. My only minor complaint was that there were parts where the story felt that it was going to get slow, and I'd end up putting the book down for a bit before picking it up again. The story didn't drag for me or have parts that weren't interesting, I don't know if it was just my mood, but I would feel a lull at times. No worries about it, because once I couldn't put the book down for long, and once I picked it back up, the story got really good again. 

Overall, I hope you add this to your summer reading list and more importantly love it as much as I did. It's official that I will read anything that Morgan Matson writes, I think the only book of hers that I haven't read is Amy and Roger's Epic Detour, which I'm thinking I'll need to read this summer. 

Have you read this one and if so, what did you think of it? Referring to Sloane's list, what do you think would be the easiest and hardest tasks for you to complete? Have you read any other books by Morgan Matson?