Title: I Have Lost My Way“They only just met. They have nearly nothing in common, but the invisible cord is now a tight triangle, connecting each of their hearts, each of their destinies. They don’t understand it. They can’t explain it. But that doesn’t make it any less real.”
I always feel like I get more in a contemporary mood as we head into Spring, so I feel like this was a perfect transitional one because there’s plenty of heart and emotional depth along with the beautiful whimsical nature of the plot. I Have Lost My Way is a beautiful story of destiny and finding your people, even in the most unexpected time or ways.
Things I Liked
This story is really a love letter to friendship and just surviving, even when that seems like the hardest thing. The plot of this story feels like serendipitous sun on a cloudy day – it’s just bright little moments glimpsed in real, hard life. But this story is really all about the characters, and I really like them all.
We have 3 POVs – Freya, singer who’s lost her voice, Harun, a boy who’s lost the love of his life, and Nathaniel who has nothing left to lose. They all have this unifying fear of having to face what you’re not ready for and that made it easy to see their connection to each other and to relate to them as well. If I had to pick a favorite I think I’d say Nathaniel – I just want to give him a hug and a warm blanket.
I also loved the diversity each character brought to the story. Freya is half Ethiopian, and her Ethionia cultures plays a big part in her music. Harun is gay and the son of Pakistani immigrants. We really get to see him explore his sexuality and what that means to his family and their values. We also really get to see mental health explored from Nathaniel’s POV.
Man did this story pack a punch emotionally. I definitely felt for the characters on a personal level and cared for them. I became invested in each one of them and their relationship and that’s vital to this story.
Things I Didn’t Like
On my god these chapters were so long. I swear there were only like 6 chapters in the entire book. Yes there were like subsections within each chapter, but the chapters could have been shorter.
Eh, the romance was whatever. I saw it coming from a mile away, and it wasn’t bad but I just cared about the friendship between the 3 of them too much to give a shit about the romance
I can’t decide if I liked the ending or not. It was very open and left unfinished. Which I think really works with the serendipitous and fateful nature of the story – it felt freeing, but I would have like a little closure, or a semblance of closure. It worked and I think I liked it, but it was just really open.
I’m actually really happy that I had a chance to read this. Give me all the stories that celebrate friendship and I’ll be a happy girl. I Have Lost My Way is a beautiful character story that highlights the powers of friendship in a grounded yet whimsical way. The emotions are real, even if you have to suspend your disbelief a bit.
I received a copy of the book from Penguin Teen via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
What’s your favorite Gayle Foreman book? What’s your favorite YA friendship? Share below!
Life of a Literary Nerd 
Great review! I always reach more for contemporaries as spring begins, too. Lately, it seems like they’re all I really am craving, I think because we’re having an unusually late winter where I’m at, and I’m craving sunshine and warm weather right now.
I almost requested an ARC of this one, but I decided not to because I’m trying so hard not to get so many ARCs this year. After reading your review, I’d totally pick this up some time, but I’m kind of glad I didn’t spend an ARC “spot” on it, lol! 🙂 Thanks for your honesty!
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Thanks! I know last year I read contemporaries from April to September.
Hope you enjoy this when you pick it up!
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OOooh alright, I really like friendship stories so I hope I’ll enjoy this!
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