I had a hard time with the beginning and very last page of this book, but I binge read everything in between. There's a lot to like and identify with about these people and their story!

Beautifully written and deeply moving - even if I’m not sure we need yet another YA novel with this “strangers meet and spend a day together” conceit, there’s no denying that this was extremely affecting.

Gayle Forman is a wonderful storyteller. Her characters always have the space and time to unfold, even when the story takes place all on one day as this one does. Each of the 3 characters are so different and have had such different experiences yet they all share something in common, they are all feeling lost and full of despair. I love how they start off as complete strangers and then develop into being very important people in each other's lives. My students will enjoy reading this as much as they have enjoyed her other books.

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers and NetGalley for this eARC.

In her Acknowledgements, Gayle Forman calls books "empathy-delivery devices," and this book certainly fits this description. It tells the stories of Freya, Harun and Nathaniel, three 19-year-olds (or so), who have all somehow lost their way but found each other in New York for a day. We see their time together and flashbacks to their lives before they magically became a trio. We get a window into the life and struggle of this diverse group and see how much the connection they forge means to them.

My favorite Gayle Forman books are <i>Just One Day</i> and <i>Just One Year</i>, and this book has that compressed time frame in common with those books. It also has the same reliance on magical coincidence and her specific brand of love at first sight (in this book is is friend and romantic love). With other authors, this might really annoy me, but she somehow makes it work. Even though we get one day of these three being together, they really do click and become loving, supportive friends who help dig each other out of varying holes. If you liked <i>Just One Day</i> and <i>Just One Year</i>, I think this book will hit that same spot for you. It just might remind you to be more empathetic, as it did for me.

I Have Lost My Way is Gayle Forman at her best. The characters are real, well-drawn, and heartfelt. The struggles that each person is going through will be recognized by every teen. Everyone has felt lost and alone and they will feel those sentiments echoed throughout this novel. Told in three voices, each is unique with their own perspective of the world. Together they will learn that no one is alone and there is always hope.

Gayle Forman has managed to write excellent, gripping, vibrant characters into both her adult and young adult novels and I Have Lost My Way is no different. When three teens, coming from different parts of the country and the city meet under the strangest of circumstances, they realize that a single cord unites them: that they all feel like something in their lives is missing and they've somehow lost their way. In both figurative and literal senses, Forman explores the moments that led each of them to that pivotal moment in Central Park and the ripple effects it continues to have. If you were already a Forman fan, you'll love these characters as much as, or maybe more so, than the ones from her If I Stay days. If you haven't already experienced any of her novels, this is a great one to start with.

This was a beautiful story. Freya’s, Huran’s, and Nathaniel’s histories slowly unfold throughout the story, giving readers time to absorb the pains of their pasts. Nathaniel’s story was the saddest, because I feel he suffered the most. I enjoyed how each of them came to be at that same park and intertwined into each other’s lives. They were exactly who they needed at the hardest time in their life.

While I like the probable intent of the author, I just don't think this story really worked. The thought that these three strangers would be brought together and their chance encounter would have such deep meaning just doesn't quite work.