it's the beginning of summer, and emily's best friend sloane has disappeared without a trace. emily is beginning to wonder if she is gone for good when a letter arrives a few days later, from sloane, with a list of things to complete. with no other clues as to where her best friend might be, emily decides the only way to find her is to complete the list, hoping it will lead her to sloane. 
 if you have read this book and have seen girls, hear me out: 
 does sloane not totally remind you of jessa? 
 this is literally all i could picture whilst reading about sloane! 
 i love love looooooved this book. it honestly made me wish i had a best friend to have all these adventures with. keep your phone nearby because you will be dying to call your bestie by the time you've finished this book. 
 i've seen some negative reviews of since you've been gone, particularly highlighting how "weak" emily is without sloane. apparently people don't like how little worth emily feels she has when sloane isn't there with her. i can completely understand where this view comes from, but i really can't agree. i don't see emily's self-doubt as a character flaw, but instead it's a real insight into what a lot of people, myself included, feel themselves. i'm sure we all know someone who hides behind other people, who feels they aren't interesting enough alone and need someone else there to fill in the gaps for them. i know i get very nervous when i'm out and about and most of the time i can't go anywhere unless i have someone with me. it may be silly, but that's just me, and it was really nice to read about a character who has the same fears and self-doubt. 
 there is a scene where emily and frank are camping, indoors, in a tent. emily has forgotten her pillow so frank (innocently) invites her to share his inside the tent. (view spoiler)[emily is just laying there, admiring frank as he sleeps. she's seeing him at his most vulnerable, she's analysing every pore, and she's falling in love. this scene is incredible, and i honestly felt like i was falling in love with frank. (hide spoiler)] there's something just so simple about this scene that caught my attention, the fact that it wasn't exciting or fast-paced, it just was what it was, beautiful. 
 i knocked off a star because of how emily ended up (view spoiler)[finding sloane too easily (hide spoiler)]. there was a lot of build-up and i felt there could've been more fireworks in the end, but the conclusion was still fantastic and was a great way to end such a fun adventure.