Full review on Reader's Dialogue: http://readersdialogue.blogspot.com/2012/09/where-it-began.html

Gabby's voice is just confused enough to draw you in to feel sorry for her, but just strong enough to have you cheering for her when she finally takes control. It's interesting that for most of the book, she's actually behaving quite despicably, especially to the few people she can count as real friends, but as a reader, you still ache for her and want things to work out for her. Even though she makes plenty of mistakes of her own, she's mostly a victim, a clueless victim, first of her mother's ridiculous ideas of acceptance and then of everyone else.

I love the time element of the storytelling, the way Gabby goes back and forth between narrating what is happening now and what happened in the past. And I love that it's all in the present tense, which heightens the effect that it's all mixed up for Gabby, that she's experiencing it all at once as she tries to make sense of what's going on. Ann Stampler's writing style is so understated but so sharp, so incisive. Every word counts and packs a punch.

And speaking of packing a punch - I abso-tota-lutely love the last sentence! No, don't flip ahead and read it, it has to come after reading the entire book. It's just the perfect wrap-up to Gabby's story. It shows Gabby's growth, what she learned from this whole experience - and it says it in one line. The last chapter is a nice resolution, showing where she ended up, after she figured out where it began, but that last line is really all that's necessary to tie up the story and finish it off. ( )

This book was an amazing read, simply put I had a hard time putting it down. So desperate to fit in, Gabby goes under a major makeover. She's finally popular and has the "perfect" boyfriend. But things don't last for long. Next thing you know, Gabby wakes up in the hospital, not sure how she got there. And the people who stabbed her in the back are the ones she least expected it from. I definitely recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good, heartfelt YA book. ( )

I Really wanted to like this book. The premise sort of reminded me of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, which I loved. The premise is about a girl who has amnesia after an accident.

When I first started reading, it was love. It was a mystery. How did Gabby end up in this car accident, that she doesn’t remember. I was also interested in maybe exploring this weird dynamic in the relationship of Gabby and her mother. It was so dysfunctional.

Then then somewhere along this journey, Stampler loses me. I could tell everything that was about to happen, and I knew immediately that I wasn’t going to like this book. I just stopped relating to Gabby, and I stopped feeling sympathetic towards her. I understand her attraction to Billy, and understand why their relationship was the way it was, but at the same time I was still angry at her for being so pathetic. Gabby is pathetic because she’s so accepting, she doesn’t challenge anything, although she knows something isn’t right, and she’s being accused of things that doesn’t sound like her. I think I would’ve like it more if Stampler also wrote about Gabby’s transformation, instead shoddily adding it in at the end, and the reading has to just accept this is what happened, despite the whole novel providing examples to why Gabby’s transformation would be permanent.

I think the best moment is towards the end: when Gabby gets angry. I wish she would’ve been like this more, but I’m happy to know that Gabby has some backbone.

Where It Began is a decent read, I’m not in love with it, but the concept is still makes up for everything else. ( )

This YA debut was a great read, however, there were some annoyances that competed with the many strengths. I loved how the story was set and how the progression was told through three parts. However, there was some aspects that just didn't mesh well with me...

The story takes place with Gabby waking up in a hospital in pretty bad condition with no recollection of where she is (or even her name). As she starts to make a bodily recovery, she can remember her life, just not a few important hours that will change her life. She finds herself facing the court system for presumably stealing her boyfriend's BMW, driving extremely intoxicated and crashing into a tree. However, she really can't remember any of it. But just because she forgot it all, that doesn't mean everyone else did too...

I'm going to start with my criticisms so I can end with the good. Gabby... I liked her as a character, I like being in her mind, however, she really doesn't make any progression. She is addicted to a boy that treats her terrible, and by the end, she still admits to wanting him. It just didn't seem to me like she made any progression with any of her problems. Also, the boyfriend situation was just frustrating. I get that there is a huge difference in what he means to her versus what she means to him, but Gabby just came off seeming hypercritical. She continually comments on the school "slutmuffins", yet for the longest time the characters did not kiss but another...er...mouth activity and sex were mentioned a few times.

Okay, now what I did like! I really liked the plot of the story and the overall writing style. I enjoyed the formatting; from the three parts to the intermingled IM conversations which made the novel go by pretty quickly. In addition, the author does a really great job at making Gabby sound and act like an actual teenager, a very troubled one at that. I (being a teen) could relate to a lot of the language and mindset, if not the life style (okay, no one gets away with wine in dixie cups at lunch). The story definitely seems plausible, which seems like contemporaries should all be, but are not a lot of the time. I really enjoyed not questioning the credibility of a situation (which I do all to often).

Overall, I will be looking out for future works of Stampler. If you're a fan of contemporaries, especially the more serious, then you should look into this one. ( )

http://fiction-freak.blogspot.com/2012/02/where-it-began-by-ann-redisch-stampler...

Anyways...this book is so similar to Stolen in so many ways, but so different in so many other ways. It warmed my heart. It broke my heart. It made me cry and made me smile. Gabby's the kind of girl who just wants the perfect, the safe, life to live. And so she becomes the picture of perfect and catches the eyes of Billy Nash. Or does she? Because when things are getting tough, when she can't remember anything about the accident that crashed Billy's car and took her memories, he's not there. And he only communicates with her through Instant Messaging. And in public? He's once again the boyfriend of the slu* of the school. But it's just an act, right? To protect her. That's what it is.

As much as I could connect with Gabby, I really didn't like her. She was blind in some situations, desperate in others, hostile when she shouldn't be, and consenting when she should've fought back. These were the things that stuck out, the things that I didn't like much. The things the irritate me. But then, how would you react if what happened to her happened to you? So I can't very well judge Gabby (especially since we were seeing things in her POV).

I can't say I was all-knowing when it came to the ending of the book, but I did suspect a few things. What actually happened though, shocked me out of my mind. It made me think. What happened in that book should never happen to anyone, but that stuff happens almost everyday without us knowing. It makes me think that sometimes the "perfect" life is the "fake" life, that there's not one single person who is perfect in all ways. But that's my philosophical side talking.

To be honest, it wasn't the summary that got my attention. It was the cover. I know, I know, we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but who hasn't? I entered the giveaway, not really expecting to win. But I DID!!! And I am so grateful that I did. So if you see this book in the bookstore and you don't think it sounds that great, read the first few pages, then judge. The blurbs don't always give you the full blow of a book.