If I Stay by Gayle Forman Review

Title: If I Stay (#1)
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Penguin
Publication Date: 2009
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5

“I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It’s okay if you have to leave us. It’s okay if you want to stop fighting.”
― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

Summary: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.


My Thoughts: This book is about a girl who gets into a car accident and becomes in between life and death. She is watching from afar what is happening to her body and how her friends are taking everything. She gets to decide if she wants to stay, or leave. Oh my. I bought this book about a year ago, started it, got halfway through, and stopped. I stopped because I didn't like how unemotional the main character was when something terrible was happening to her. But reading it a second time, I come to realize that's the point. That's what Gayle Forman is going for. After hearing countless rave reviews about it, I decided to give it another go. This book was very good and I'm super happy that I picked it back up.
  
  I loved the characters in this book. You've got Mia, the main character, who is the one in between her life and a decided death. You basically live her story through flashbacks and I really liked her as a character. Her boyfriend Adam is a musician just like Mia. I liked Adam a lot because of how much he cared for Mia and what a great boyfriend her is. He melted my heart by the end of the book. Mia's other family and friends were great too, each ones for different reasons.

  Although the flashbacks were crucial to the story, I enjoyed reading about the present rather than a flashback of the past. 

  Overall, this was a really great contemporary and I highly recommend it.

~Bradi