If I Stay - Gayle Forman

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Pages: 210
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 7th May 2009

Other Title by this Author: You Can’t Get There From Here, Sister in Sanity

‘Just Listen,’ Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel. I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen.

‘Stay,’ he says.

For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend, decisions seem tough, even when they’re all about a future full of music and love, a future that’s brimming with hope.

But a life can change in an instant.

A cold February morning…a snowy road…and suddenly all of Mia’s choices are gone. Except one. As alone as she’ll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all.

Haunting, heart-rending and ultimately life-affirming, If I Stay will make you appreciate all that you have, all that you’ve lost - and all might be.

This book completely blew me away. It was beautiful.

The story was written in prose so calm and beautiful that the words almost flowed off of the page and carried you through the story. Even when Mia was describing the accident, the words were calm and smooth as if she were just recounting something she read in the newspaper, not her life, which should have been weird but suited the story perfectly.

Music was such an integral part of If I Stay that I don’t think the story would have been the same without it. I loved the way that it shaped all of the character’s lives and even brought them together and to life. I never noticed what an impact music can have on a person until I read this and realised how true it was.

The flashbacks of Mia’s life before the accident were really good. I loved seeing how her life was and comparing it to how different it would be if she decided to stay. They also really fleshed out the characters and gave you real insight into Mia’s life.

One line stuck with me throughout this book. The line was ‘We are like Humpty Dumpty and all these king’s horses and all these king’s men cannot put us back together again.’ It made me shiver and kept me awake thinking about it when I had finished reading.

The only thing I didn’t like about If I Stay was that it ended! Although it was tied up nicely and Mia’s decision was made, I wanted more. I can’t recommended this book enough. It’s amazing.

Sophie