Review: If I Stay by Gayle Foreman

Released: April 2nd, 2009
Publisher: Speak
Series: If I Stay, #1
Star Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Bookstore
Edition: Paperback
Page Amount: 262
Age Group: Young Adult

The critically acclaimed, bestselling novel from Gayle Forman, author of Where She Went, Just One Day, and the forthcoming Just One Year. 

On a day that started like any other,

Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.

If I Stay is another one of those books that I have been meaning to read for years but still haven't gotten around to picking up yet. With all the hype surrounding this book, it has been sitting in my 'everybody has read this but me' inventory in my brain for the longest time. When I recently decided to pick this up, I was not disappointed in the slight.

This is a book that makes you think unlike any other book I have ever read. The questions that Mia was asking herself in the novel were the same questions I found myself asking while reading. What would I do if I had the power over myself that Mia had? What would I choose?

If I Stay deals with some heart breaking issues, such as losing the people that you love most in this world. Mia is a main character that I could read about for days. She was relate able, and I loved how she didn't follow the crowd. I'm not sure why, but some of my favourite books include the subject of loss and characters similar to Mia. I guess it's because it not something that I deal with on an everyday basis - which makes it interesting to read about.

I loved the characters in this novel. They were all quirky, cute and so loveable as a reader. I enjoyed Mia and Adam's relationship, it was not a cheesy high school romance that you can find in a lot of Young Adult books. Their maturity when it came to their relationship was incredible and you could really tell that they loved each other. Teddy was like the little brother that I never had. Mia and Teddy had a unique sibling relationship and that is something that I always like seeing in novels. Mia's parents were what you would classify as the 'cool' parents - hipster dad and rocker chick mom. The entire family dynamic was awesome and one hundred percent flawless.

This novel deserves every little bit of hype that it gets. It's heartbreaking and flawless. This book will make you cry, laugh, and have you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what is going to happen next. I recommend this book to anybody who likes Young Adult novels, and everybody else.

About the Author

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in such publications as Jane, Seventeen, Glamour, Elle, and The New York Times Magazine, to name just a few. She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.