If I Stay (If I Stay #1) by Gayle Forman
Publication Date: January 1st, 2009
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Pages: 196
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
Read: April 21st to 24th, 2015
~Summary~
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.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.
I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.
Stay, he says.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.
~My Thoughts~
Honestly, I didn't fall head over heels for this one like everyone else has. I didn't really get into it until Mia and her family got into the car accident, it was the first moment that pulled at my heart strings. But honestly, there weren't as many moments like this in here like I thought there would be with a story like this. The only other moments were when her grandfather, best friend, and he boyfriend came to talk to her and those moments were far in between. Sad to say, the rest of the story was so-so for me.
In all honesty, I completely forgot what the main characters name was and when someone spoke it I was like, "Who's Mia? Oh yeah, that's the main girl". How sad is that? Especially since this is supposed to be a heart retching story. Not saying that it didn't have it's moments but with all the flashbacks, I just didn't feel completely connected and honestly didn't care.
Now those flashbacks, I understand they're the drive of the story, of Mia deciding if she wants to stay or go, and for us to get to know the characters. But sometimes, it took me a while to figure out why this one flashback was so important. Sometimes I wondered why this flashback was needed. Some of the flashbacks I liked, I really enjoyed the ones with her boyfriend. However, sometimes I just felt bored. There was one point I thought about putting it down. I think I was just bored with Mia. I enjoyed everyone else but her.
I don't know exactly what it was that made me bored of Mia because her characters life is real and her insecurities, I've felt those same insecurities too. Like, "Why does he really like me?" Maybe I wasn't bored, maybe I just didn't like her as a person. Especially when it came to her relationship. It felt very one sided. Like, he would go out of his way to be apart of her world. Yet, when he wanted her apart of his world she just wouldn't give it a try. I honestly don't know what her boyfriend saw in her because she didn't really try to be apart of his world. Except one night and it was on Halloween so she wasn't really being her.
I thoroughly enjoyed the side characters more than Mia. Her sweet grandparents, her grandfather for saying it's okay if she wants to go, he understood why she might not want to stay. Her best friend for getting her boyfriend and trying to help Mia's boyfriend get to see her, though a tad bit extreme I still enjoyed this moment. And for Willow who helped everyone get a visit with Mia because she knew that Mia needed to see that she still has family here.
I wished I fell head over heels for If I Stay. It's a short easy read but I felt like I was detached from it, I couldn't completely connect. The writing style was different and sometimes I had to reread sentences to make sure I understood what the author was saying, those moments put a hitch in the flow of my reading. But I also see why it was made into a movie. That's the main reason why I read it and probably all the hype gave me high expectations. Though I wasn't a big fan of it, I'm glad I read it nonetheless. Will I read the sequel? Maybe, but I'm not rushing to read it. I rather come up with my own happy ending for Mia.
In all honesty, I completely forgot what the main characters name was and when someone spoke it I was like, "Who's Mia? Oh yeah, that's the main girl". How sad is that? Especially since this is supposed to be a heart retching story. Not saying that it didn't have it's moments but with all the flashbacks, I just didn't feel completely connected and honestly didn't care.
Now those flashbacks, I understand they're the drive of the story, of Mia deciding if she wants to stay or go, and for us to get to know the characters. But sometimes, it took me a while to figure out why this one flashback was so important. Sometimes I wondered why this flashback was needed. Some of the flashbacks I liked, I really enjoyed the ones with her boyfriend. However, sometimes I just felt bored. There was one point I thought about putting it down. I think I was just bored with Mia. I enjoyed everyone else but her.
I don't know exactly what it was that made me bored of Mia because her characters life is real and her insecurities, I've felt those same insecurities too. Like, "Why does he really like me?" Maybe I wasn't bored, maybe I just didn't like her as a person. Especially when it came to her relationship. It felt very one sided. Like, he would go out of his way to be apart of her world. Yet, when he wanted her apart of his world she just wouldn't give it a try. I honestly don't know what her boyfriend saw in her because she didn't really try to be apart of his world. Except one night and it was on Halloween so she wasn't really being her.
I thoroughly enjoyed the side characters more than Mia. Her sweet grandparents, her grandfather for saying it's okay if she wants to go, he understood why she might not want to stay. Her best friend for getting her boyfriend and trying to help Mia's boyfriend get to see her, though a tad bit extreme I still enjoyed this moment. And for Willow who helped everyone get a visit with Mia because she knew that Mia needed to see that she still has family here.
I wished I fell head over heels for If I Stay. It's a short easy read but I felt like I was detached from it, I couldn't completely connect. The writing style was different and sometimes I had to reread sentences to make sure I understood what the author was saying, those moments put a hitch in the flow of my reading. But I also see why it was made into a movie. That's the main reason why I read it and probably all the hype gave me high expectations. Though I wasn't a big fan of it, I'm glad I read it nonetheless. Will I read the sequel? Maybe, but I'm not rushing to read it. I rather come up with my own happy ending for Mia.
Sweet Readings Everybody!
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