Review for If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay

Author: Gayle Forman

Publisher: Dutton Juvenille

Source: Public Library

Challenges: Library, For The Love of YA, I Wish I'd Read That

196 pages

 

"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 heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands." - Goodreads

   Incredible. Inspiring. Undescribable. Wow. This is one of my favourites now and forever.

  I finished this book two days ago and I'm still speechless. Which let me tell you does not happen very often. Gayle Forman created a story of just your normal girl with a vibrant family who soons faces tragedy. And a big decision.

  If I Stay is told through the voice of Mia, and I really enjoyed that. She told of us past experiences while still keeping us in the present. It was a nice balance and I didn't find myself getting frustrated with the 'flashbacks' - they weren't really flashbacks but more of accounts. All the characters were well written. They each had their own personalities, and I could keep them seperate in my mind. Besides Mia, my other favourite character was of course Adam. He cared so much about her and I couldn't help but love him. Who couldn't? But that was how it was for almost every character in the book.

 The plot was very interesting to me. I really liked the way Gayle set things up, it sort of reminds me of a movie that I can't quite remember. Anyways, I think that way of telling Mia's story just added to it. The overall writing was easy, smooth, and sometimes heart-jerking. There were a few laughs which just made the story harder to read for me, but it was necessary.  I actually didn't cry, I surprised myself. But I don't think that it was meant to make the reader cry necessarly, it was more a journey for Mia and the reader.

 I'm hoping on hopes that I can read Where She Went because truth be told I need to know what happens!! I highly recommend reading this, it's a don't miss. Great work Ms. Forman!

Excerpt:

  Everyone thinks it was because of the snow. And in a way, I suppose that's true.
I wake up this morning to a thin blanket of white covering our front lawn. It isn't even an inch, but in this part of Oregon a slight dusting brings everything to a standstill as the one snowplow in the county gets busy clearing the roads. It is wet water that drops from the sky -- and drops and drops and drops -- not the frozen kind. It is enough snow to cancel school. My little brother, Teddy, lets out a war whoop when Mom's AM radio announces the closures. "Snow day!" he bellows. "Dad, let's go make a snowman."
My dad smiles and taps on his pipe. He started smoking one recently as part of this whole 1950s, Father Knows Best retro kick he is on. He also wears bow ties. I am never quite clear on whether all this is sartorial or sardonic—Dad's way of announcing that he used to be a punker but is now a middle-school English teacher, or if becoming a teacher has actually turned my dad into this genuine throwback. But I like the smell of the pipe tobacco. It is sweet and smoky, and reminds me of winters and woodstoves.
"You can make a valiant try," Dad tells Teddy. "But it's hardly sticking to the roads. Maybe you should consider a snow amoeba."