Mia is a talented musician with a rockstar boyfriend and a family to envy. Then one day her world is turned upside down. Life gives us no guarantees, and Mia finds this out the hard way when she wakes up outside of her body in a state of inbetween. Her body is not quite dead, but Mia doesn't know if she wants to go or stay. The thought of staying after all that was lost seems impossible, but she wants to give this choice thought. This is her story of a choice she didn't ask for, but one she still has to make.

My Thoughts:
Mia is this girl who is going through her life's memories and is trying to decide if life is still worth living. She goes through all of her memorable moments and realizes along the way that the people who made her happiest, may no longer be there if she decides to continue. I really liked the picture of the family that was painted by this author. It was nice to finally read a book that focused on a tight-knit, non-cookie-cutter family. Mia's family did not have traditional values and do traditional things, but they had something better. They had a closeness that made me feel all warm and happy inside. I can see why she wouldn't want to be without them. No one should ever have to live in a world without a mother. A cold, cruel world it would be without that one person who is always in your corner no matter what. I don't even want to imagine it. So yeah, I can see why Mia was feeling the way she was. I also liked that the romantic relationship DIDN'T take center stage. Mia seemed to be wise for her age and realize that most high school relationships aren't going to last forever. I liked that the sun didn't rise and set with Adam. She had her own ambitions and that was nice to see.

I think the thing about Mia that I didn't get was that she didn't read teenager to me. She seemed way too self-aware and too mature. She thought about the present and the future as an adult would. Just for example, her relationship with Adam. While it was nice to see a teen relationship that wasn't obsessive.... I feel like she was too analytic about her feelings towards Adam. Like she knew she loved him, but also knew it was absurd for her to think that love could be forever for someone her age. I feel like most teens think their first love is forever and that they can't imagine it not being. And besides from the one love scene I didn't really FEEL the passion or connection between them.

I really enjoyed reading my first (and not last) Gayle Forman book. I didn't love it as much as I wanted to because I just didn't FEEL the things I wanted to feel. But that's okay. I still loved the beautiful way Ms. Forman writes and the strong family focus this book had.

OVERALL: A must-read for contemporary lovers. I loved the writing and the family aspects of this book, but I wasn't blown away with emotion like I thought I would be. It's not going in my favorites pile, but I really enjoyed it and would read more of this author.

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Heart breaking story about family and terrible loss. Well narrated. Recommended. There is a movie.

FROM AMAZON: 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. ( )

I saw this movie a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed it, so it felt right to read the book. I don't remember everything from the movie, but I think I prefered that. The flashbacks worked better in movie format (they seemed, I guess, more organic) and certain scenes in the book (having to do with random rock stars visiting the hospital) that I honestly thought were kind of stupid were missing (unless I'm misremembering).

That said, the book isn't bad and I'd absolutely recommend it! I don't know what the sequel is about and I'm not sure if I'll read it because the story as it is is rather perfect.

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Full Review on my blog!

After a disastrous car accident, Mia finds herself looking down at her own battered body, barely alive. This is one case where, immediately, you get a feel of who these people are, their realness, the love they have for each other. With only a few minutes of getting to know them before the accident, I already felt a connection with Mia and her whole family, turning an already emotional novel into a gutting one. Mia’s loss and grief is tangible through Gayle’s effortless writing style. It’s a tragic tale of unimaginable life changing loss that will make you thankful for everything and everyone you have in life.

I really did love reading If I Stay, but for the most part I felt like I was forcing myself to get through to the ending. There were certain aspects of it that drew me to continue reading, but really I was expecting more. I think the back and forth from the present to the past was what threw me off. I definitely was more interested in reading about what was currently going on rather then anything from the past.

The ending is also something that makes me want to rate this book higher than I did. For some reason it just hit me in a way that I needed to buy the second book to this series right away, which I didn’t think I was going to because of how I felt during the majority of this book.If I Stay shows us the importance of family and friends that, together, make up our lives. I recommend it!

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2.5 Stars ( )