Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay #1
Publication: April 2nd 2009 by Speak
Genre: Young Adult ~ Contemporary
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Kobo
Rating: 3/5

A critically acclaimed novel that will change the way you look at life, love, and family.

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.”

I had some mixed feelings about If I Stay. It's a pretty short book of less than 200 pages and I did like it but it wasn't as good as I expected it to be so I kind of think that it has a bit too much hype due to the movie. Also, at first I had a hard time getting into the story because of the way it was written with a pretty unique but detached style of writing, though sometimes it was quite beautiful.

I was most taken by Mia's grandparents. They seemed like amazing people.Those scene were the hardest for me to read probably and where I cried a couple of times. 

I wasn't too fond of the main character, Mia, though. But I think this mostly was because of the writing style that I couldn't seem to get into really. But I absolutely loved her relationship with Adam because it seemed so real. They didn't have a perfect relationship at all and had flaws but that was what I loved about them together.

Did I love the story? No, unfortunately I didn't, though I liked it for sure. Although I had these mixed feelings, I did think the story was emotional and compelling. I even cried a few times, which is a big deal for me because I almost never cry with books. 
Will I read the second book? I really, really want to because If I Stay ended pretty abrubtly and it's killing me to see what the next book is going to be like. 

I would recommend If I Stay because it's one of those books you just have to read at least once in your life or at least before you see the movie, which is what I'm going to do soon for sure!

About the Author:

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Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle in the US. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.