Summary:
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. (from Amazon)
Review:
Before starting If I Stay, I had high exceptions. Since, I had heard some great things about it. Though, I wondered, in the back of my mind, if this could possibly be as good as people were saying, and it was, but even better!
If I Stay was a heartfelt, amazing, and thought provoking novel that I quickly devoured in two days. Between breaks at school, during study hall, basically any time I had free time, I would always be caught reading this. It was just that EXCELLENT!
I loved the characters, especially Mia. She was presented in such a way that you could feel her pain and anger at the world while still understanding why she would want to stay or leave. Also, I liked how the novel would flash back between present and past, because you got to see how excellent of relationships she had with her parents, best friend, boyfriend, and grandparents. Lastly, I enjoyed reading about the other characters, such as Kim, Adam, and Willow, since even their emotions and fight for Mia to stay jumped off the page from the start.
The plot and writing was also interesting and well done. Some of the twists and turns to the story were predictable, while still being interesting. Plus, the writing just flowed in this lyrical way making this one of my favorite books of ‘09.
My Only Problem? It seemed too short. I would have loved for it to be longer, since as soon as you got into Mia’s head completely, it was coming to a quick close. Plus, the ending I just couldn’t understand what had happened. Maybe I’m dense or missing something big, I don’t know. So, my questions to those of you have read this, do you understand what happened at the end? I would love to read some of your opinions.
Overall, If I Stay was one magical journey that will defiantly bring a tear or two to your eyes several times. I can’t wait to read more by Gayle!
Grade: A+
* Much thanks goes to JL for sending me this lovely book!
