Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Apr 2, 2010 by shanyn

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: April 9, 2009

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Book 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.

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Review:
There is a word in the provided book summary that explains my feelings about this book exactly: heartache. As you can imagine, the topic of this novel is quite heavy.

Our author, Gayle Forman, writes so beautifully that you are able to read the main character’s thoughts without turning away from sadness, as long as you are able to handle a little of the aforementioned heartache. We are simply bystanders (in more than one sense of the word) as the events in this book unfold – we are forced to go along with the decisions made and the feelings felt, even if it hurts.

Luckily, there is a sequel slated for this book (entitled Where She Went), which I am very excited to read.

I am fairly certain this book would make the “must read” list if you were to make a list of YA books that should be read in a lifetime, so I suggest you pick it up if you have not had a chance to yet.

Related Posts:

• Review: Where She Went (If I Stay #2) by Gayle Forman
• Review: Matched by Ally Condie
• Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
• Review: Paper Towns by John Green