Book Review: If I Stay

Article in brief: The author gives her book review on “If I Stay”.

“Dying is easy. Living is hard”
-Gayle Forman

I have never been a big fan of chick flicks, romantic novels and sappy books. “If I stay” was a book I wanted to read because the movie was coming out and I intended to go watch it -I haven’t by the way-. I have literally finished reading this book in three hours. What a tearjerker! I can’t believe I cried while reading this novel. I cried to the point of depression. At times, I thought my heart ripped out of my chest.

I wouldn’t call the ending disappointing, it just wasn’t the ending I expected (and prayed for). I would guess the readers of this would split into two groups when it comes to the ending. The whole book seemed to prepare you for that specific moment in the end. You brace yourself for something, and then the book takes a completely different turn. I’m not sure if that was an element of surprise Gayle Forman had been cooking all along or if she had changed her mind three pages before ending her book.

The book opens with Mia Hall, a teenage girl who plays the cello. Mia and her family get into a devastating car accident, killing her parents instantly and leaving her and her brother Teddy seriously injured. In her state of comatose, Mia remembers her life, and her love for her family, and while battling for her life she starts reflecting over what she had accomplished in her short life.

“Adam is crying and somewhere inside of me I am crying, too, because I’m feeling not just the physical pain, but all that I have lost, and it is profound and catastrophic and will leave a crater in me that nothing will ever fill.” – Gayle Forman.

The book is fairly short, which I believe isn’t a negative thing. It concentrated the emotional journey in a little over 200 pages where it discusses the themes of love, family, loss and making choices. Gayle did a spectacular job delivering the emotional journey to the readers as she describes Mia’s decision to choose whether she may or may not live knowing the amount of grief and pain she would have to overcome. Do I recommend it? Yes! At one point, it puts life into perspective and when things do come into focus we do realize we have taken our lives for granted. If I Stay, a young adult romantic novel that takes you on an emotional ride. It does make you think if you were in Mia’s shoes -God forbid- and can see, hear and feel everything around you, would you want to live or pass on?

I gave it a 3.5 out of five, and that’s only because I didn’t like the ending. Love it or hate it, this book would definitely make an interesting addition to the reader’s library.