Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Publisher: 2009 by Dutton Books

Pages: 196

Series: If I Stay #1

"Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters."

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this book! I was laughing, I was crying, and everything in between! It was honest to goodness perfection.A book like this could have easily tanked, but Forman wrote such a beautiful, heart wrenching book it is no wonder it is being made into a movie! (Check out the IMDb page for the movie here) (Or you could check out my Book Adaptations Stuff page above and look for If I Stay). 

I really liked that this book started with the accident and showed who Mia is through flashbacks all while showing what is going on in the present time. It kept everything from getting too overwhelming. Also I think that if we were to get all the back story at the beginning, it would have been a kind of snooze-fest and wouldn't have made much sense considering the memories are spread out over a several years. 

There are so many good literary OTP (one true pair) to choose from, and I have to say that Mia and Adam probably go onto my top ten list. They are amazing together. You can see the love that they have for each other through the flashbacks, and how deep Adam's love is for Mia while she is in the coma. It makes me firmly say that everyone should have a love like that, something unconditional. When Adam said "Don't make me write a song" (because he had previously said to Mia he would only write a song about her if she broke his heart) I was a mess. I was wrecked. I'm not proud to admit it. It was so beautiful. 

Anyways, I need to move on before I begin crying. 

The last three pages of this book was amazing. Mia's struggle and just the description of everything that was happening was written so well it took my breath away. Okay enough criticizing word choice Shawnee. ;)

All in all this was an AMAZING book. It is definitely worth the read! So go pick up If I Stay by Gayle Forman TODAY! I mean it, TODAY! Then pick up the sequel, Where She Went which I will be reviewing soon! 

-ShawneeSmith