"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman (N1)

I Bawled My Eyes Out

If I Stay

By Gayle Forman

# Pgs: 304

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Overview:



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, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

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Review:

You know, I never realized until I started to blog about the books that I've read how many books have actually made me cry. Seriously, up until this point I thought I was something of an "untouchable". If that isn't an obvious enough clue about this book, then maybe this is: This book made me cry.

Gayle Forman's If I Stay is a realistic fictional novel about a girl who seemingly loses it all. Everything.

Almost.

Mia, the main character, is held in a state where she's the only one capable of making a choice. The choice. The most important choice that each of us face at least once in our life, if in different situations; the choice between letting go and holding on.

And as the reader, we get to relive along with Mia the sudden violent cataclysm that brought her to this point. It's a touching, thoughtful read. It makes me consider what choice I would've chosen if I were put in her situation... It also makes me think about what in my life makes it worth living.

Forman's an intelligent author. Using flashback and imagery to paint the devastation in my mind, Forman forcefully brings a relatable, tragic, heart-strong teenage novel to the table at dinner, making the feast so very bittersweet. While I ate up the words of this book in a day, I found myself both laughing and crying simultaneously.

The truth is that I find the best out of books that contain tragic storylines. I don't believe in fairy tales or happy endings; they don't exist.

That's probably most often why I like to read fairy tales or paranormal fictions; it's so interesting how many different perspectives there can be about one type of subject. That's probably why I most often read paranormal fictions, but why tragic, realistic or historical fictions are my favorites.

This book does not make it to that category I have that I call "favorites", but I'm fond of it. You have to be careful when you read this that you're sure this is the type of book you want to read. Some people might find this disconcerting as while it seems somewhat paranormal as Mia is a spirit while she has to make this very important decision, it is overall not. Mostly this book is realistic, with an out of body experience on Mia's part and loads of powerful memory flashbacks.

I love-like this book, so I'd give it a very if-y four point five out of five. I would recommend this book to people who like realistic tragedies. Thanks for reading.