Decisions, Decisions

If I Stay


Written by: Gayle Forman

Released: January 1, 2009 by Speak

Summary: Mia has no memory of the accident that changed her life. This inexperienced 17-year-old only recalls riding on that slippery Oregon road with her family, then, in an instant, seeing herself lifted from the twisted wreck. This affecting story of one young woman's struggle through tragedy and grieving will appeal to readers of books like Thirteen Reasons Why.

This was some novel. Sure, I went into it with a vague idea of what was going on, but I never imagined that it would be as powerful as it was.

I honestly can’t imagine something worse happening to a person than being the only survivor in a crash which took the lives of all close family. Then to lie in a hospital bed and have to make the decision of whether or not to wake up – it would be horrible. I don’t think that I would be as strong as Mia was.

Mia was an amazing character. It was great to see, the way that the novel was written, how her life was up until and then after the crash. Through the back and forth timeline – the past being represented as memories which are triggered by something happening in “real time” – you are really able to get a feel for the type of person that Mia is and how events in her life affected her and made her into the person she was. It also adds to the big decision on whether to stay or go.

I loved how music was incorporated into the novel. Sometimes making so many characters into musicians and having them in bands can come off as cheesy and overdone. But Forman was able to subtly and not to subtly immerse the reader into the music world, from punk or classical, and made it seem as though the music was almost a character itself.

This was one of those books that is going to haunt you for a while after you’re done reading it. Aside from the heavy subject matter, the writing is so hauntingly beautiful it’s hard to forget. I’m giving it an 8.5/10 and a high recommendation to read it if you haven’t already.