Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that
sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.
Stay, he says.
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.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

Before I read this book, I’d been pretty hyped about it. A lot of people have described it as a tearjerker and since I’m a sucker for those, I thought I was going to love and love and love it. But it didn’t make me cry.

If I Stay is a book about choices, lots of them. It is about love and music and everything else in between that makes up the fabric of the everyday life. One moment, Mia is in the car with her Mom, Dad and brother, the next minute, she’s covered in blood and can’t reach her real body.

I liked Mia’s family. From her cool jean-wearing Dad to her really-nice-but-swears-a-lot Mom, to her adorable brother Ted, she had a family that was pretty much goals. I wish they had more scenes.

The pacing was just right. Once I got into the book, I waded through in about 2 days, it wasn’t too slow or too rushed but I still feel the accident happened so quickly. I felt cut off in a way, maybe this was because I was looking forward to more Adam-ish romance which I thought was also just right, I dunno.

My favourite part of the book was Mia and Kim’s friendship. They loved different things but that never drew them apart. Kim didn’t totally love Mia’s boyfriend and the sky did not fall, I liked that a lot. Kim has this really extra Mom that was very very emotional but that’s also okay.

Mia’s grandparents were amazing too. They were really supportive after the accident and even way before then. I loved that she played the Cello, I could relate with that as a guitarist. There’s a second book by the way, which I’ll read later.

Overall, this book was alright. If you want a book you can finish in a day or two, go on and pick it up.

Have you read If I Stay? What did you think? Will you be adding it to your list?