REVIEW: If I Stay

[Rebeka Mirza]

The book I read was “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman. It’s about a teenager named Mia. It is Thanksgiving Day; her and her family decide to drive to her grandparents’ house. While they are driving, a truck hits the side, and they experience a severe car crash. Her whole family, consisting of her parents and brother, are all thrown out of the car. She gets up and realizes that her parents have died. She cannot find her brother, and believes that he may still be alive since she does not see him. Soon after, she sees her body on the ground. She realizes that she is the body on the ground, as well as herself watching the body. Her and her brother are taken to different hospitals, where they are treated. Mia is so confused and hurt, wishing people could hear and see her. Her family and friends come to the hospital to visit her. For most of the story, she reflects on her relationship with her best friend Kim, boyfriend Adam, and her parents. She thinks about the positive and the negatives of the relationships. She finds out that her brother has also passed away. She has to make a choice about whether she wants to stay in the real world or go away with her family. They are pretty much everything she has had, and she doesn’t know what she would do without them. On the other hand, she has her boyfriend Adam who she loves so much. She also has her grandparents and best friend who are waiting for her to be okay. While she is in a coma, they came in to speak with her. Her grandmother believed in angels, and her grandfather wondered if she was going to become one. He wondered if her life would flash before her eyes. When he came in to speak with her, he was giving her permission to move on and be with her parents. He wouldn’t blame her for wanting to leave. Mia was worried to hear from Adam because she would be torn on a decision. His last say made her realize that she would be leaving behind so much, and she needed to give her choice a second thought. At the end of the story, Mia’s choice is not clearly depicted, but readers can assume. She moves, and therefore, readers are left to think about what they want, in which I read it as that she chose to live.

This book is written from the viewpoint of a young adult, Mia. Her parents are literally removed; Mia is to take credit of her own accomplishments. The experience she goes through is a difficult one for her. The decision she has to make is also tough for a young adult. She may feel she has nothing to live for because her family is gone, but that is not true. There are still other people that care about her. This book focuses on a variety of genres and subjects. The book focuses on important themes such as death, love, family, friends, and choices. This book was not very optimistic. It started off on a bad note. It was unfortunate that Mia lost her parents, and was in two places at once. She had to deal with a situation that not many teenagers have to deal with. The situation is something that teenagers could relate to because of her age. Also, because she tells about her normal live, which is very similar to that of many young adults. This book deals with emotions that are important to young adults. The book deals with death, love, confusion, and sadness.

Here is a link to the author, Gayle Forman’s website: http://www.gayleforman.com/ You can view information on the other books she has written.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was very heartbreaking, and I think it would be a good read for young adults. I do not think if I would teach it in the classroom, but I would definitely recommend it to students. There are so many lessons teenagers could learn from reading this book: one’s life can be taken at any moment, one will have to make difficult decisions in life, one will have to choose between family and friends at times, etc.