Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay, #1
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: April 2, 2009

T H R E E • W O R D S

Tragic • Simple • Emotive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

On a snowy day, Mia and her family set out to spend the day with family and friends. What ensues is a fatal car accident, which kills her family. As Mia is rushed to the hospital, between life and death, the past and the present collide. Mia is faced with the decision of being with her family and dying, or living with the heartbreak of losing her family. A story of memory and loving, and of living and dying.

💭 T H O U G H T S

If I Stay tackles a heartbreaking matter in a poignant and respectable way. Alternating between timelines, what unfolds is an easy read that is extremely thought provoking. The pacing and writing were decent. What impressed me the most was how the author created a huge cast of characters with ease, and without creating a chaotic reading experience.

Forman has weaved both sadness and hope into the plot. Overall, this was a solid YA read that filled me with emotion. The ending was quite abrupt, which makes sense given there's a sequel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• YA readers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard." 

One thing I enjoyed about this book was how natural the dialogue felt. It really helped me get invested into the relationships in the story, particularly the familial ones. At times, the “punk rock” aspect felt a bit too tropey for me, and I think they reiterated the classical vs rock musician thing an unnecessary amount. Overall, it was an exciting read, and I loved the way the book was sectioned

by alternating between Mia’s current experiences in the hospital and her flashbacks of what life was like before the accident.

The lack of traditional chapters really tied in the idea that these events are happening within the course of one day.