If I Stay

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Average customer rating 4.5 (13 comments)

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I will come clean...I cry at everything. Sad movies, happy movies, books, commercials featuring pets, and--worst of all--preschool graduations. Seriously. It is not a feat to make me cry. This book did not make me cry. I'd say I have stone-cold heart, but since I cry at everything else, I don't see how that can be true. I know I was supposed to cry...everyone I know who has read this book said I would cry and, believe me, Forman tried her best to squeeze tears out of me, but it just didn't happen. I get that the premise--a girl whose entire family is killed in a car accident and her out-of-body self has to decide if she wants to lie or die--is tough. I'm not heartless, after all. But I just was never able to get emotionally invested in this book. After I finished I tried to figure out why this book left me so cold, and I think three things come into play. First of all, only 2 things happen in this book. Mia is in a car accident and then she decides whether she'll live or die. Yes, there are some other minor incidents of activity (the biggest being her boyfriend and musician friends try to break into the ICU), but as far as plot goes, it is just those 2 things and a lot of introspection. I was definitely left wanting more plot and, strangely, more introspection. And introspection is my second issue--in that it isn't. Introspection and flashbacks are not the same thing. I would say a good 3/4 of this book is told through flashbacks, but the flashbacks are really just recounting of things past--there is never really a tie to what happened back then to the decision Mia needs to make now. I found this very frustrating because I felt that all these flashbacks were the literary equivalent of treading water and I wanted this book to go somewhere. Finally, I didn't think that there was a single original character in this book. Every character--the gifted but shy Mia, her musician boyfriend, her ex-rocker parents, her outspoken best friend--were just the usual stock characters that are commonly found in young adult literature. I don't mean to bash YA fiction by saying this--I've read some fantastic books where writers have taken the "usual" characters and transformed them--but I just didn't feel that it worked here. I had seen all these characters before, several times, and nothing they did or said really interested me at this point. In fact, the only character that had any real stock in was Mia's friend, Kim--not because she was unique, but because she was at least the most interesting of the cliches. Look, I know people LOVE this book and I'm not saying they are wrong. I read a lot and I critique what I read and maybe I'm cynical and the heart on my sleeve may be covered by several layers of literary gortex at this point. But I can say that, ultimately, this one just didn't have the teeth to cut through to my emotions.

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This book is really heartfelt! I felt sad for Mia and all she went through. You have to be super brave to make a choice like that!

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This book is really heartfelt! I felt sad for Mia and all she went through. You have to be support brave to make a choice like that!

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An amazingly hearybreaking read. I loved it from beginning to end and would highly recommend it to anyone who liked The Fault In Our Stars.

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When I picked up this book, I figured it would be a simple read, something that wouldn't take alot of brain effort. I figured it would be a book about romance, and yadda yadda. But as I began to read this tale, the ink-words began to string together into a painting, a play, a full blown movie. Every word is beautiful in this novel, and like my own, the family in this book is a funny collection of characters who stick by one another even if things get awkward, weird, or even painful. I began to view Mia (the main character) as myself, I began to put myself in her position. What would I do if that happened to me? Would I choose to go with my family who are literally imprinted on my heart? Or move forward and experience life, and leave my family behind? All I can say, is near the end of this tale, my heart was racing, and I was begging for more chapters.

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i absolutly love this book!! i mean when you get this book (and i now that it will be soon) you will need tissues,duck tape(to keep your mouth from hanging open at points of climax),a sturdy pillow(to throw at the person who tries the disturb you) and a book light because you not going to want to put it down.

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"If I Stay" is a story of love and loss, of tragedy and hope, and the biggest decision of a persons' life. There is rarely ever a story so touching and heart-felt that you feel like you are part of the ride through, and this is one of those stories. While reading, you feel as if you are standing there with Mia, watching her greatest memories and her love ones grieving for that one, painful day that seems like an eternity. With character so alive-seeming, it seems as if they are people you have known for a long time or a good friend you go to school with. A must-read no matter your preferences or age.

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If I stay by Gayle Forman Reviewed by Moirae the fates book reviews 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. Heart-wrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time. (Synopsis provided by goodreads) I kept hearing about this book through other book blogs and my interest was peaked. Set near my hometown, (which is rare) I found this book very hard to put down. I read this in nearly one sitting. The book is very hard to read and is very intense. Most of the book is Mia's memories of different people some dead some alive. The concept of the book was original and I loved every page of it. I wanted to read the sequel right after I finished this one. There was one scene that I found to be creepy and corny at the same time, but aside from that one scene, this book was very enjoyable. I found Mia to be believable and she was easy to sympathize with. I would recommend this book to people who like "darker" reads. * Paperback: 272 pages * Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (April 6, 2010) * Author: Gayle Forman * Overall rating: **** 4 out of 5 stars * Cover art: I like the icy factor of the cover art * Obtained: My personal bookshelf

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This book, if I stay, is the heart wrenching tale of life, death, and whats in between. The reader is immediately attracted to Mia, who is a very ordinary girl with an amazing talent at playing the cello. In moments her life is twisted beyond repair and she must make the most important choice of her existence. This is an amazing book, and of all the books I've read, it's my favorite :)

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman tells the heartbreaking tale of Mia whose life is turned upside down in seconds. Mia’s life was perfect before the accident that stole the people she loved the most. She had great parents, good friends, was involved in a fantastic music program and of course had a gorgeous, amazing, sweet boyfriend. In just seconds all of that was gone when a drive in the Oregon snow turns deadly. Mia has to make the hardest decision she will ever have to make. She finds herself thinking, “I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard,”. If I Stay will keep you on your toes waiting to find what happens next and in my opinion this is an amazing story.

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WOW! Intensely moving and beautifully written. This is THE best YA book I read this year.

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This book was really amazing! The characters of this story will carve out a place in your hearts for themselves. Its very emotional both with good and sad emotions. I would recommend this book to just about anyone, it has a message for everyone.

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I think this was the most emotionally compelling, enjoyable piece of fiction that I read all year, despite the fact that it made me cry buckets.