If I Stay

Wow, what a poignant and moving story. I am so incredibily impressed with this book. Although it's dubbed YA fiction, the voice of Mia (17-year-old narrator) is far from young. Gayle Forman did a great job making this book relevant to all ages through the span of characters and mature yet relatable narration. Mia's story is so touching and heartbreaking yet so full of hope at the same time. Anyone can pick up this book and get something from it. I highly recommend it to anyone. I was blown away. Original review posted 5/17/12 on The Book Addict's Guide: Ho. Ly. Cow. This book was phenomenal. First I have to say bravo to Gayle Forman for such beautiful writing - I read a lot of cheesy books and yes, they're fun, but nothing is better than a flat out wonderfully written story. Although this is dubbed YA fiction, Mia's narration throughout the novel does not feel juvenile at all. I feel like any age can read this book and appreciate it in its entirety. Every character in this book has a story and I felt such connection, like this was the story of a real family, real friends, and not just characters on pages. I connected with everything Mia was feeling throughout her struggle to fight to stay alive or decide if it was her time to go. Wow, it just really moved me, as cheesy as that sounds. There's just no other way to put it. So mature, so emotional, so gripping. I laughed, I smiled, and most of all I cried. Just read the book. It's so worth it! Re-read completed 8/11/13: Well since it was a re-read I wasn't as totally knocked out by it (just since there were some surprises and whatnot I already knew) but it's still such a beautiful story and wonderfully written. My original thoughts stand. Re-read review posted 9/4/13 on The Book Addict's Guide: Gayle Forman is one of my all-time favorite authors and also a great writing inspiration. The beauty and emotion captured in her books are the reason I started the Gayle Forman Read Along... Well that and I needed a good excuse to re-read all of them because I've been meaning to do so ever since I finished JUST ONE DAY. Re-reading IF I STAY was an interesting experience. I was really glad I got to share it with the people on the read along because there were some people reading not only IF I STAY for the first time, but any of Gayle Forman's books for the first time! It was just really great to see them experience that. But also, one of my main fears of re-reading was that I wasn't going to like it as much as my first read. While that kind of ended up happening in a way, I also fell in love with the book all over again. It's true that I didn't enjoy IF I STAY as much as when I first read it. On my first read, I was simply blown away. It was the first Gayle Forman book I ever read and of course the beauty of her writing just swept me away, but I also think (and have discussed with other read along-ers!) that part of the reason I wasn't as amazed on the re-read is because I knew exactly what was coming in Mia's story. The initial read has a sort of suspense whether Mia will choose to stay or go, the surprise of the initial accident, and just little moments that a first-time reader isn't expecting. I think all of those elements on a first read really makes the book amazing. It's still gorgeous and heartbreaking and bittersweet the second time around, but those little surprises really make up a sizable chunk of a "wow factor" for this book. Some things that I was able to pick up on my re-read that I hadn't on my first read: a small little hint at SISTERS IN SANITY! Mia makes a mention of a Portland band called Clod which was Brit's band in SISTERS IN SANITY. I absolutely loved that because so much of SISTERS IN SANITY reminded me of IF I STAY. Obviously I had no idea on my first read since I only read SIS a couple months ago so I really, really enjoyed how those two books tied together! Very clever, Gayle! I also think that already knowing the ending of the book helped me slow down and really get into the characters and their relationships. Whenever I get excited about the end of a book, I have this really bad habit where I can't help but rush through what I'm reading to get to the end and see what the future holds in store for our characters. This being a re-read, the ending wasn't a surprise to me so I really got to take my time and cherish the relationships that were blossoming as others ended, revel in Mia's pain and sadness, observe things about characters and the setting that I hadn't noticed before... I just really got to take in a lot more detail! Um, HI -- this also helped me rekindle my love of ADAM WILDE. Gayle....... thank you for Adam. I've already started the re-read of WHERE SHE WENT and I am SO in love with Adam. Of course, that's a discussion for another day, but all of IF I STAY just really helped me remember how much I loved him and what a shame it was that I almost forgot! If you haven't read IF I STAY and WHERE SHE WENT yet, I highly recommend picking them up! They both instantly made me a Gayle Forman fan for life and will always hold a special place in my heart.

Note: Review may contain spoilers Just read 'If I Stay' in one sitting then bought and read the sequel 'Where She Went' the next day, reading that all in one go as well. That being the case I'm putting this same review on both. Of the two, I'd say 'If I Stay' is the better story and 'Where She Went' is the better written book. Don't get me wrong, they are both excellent, I think it just shows how the author grew her skills as a writer between creating each of them. Where I felt 'If I Stay' fell down a bit was in the early dialogue, I thought it sounded very unnatural and brought me out of the story a bit. Thankfully that improved markedly as the story progressed and I was left with only my own personal preferences getting in the way. It is rare that I read a piece of fiction written in present tense. I'm not sure why that is but, since much of this book is in present tense, it threw me a bit and I also felt like the constant back and forth with flashbacks was a bit jarring. These were both issues that I got used to and barely noticed by the end of the book, the story was good enough to carry me through. 'If I Stay' tells the story of Mia, a seventeen year old girl and a gifted classical musician, with her whole life ahead of her. A life full of choices. That is until a ride in the car with her family ends with a horrific wreck and Mia has an out of body experience. Mia comes to realise that she only has one choice left, live or die, and she has to make it all by herself. Through the use of Mia's (while having her out of body experience) observations of her friends and family around her and the previously mentioned flashbacks we are shown or given hints at all the things Mia has lost, some of the things that Mia has left, and reminded of how life can turn on a dime. The story shows us sweet first love, teenage confusion and heartbreaking choices. 'Where She Went' is written in the same style as 'If I Stay', that is to say mostly first person and with a whole lot of flashbacks but the author does it much more smoothly this time (or maybe I was just used to it by this point). Also, just like the first story, the "present day" events all happen in just a little over a single day. This author can pack a lot of emotion into a single day. This story picks up three years after the events of 'If I Stay' and is told from the perspective of Adam, Mia's boyfriend at the time of her accident. Adam was crushed when Mia cut off contact with him and 'Where She Went' tells the story of how he channelled all that pain into his music and his rise into a bonafide rock star. Through present-day events and flashbacks, we see the way Adam remembers the special relationship they had, the simple pure love and his confusion about how it ended. Wandering the streets of New York randomly, he happens across a venue where Mia, now a rising star in classical music, is playing. Telling himself he'll just slip in and listen to her, then leave, he buys a ticket that leads to an awkward reunion between himself and the love of his life. But has life moved on? Have they wandered too far to get home? They wander New York together as the night wears on and old emotions, sweet and bitter, are both stirred in equal measure. The author did a superb job keeping me guessing until so near the very last page. I was up out of my seat, walking away from the screen so I could pace the room, I was laughing, I was crying. I was a bit disgruntled with the price of the kindle editions, but hey, I bought the first one, read it, and then bought the second one, so you won't see me complaining now. I would recommend both of these books if you like romance stories that aren't all sunshine and lollipops, stories with real grit, real heart and love that is hard-earned and well-deserved.

Mia has a choice to make. She has just been in a car accident that has killed her mother and father. Her little brother, Teddy, is struggling in another hospital somewhere, while Mia has been air-lifted to ICU. Her friends and remaining family straggle through the hospital room. Her Gran and Gramps cry. Her best friend, Kim, is trying to stay positive. Her father's band mates and best friends are praying and Mia's first love, Adam, is begging her to stay. Mia knows all of this, because while her body is bruised and battered lying prone in a hospital bed, Mia looks on. She thinks back on her life up to this point, and she sits in the waiting room with the people who love her. But what is keeping her here? When she has nothing left to live for, what's the point in staying? Mia has a choice to make - a life or death decision. `If I Stay' is the smash-hit contemporary young adult novel from Gayle Forman, which recently had a sequel released this year called `Where She Went'. Yes, I have been `reading' under a rock. I knew that `If I Stay' was a best-selling, beloved YA novel released in 2009. I read the rave reviews and knew that there was a furore surrounding this incredible book's sequel . . . still, I didn't read it. I knew that this book packed a punch - that it was sadness through and through and to be honest, I just was never in the right head-space to get stuck into the novel. Until now. Don't ask me what did it - I just decided I was ready to brave the emotional terrain and whip out the Kleenex. Mia's story really does start out sad . . . and get worse from there. The car accident is the plot-trigger, and everything that comes after is Mia weighing up and pros and cons of staying, or letting go. It's a sad start, with plenty of emotional turmoil heaped throughout. But the novel is, surprisingly, not altogether depressing. While Mia's ravaged body repairs itself in a cold hospital room, ghost-like Mia remembers her life to this point. She recalls her punk-rock parents and their dismay when Mia took up the cello and fell for Mozart. She remembers the birth of her little brother, Teddy, and all her brother's funniest moments. She remembers how her best friend, Kim, saved her from herself by prodding her into music camp. But most of all, Mia remembers Adam. Adam, the beautiful and dishevelled older boy played in a rock band and inexplicably loved Mia - and how she loved him back. The novel cuts between present-time and back-tracking memories; as Mia's fetch-like form watches the nurses monitor her vital signs and doctors perform surgeries, she also recounts her memories in vivid detail. I did love the book, as I suspected I would. It's partly because the story is duelling heartbreak, and uplift - as we see Mia come to the slow realization that life is beautiful, regardless of the pain. But also because Forman could have dragged Mia and the story down in a flowery writing style . . . when you're discussing death and the meaning of life, it's very easy to wax poetic and get too caught up in the meaningful, so that life gets lost amidst the prose. But Forman has deliberately shied away from sweeping declarations of life-affirming meaning - the prose is simple and powerful for its subtlety, and the real meaning of life is between the lines, in the flashbacks of Mia's childhood. Perfection in simplicity.

If you’re on the brink of death, do you get to decide which way to go? Is it up to you? Which world pulls you harder? Your life on earth or what awaits beyond? Mia, seventeen, finds herself in this very situation in If I Stay. As the only survivor of a car accident in which her parents and younger brother are killed, Mia is clinging to life in the hospital. A nurse whispers that it’s up to her to decide. If I Stay is a Young Adult teen drama that takes a look at the possibility of making powerful decisions at a person’s weakest mortal moment. Something resembling the spirit of the gravely injured Mia watches over as her grandparents, friends, and boyfriend Adam wait and worry. Gayle Forman uses this spirit-like version of Mia to tell the backstory of Mia and her family and of her teen romance with Adam. I enjoyed reading If I Stay because of this interesting suggestion, of being able to control your destiny. It’s a fast read that focuses on family, friendship and love. Despite the semi-spiritual theme, this is not a deep-thinking book, but I think you have to make a conscious decision, early on, to go with the roll of the book and its plot. The whole story has an exaggerated looseness about it which may irritate some readers. Mia is a gifted cello player, a senior in high school, hoping to be accepted at Julliard. Dad’s an ex-punk rocker and Mom’s a former punk rock groupie. Adam is a modern punk rocker whose band Shooting Star is about to make it big. Teddy’s the little brother. Music holds this group together and there are many references to songs, bands and the punk rock era. This may seem a little unlikely, but you have to commit to all this if you want to finish the book. Certain parts of the book strike me as unrealistic, specifically the characterization of Mia’s parents, who are extremely liberal and loose with rules and don’t act at all like parents. They immediately embrace Mia’s romance with Adam, with no reservations and enthusiastically encourage their daughter to jump right in, giving her all kinds of freedom. I wonder how many parents would allow their teen daughter to have sleepovers with her boyfriend or to stay out all night. In addition, the hospital scene is a little wild, with attempts to sneak into the ICU, including using a singer from the fictitious band Bikini as a decoy. Also unlikely is a family friend who happens to be a nurse at a different hospital and is somehow able to take charge of the entire ICU, allowing unauthorized visits, in the name of love. Smaller details that don’t fit take away from the story. The author makes references to several classic reads, including To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorites. This is a book I never would have read or understood as an eleven-year-old, but in this story it marks the beginning of Mia’s friendship with Kim in sixth grade. The two girls argue about whether to focus on racism or people's goodness for their school project on the book. Mia admits in her narration that she was not a particularly good student so it surprises me that this is the book Forman chooses to use. It seems a little contrived. A later reference to Lord of the Flies also seems forced and unnecessary. Although it’s not exactly clear when the story takes place, references to cell phones and the internet make it a modern read. So it doesn’t make sense when one of the cousins sits in the waiting area playing on a Gameboy. It’s a good example of how risky it is to use technology references. That handheld game system was popular in the 80s and 90s and is a dinosaur compared to the game apps kids play now! I did enjoy the book, however, and I think the author raises an interesting question and ties this central theme together with a nice story about teen love. I think the strongest part of the story is near the end, when Mia’s grandparents visit her bedside. With her grandparents and later with Adam, Forman does a nice job imagining how someone who is unconscious may still be able to hear and understand. So if you’re in the mood for a bit of a tear-jerker, and some good emotional bonding scenes, pick this up before you see the movie. The movie looks pretty good to me!

"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman I own this book and this review is solely my honest opinion. What an emotional ride! This Young Adult novel was intense on many levels. There was an unlikely teenage romance between a rocker and a cellist, amazingly loyal friends, and an unspeakable tragedy. "If I Stay" had so much going on, and Gayle Forman handled it wonderfully. The writing was so beautiful and strong. The author artfully packed each word with such emotion, and the end result was beyond fabulous. This was one YA novel that is great for both teens and adults. Although the reading age begins at YA, the subjects were real and intense for any age. Due to a dusting of snow, school is cancelled and Mia and her family decide to go for a drive and meet some family friends. Unfortunately, what started as a good natured and innocently fun-filled day, turned into the stuff of nightmares. An intense car accident tore Mia's family apart. Throughout the events unfolding after the accident, Mia was witnessing everything - and not because she was okay and there. Mia suffered tremendous injuries, including a coma...however, she was seeing and hearing everything going on around her, just as if she were standing in the same room as everyone. Mia's real body lay near lifeless in the hospital, while the "other Mia" was able to check on her family and friends and experience their grief. She learned these people really loved her, except the people she really loved the most were gone. How is she going to get through life without her family? She learns it may be her choice whether she lives or dies, and in the moment of Mia's grief she doesn't know what she wants - though she knows what will be easiest. Find out Mia's life or death decision in Gayle Forman's "If I Stay." I could barely fathom the grief in this novel. The very idea of losing my family, especially in such a sudden and horrible way, gives me chills. I cannot imagine what my life would be like, and I don't even want to think about it. Even though "If I Stay" is a work of fiction, situations like this unfortunately happen in real life. I'm not sure if the outer-body experience is real - though I personally believe in it - but what if it was real? Can you imagine how incredibly hard it must have been for Mia knowing she lost her family? Needing to decide whether she should be strong and live, or hope that she reunites with her family if she dies...I don't think I'd have the strength to make such a heavy decision. This is a story that will tug at your heartstrings and remind you to appreciate what you have in life. It makes you want to never take anyone or anything for granted anymore because in a blink of an eye on an ordinary day - it could all be gone. I really try to live by that anyways from my own experiences in my life; I have been without things and people that on an average day I may take advantage of and forget the value in. Sometimes you never know what you have until it is gone...I was fortunate enough to get things back and I don't want to ever let go again. Your emotions will go for a ride during "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman. You'll be smiling and laughing one moment at a memory of Mia's, and crying in the next second. Gayle Forman is a genius and created a novel that will thaw even the coldest of hearts. I definitely recommend buying and reading this 5 STAR tale of love, grief, tragedy, and strength. I will be reading more of Gayle Forman's work, including "Where She Went," the sequel to this book. Brianna Lee Book Reviews [...]

There are certain books that just emotionally drain you, and this was one of them. There are moments of sadness, moments of happiness, moments of pain, and moments of sweetness. It is a book whose story just stays with you. I love the way the story of If I Stay is constructed. It is told from Mia's point of view, but it isn't just her version of the present. Instead, it travels back and forth through her history and those of the people she loves. This gives the entire book a bit of a bittersweet quality, as you experience loss with Mia. You are a part of her world after the fact and it makes the present all the sadder. It is a story of. a girl with an incredibly quirky and fun family, a snarky best friend, and rocker boyfriend who represents everything she herself is not. Mia's family is built on music and love. Her dad was a former punk rocker and her mom his biggest fan. Mia's boyfriend Adam was a rocker whose career is growing even before he finishes high school. And then there is Mia, the classical music loving cellist who is on her way to great things. But, in a single moment, everything changes for her and for her family. The author doesn't shy away from the tough situations or questions that arise from Mia's personal tragedy. Instead, she makes Mia and the reader question themselves about fanily and choices. What is a family? How do you choose when faced with such diverse choices? This is a book about family and tragedy and unthinkable choices, but it is also a story of beauty. It speaks of the bonds between those we love. And with these themes, there is also the love between Adam and Mia. Their romance was beautiful, sweet and passionate. It was music that brought them together, no matter how different the two expressed it. And it was their differing musical genres that often threatened their relationship as their music took them in very different directions. I liked that their relationship was portrayed realistically. Instead of painting everything as perfect, it touched on problems and dischord. The interesting thing, however, was in how I related to Adam and Mia. If I Stay was Mia's story, but it was Adam that I identified with the most. There were moments during flashbacks where I felt like Mia was unfair or too demanding and it was Adam who was the sympathetic quality. And Adam's pain and anguish and selfless love was beautiful to watch. I watched the movie shortly after finishing the novel and I felt the same way for most of it, as well. My Recommendation: If you like a good, emotional read that isn't all perfect happy endings, then this is an excellent read. The story is beautiful and sweet, even as it is tragic and sad at times.

Read this and other reviews at [...]. Even though this book came out years ago, I am just now reading it - after reading and falling so DEEPLY IN LOVE with Gayle's Just One Day. I knew after I finished that book, I had to read her others. She has such a gift for words that her ability to pull you into a story and make you inexplicably feel is unreal. This was one-hundred percent the case with If I Stay. Told between the past and present, in a series of back stories, seventeen year old Mia watches as her loved ones come and and go to her bedside in the ICU - her body unconscious, but her mind very present...from the sidelines. And now she apparently has a choice to make. Does she stay? Or go? {{Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.}} I don't want to give away too much about the story, because that's just not fair. What I can say, though, is that the way this story is told is so different from what I've read before and it's just now that I've finished it, that I realize just how different it was. We start in the present, but then there's the accident. And while there's still plenty in the present, it's all told from Mia's POV, and she's currently in a coma in the ICU (in grave condition, the doctors say). We see family, friends and her boyfriend, Adam, all shuffle in and out. We learn about her relationships with them through the stories she tells from her past. Every supporting character that we came across was beautifully crafted. I loved Mia's parents, and her little brother Teddy, but also her best friend, Kim, her boyfriend, Adam, and her parents' friends, Willow and Henry. It was great to get the backstories on these characters and actually experience learning about them, rather than just being told. Life's all about choices, and I so appreciated the way that Gayle connected this to the actual world, as well as this world Mia is currently living in. Before the accident, she had a choice to make - stay in Oregon, or head for NY (to Juilliard); stay with her boyfriend, or risk the breakup to focus on music. There's always a choice. In everything we do. Some are just bigger than others. {{"Life might take you down different roads. But each of you gets to decide which one to take."}} There were many instances where we'd see some one-on-one interaction with a particular supporting character and the hospitalized Mia. Being able to see that through her "in-between" self put such a different spin on the story, but was also so amazing to read. It's something I can't help but wonder about - when you die, or when you might die, for instance, do you have a choice? Do you know what's going on? It's crazy that you can't know for sure, until you're in that place - and at that point, you can't yell back, "hey, yes, I do know what's going on!" {{All this business about medically induced comas is just doctor talk. It's not up to the doctors. It's not up to the absentee angels. It's not even up to God who, if He exists, is nowhere around right now. It's up to me.}} This book was definitely a tear jerker for me. Not necessarily because it was so gut-wrenchingly sad, although it certainly had those moments, but more than that, I cried because it was so powerful. The way that Gayle wrote this story made you feel so much and because of that, I often found myself wiping away tears. I LOVED Mia's boyfriend, Adam, so much, so when I went to pick up the second book, Where She Went, last night, I was super excited to see it told from his POV. I can't wait to get inside his head and see what he thinks of all that's happened...and how's he dealt with it, or as the case may be, how he's NOT dealt with it. This is certainly a 5 star story for me, and I recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, powerful story about love, loss and the choices we make in life. And death.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is easily one of the best books I have read this year. It's an intensely personal story about the struggle of a young girl whose world is changed in the blink of an eye. Mia's life is full. She's been very blessed. She has a wonderful boyfriend, is an incredibly talented Cellist and she has a wonderful close family who gets her. She is close to her parents and younger brother, in a way that few people are really able to experience, especially as a teenager. We are given just enough time in the beginning of the book to meet Mia's family and in those few pages, we are able to see the connection this family shares. Her family is involved in a horrible accident, and Mia is rushed to the hospital in a coma. She watches everything around her trying to understand the changes to her life, and where to go from there. Because she realizes it's her choice. She can choose to live or die. And what would you decide? The book is Mia's struggle to make that all important choice. The story is told in flashed between then and now. We switch between scenes with Mia and her family and friends in the hospital, and her memories of the important people in her life. We are introduced to everyone through Mia's memories as she lays in a coma in the hospital, in limbo between life and death. It's heart wrenching to watch as each loved one comes to her bedside to talk. They give her words of hope, love, encouragement, understanding, and peace. They plead for her to remain, even while understanding why it's so hard. Every page teams with emotion and every memory tears at your heart. I won't go into detail about the complete impact and effect music has to this story other than to say it is essential to almost every character. Music is a way of life for these people and it's changed each of them. Mia's boyfriend Adam is in a band that might be about to make it big, Mia's been playing the Cello for years, her father used to be in a band and on and on. The writing in this book is incredibly powerful. There is a genuine connection to each character and a realness that makes you believe in them. I would say that Forman is a genuinely gifted writer. I can't remember the last time I believed in people so much, felt so much like the people I was reading about were real. I had tears streaming down my face for the vast majority of the book, and I was unable to put it down. It's a short book, and I read it in one sitting, but that in no way takes away from its impact. This book is beyond a doubt powerful, emotional, and compelling. Never doubt that its important.

I gave 5/5, It's an amazing book that shows what love really means. The plot is amazing, when I saw it on Amazon, I freaked out, I absolutely bought it. I loved every single chapter of the book, the fact that she knew what was happening even if she was in a coma , was amazing. And the most important thing i liked was the friendship. I saw her friends being preoccuped , hurted for her, but now they are her family, that's all that she has. Unfortunately the last book ruins this beautiful romance. But this book is amazing , BUY IT.

This is actually the second time i have read this book. And again I love it. Gayle Forman has such a great writing style in my opinion and does a great job with her writing subjects.

This book will have you in absolute tear. It is the most heartbreaking story ever. I read it years ago originally and it touched me deep down. Recently bought this copy for a friend.

Existem livros que te prendem, porque a escrita é singular. Outros porque o mantém intrigado durante toda a leitura. Alguns tem uma característica inominável que é simplesmente viciante. Já outros tem aquele caráter particular que o fazem inesquecível. Embora Se eu ficar englobe todos esses elementos, foi a forma como ele foi escrito que fez com que eu me apaixonar por essa estória. Ele é contado sobre o ponto de vista da protagonista e alterna entre o presente e as suas memórias do passado. Se eu ficar é o primeiro romance da série de dois livro. Ele narra a estória de Mia Hall, uma jovem adolescente que ama tocar violoncelo e é apaixonada por música clássica. Ela é extremamente talentosa e tem tudo para ter um futuro brilhante com a música. Ela tem uma melhor amiga adorável e é extremamente unida à sua família. Seus pais são descomplicados, descolados e de mente aberta. Os pais que toda garota quer ter. E o seu irmão, Teddy, é aquela raríssima criança encantadora. Mia namora Adam Wilde. Ele é vocalista e guitarrista de uma banda de rock chamada Shooting Star. Mia e Adam tem um relacionamento que faz pouco sentido para muita gente. Ele é punk-rock e ela é clássica, mas o mútuo amor pela música os tornam iguais. A vida de Mia parece ser perfeita. Ela tem talento musical, um futuro brilhante, uma melhor amiga de verdade, uma família amorosa e um namorado maravilhosa. Até que um acidente muda tudo... Mia está em coma num hospital e percebe que está vendo os visitantes de forma bizarra. Desde que ela acordou, no local do acidente, que ela vem tendo um tipo de experiência fora-do-corpo. Enquanto ela testemunha como seus amigos e familiares lidam com o acidente que efetou a sua família, a mente de Mia começa a recapitular, por meio de memórias, a sua vida. E ela terá que fazer uma escolha: se ela realmente quer ficar... Se eu ficar é uma estória sobre segunda chance que te levará por uma jornal emocional. Ela é lida em uma dicotomia de sentimentos. Os momentos felizes são cercados por uma dor palpável; você irá rir por meio de lágrimas e chorará com um sorriso no rosto. Ele é repleto de alegrias e tristezas, risos e lágrimas, nascimento e morte, amor e perda. Ao escrever um livro cheio de paralelos, Gayle prova que a vida é feita de paradoxos e nos deixa com um pungente sentimento de felicidade e esperança, apesar de todas as lágrimas e dor que somos obrigados a experimentar. Recomendadíssimo!

I went into this story completely blind. I didn't even read the synopsis or watched any of the trailers for the movie... how good am I? lol. All I knew of this book was that there was a whole lot of hype surrounding it and a few of my friends had read it and expressed their love for it. So in I dived, totally unprepared for what was I letting myself in for. "If I Stay" was like nothing I had ever read before. It was so unique and so beautiful. I laughed. I cried. Sometimes I laughed and cried at the same time and sometimes I cried real, ugly, gut wrenching tears. This is a story that I will never forget. Mia had a wonderful life. She had an amazing family, a gorgeous boyfriend and a promising future ahead of her. Life was good until one snowy day everything changed. As tragedy struck, Mia's life would never be the same again. Everything she had known was gone and she was left with one choice. The most difficult and heart wrenching choice she would ever have to make. "If I Stay" was beautifully written and was told entirely from Mia's POV and as the story progressesd and Mia was contemplated her decision, I was given flashbacks chronicling her life. I got to know the most important people in Mia's life and all of her memorable events. I was truly lost in this story, it captivated me from the first page. For those few hours of reading, I was in Mia's life, watching it all play out through Mia's eyes. It was impossible not to love every single one of the characters in this story. Firstly there was Mia. Mia wasn't just a normal seventeen year old girl. Yes, she had the normal teenage problems, she felt the same fears and anxieties as I'm sure every teenager deals with but there was something special about her. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, maybe it was because she just didn't realize how special she was. Mia was a joy to know. I loved Mia's parents. They were so cool. They were the kind of parents that every teenager would want. Mia's brother "Teddy" was just adorable and I loved his relationship with Mia. I also loved the grandparents who played a big part in her life. There was one particular scene with Mia and her grandfather that just broke my heart. Have the tissues ready for that part! I loved reading the delightful banter between all of the family members. It was easy to imagine how happy this family were and how close they were. Mia's family was so loving and shared a strong bond. You could feel the love pouring from the pages. Of course, I cannot forget Adam who was just so sweet. Together Mia and Adam shared such a special relationship. Reading all of their tender moments was such a pleasure. I loved every single thing about this book. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a must read and now I cannot wait for the film. I'm sure there will be tears! "If I Stay" is the first book in the series and although it doesn't end in a cliffhanger I felt that I was left with a huge amount of questions that I needed answering so I am off to read the next book.