Review: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I will start off by saying that this book did not make me cry. I cam really close, but I did not actively cry. I already know that a lot of people are going to be comparing this to The Fault in Our Stars, but honestly, I liked this book a lot better. I love the character Mia and I love the way that her story is told. I love that you see these glimpses of her life and that it isn't simple. She could live or die and the decision is up in the air the whole time. I know what I wanted her to pick, but it was never clear which she would. It all depended on a single moment that was being built up towards and that we just had to wait and see which choice would be made.

Now, I do not want to spoil the book for anyone because I do highly recommend it, but I do want to say that my favorite parts of the book involve two very important conversations in her decision making process. Though I do not think it is very fair to call them conversations since she can only listen while these people sit so close and yet so far away. It is her grandfather and her boyfriend Adam, who I believe are the most influential in motivating her. Their hands guide her. They love her and they do for her what she cannot seem to do for herself.

This story is truly beautiful. It might make you cry and it might not, but I don't think it matters either way. Really, the thing that matters is the sad and beautiful reality of it. This book makes you want to take a step back and look at life. Look at those moments which seem so inconsequential and yet so pivotal at the same time. Our lives can change in a moment. And we have to choose what path it is we take. That is what I see this book showing the most of all and it makes me love it that much more.



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