If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This young-adult novel was written by Gayle Forman, published on 2009. The story starts with a young-girl and her family's accident and how she deals with the out of this life event that happened after.

Characters

• Mia Hall - The story's main protagonist. The 17-year old cellist girl that was musically gifted who just suffered a car accident, one snowy morning, together with her family.
• Adam Wilde - Mia's boyfriend and, similar to Mia, is musically inclined. He is the lead vocalist and guitarist of Shooting Star, a rising rock band.
• Kim Schein - Mia's best friend who was described to be very similar to Mia in characteristics.

Synopsis

The story started when the Hall family went out to visit a family friend and found themselves in a terrible car accident that immediately took the lives of Kat and Denny Hall, Mia's parents. After which, she found herself standing in front of the car crash only to realize that she is experiencing an out of body phenomenon and that her physical body is in comma status.

From here, the story advances as she was on the ICU visited by her friends and families most specifically his love interest, Adam Wilde.

With all the visitors arriving wishing her fast recovery while some just giving up and telling her that she may now go, Adam comes to her side to make a promise just for her to stay. Now everything comes to an end where she needs to decide whether to stay or give up knowing that the family she truly cared are now gone.

What I Can Say

This is my first time reading a work of Forman so I can't really say anything about the way she writes. Though "If I Stay", is one of those types of story that will leave you asking "why's" on the end. The story ended on the part where the best part of the story should have started.

Majority of the story falls on flash backs of Mia's family, friends and with his boy friend Adam. I guess this is Forman's way of giving weight to the decision part of Mia in the end.

Aside from the way the story was written and though in real life no one knows what really happens to someone in a coma state, the way the story tells the distinction of living and dying is something I like about this. For me it shows how to value life and how one can learn embracing the endings that life throws at us. I guess it made me think that there is more to life than what you expect.

Quoted from the Book

I have a feeling that once you live through something like this, you become a little bit invincible.
- Mia Hall, If I Stay

Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.
- Mia Hall, If I Stay

Amazing things happen when you stop hiding behind that hulking beast.
- Adam Wilde, If I Stay

People believe what they want to believe
- Kim Schein, If I Stay

Rating

3 out of 5