If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
ISBN 9780525421030
Associate Links: Amazon/IndieBound

 In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...
A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

Let's be clear about this: Whatever negative things I might have to say about this book, I'm the one that stayed up until two in the morning last night crying my eyes out finishing it.  So in the end, Gayle Forman gets the last laugh.

Seriously, though, I don't have that many negative things to say about it, anyway.  It was one of the most melodramatic books I've ever read, but not necessarily bad melodramatic, even if the drama really pissed my sister off when she read it first.  And sometimes the supporting characters in Mia's life seemed a little bit too cool, but then again, people have said that about my family.  So why am I even complaining?

Maybe it's because I'm ashamed to say I liked this book as much as I did, because it was melodramatic and a little cliched and all that.  It's somewhere between sentimentality and harsh reality, which was a tough combo for me to take.  Yeah, that's probably it - it's my annoying *literaryness* kicking in here.  So I'll try and turn it off for the rest of the review.

I liked Mia a lot.  I've got a reputation as a *goody-goody*, and with all of those butt-kicking protagonists out there nowadays, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself.  But Mia was sweet, a rule follower, talented, with a "real future" ahead of her, which was refreshing!  (Though I'd take Katniss over her any day.)  And I loved Adam, even if he smacked of a plot device rather than a person.

This book, though, wasn't about the characters for me.  It was about the idea - and for sure, I'll never think about that car crash I heard about on the news the same way again.  The idea is what carries the story, all the way through the unusual style and disjointed plot.  And yes, it made me cry, something very few books do.  It was short and breezy, but by no means an easy read - but it's definitely one I'd recommend. 

The Final Verdict: Unusual and hard to describe, heartbreaking and fantastically beautiful, despite its flaws.  Four out of five stars.