The Reader's Shire - Book Reviews

Book Review: If I Stay

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay Duology #1
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary.
Format: eBook
Length: 201 pages.
Publication date: April 2, 2009.
Publisher: Dutton Penguin
Goodreads Avg. Rating: 3.96 out of 5 stars
My Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars

This review is rated S for major spoilers. Read at your own risk.

"Women can handle the worst kind of pain. You'll find out one day."

I've seen several blogs, websites and reviewers call If I Stay the new "Fault in Our Stars". As someone who strongly disliked the latter, I find that insulting and hilarious. I can't stand the comparison between those two books. The only similarities between them is that they have a death theme hanging around. That's it.

If I Stay was an amazingly written prose featuring a walk down memory lane, a musical journey, a desperate boyfriend, a fierce best friend and a girl left with a life-or-death decision. TFIOS was a poorly written book about two horny teenagers speaking like really old people, contracting life threatening illnesses and lots of instalove. I'm not saying that you're wrong if you got TFIOS vibes but I can't help but disagree with you.

"Life might take you down different roads. But each of you gets to decide which one to take."

Moving on to the review, If I Stay follows the story of Mia Hall - a seventeen year old talented cellist and an introvert. Despite having a promising music career, a supportive, chill and rock music based family and a sweet, musical boyfriend, Mia's life goes downhill after a sudden car crash kills her parents and brother but leaves her in a coma.

"You can have your wishes, your plans, but at the end of the day, it's out of your control."

Mia's life had always been revolving around choices. Choosing between staying with her family or following her passion and studying in the prestigious Jullivard. This one, however, exceeds them all: choosing between joining her deceased family or staying with her remaining family and friends but dealing with the scars of the traumatic experience.

"Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes, choices make you".

How many times have I read a book with a choices-related caption on the front cover? Too many. This book, however, managed to explore the theme beautifully - the hopefulness, looking up the consequences, the "what ifs", the uncertainity, dealing with the pressure and expectations, wanting to please yourself but not wanting to disappoint others. The fact that one minor decision can destroy or empower you and change the course of a life time.

"You just work through it. You just hang in there."

Detached from her body and in a limbo-like state, Mia reflects her life before the catastrophy - the birth of her beloved brother, her relationship with Adam, fun events and holidays with her family, her growing passion for playing the cello, her struggles of being a teenager and dealing with how different she was compared to her rock music-loving family and boyfriend.

"Maybe coming back to your old life would be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us."

Music is one of the major elements of this book and the integral part of most of the characters' lives. I don't play anything and my taste in music is very limited so I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the way it was portrayed in this novel. I've also read a lot of books with tiny musical aspects but most of the time, they're too lame, forced and eye-roll worthy.