If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay:
On a day that started like any other…
Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the one decision she has left—the most important decision she’ll ever make.
Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.







Gayle Forman wrote and incredible emotional story about having to choose to give up all that you’ve lost in order to carry on, or making the decision to leave life behind. I admit that I found the pace of this book a little slow, but not in a boring “when is this going to end” kind of way. More like an incredibly reflective way. As Mia relives memories of her past she finds it harder and harder to cling to life, and when her Gramps spends an emotional moment with her broken body, Mia has seemingly come to a decision, yet she lingers watching those around her as they hope for her recovery. Each time a memory is replayed we see the incredible dynamics of Mia’s family and how especially heartbreaking it is to say goodbye. This book is about family, love, life and the power of hope. Mia’s connection with music is what first brought her and Adam (her wonderful boyfriend) together, and their own connection grew stronger as life began to test its bounds. But nothing could come between Adam’s love for her, and one of the sweetest lines in this book was when Adam is speaking to Mia’s comatose body: “Please, Mia,” he implores. “Don’t make me write a song.”