REVIEW: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
Published: April 2nd 2009 by Dutton Juvenile

Genres: YA, Contemporary

Pages: 201 pages

Format: Hardcover
Rating: 6/10 
Description: Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters. If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

 

The language in this novel was absolutely beautiful. For such a sort novel, it really packs a lot in. There isn't even so much of a plot. It's comparable to Hamlet, where the bulk of the storyline consist of contemplation and reflections. Mia is in a coma, and she's having this out-of-body experience. It's been done before, but Gayle Foreman writes Mia's story beautifully. There is a lot of flashbacks. There is explanations of key characters.

Here's a wonderful passage about Mia contemplating death, and how it would feel...

“Sleep would be so welcome. A warm blanket of black to erase everything else. Sleep without dreams. I've heard people talk about the sleep of the dead. Is that what death would feel like? The nicest, warmest, heaviest never-ending nap? If that's what it's like, I wouldn't mind. If that's what dying is like, I wouldn't mind that at all.” 

I fell in love with Mia's family. Her punk rock family made this book so funny and that much more tragic. We don't usually get such a funny dad, or such a smart, sexy mom, or such a lovable little brother! I seriously want Mia's family.

The greatest part, I think, was the parts with Mia's grandfather. Their relationship was so raw, real, and sweet.

“It's okay,' he tells me. 'If you want to go. Everyone wants you to stay. I want you to stay more than I've ever wanted anything in my life.' His voice cracks with emotion... 'But that's what I want and I could see why it might not be what you want. So I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It's okay if you have to leave us. It's okay if you want to stop fighting... Gramps's recognition, and the permission he just offered me--it feels like a gift. Gramps doesn't leave me. He slumps back into the chair. It's quiet now. So quiet you can almost hear other people's dreams. So quiet that you can almost hear me tell Gramps, 'Thank you.”


I didn't feel too much feelings with Adam. However, his monologue closer to end of book was definitely tear-worthy.

"If you stay, I'll do whatever you want. I'll quit the band, go with you to New York. But if you need me to go away, I'll do that, too. I was talking to Liz and she said maybe coming back to your old life would be too painful, that maybe it'd be easier for you to erase us. And that would suck, but I'd do it. I can lose you like that if I don't lose you today. I'll let you go. If you stay" 

I did find quite a few flaws with Adam and Mia's relationship. There were some extremely awkward and cringe-worthy "romantic" moments between the two. For example, when they "played" each other. I don't even see how that idea could possibly be romantic. I mean, if someone ran the bow of a cello up and down my body, I would be very uncomfortable, I would probably get a minor injury, and I would very worried about the well-being of a possibly very expensive cello bow. I don't know. I didn't really get any sparks from the two. I don't think If I Stay is a romance novel exclusively, but I'll let it slide.

I also did enjoy how mundane/dull Mia is. She's normal! She's just a 17-year-old teenager that excels at playing the cello, has an exuberant family, and is in love with a boy. She's nothing too special. You can sort of relate to her. Some may find that boring, but I found it refreshing. It let me focus more on the artistry that lay in the writing.

In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It consisted of contemplations, reflections, and memories strung together in a beautiful manner. There were some flaws, yes, and contrary to popular expectation, I did not cry whilst reading it. It's quite a short book that's worth your time, though! The movie is coming out very soon as well, so I will make a movie/book review soon, hopefully.