Monday, September 26, 2016

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)

If I Stay has been on my TBR list since September 2011.  I read a number of great reviews, but I always seemed to overlook it whenever I needed to select my next book.  Perhaps it was the vague description?  I think that was a huge part of it.  I really had no idea what this book was about until I started reading it.  I don't want to give too much away, but I was immediately concerned this was going to turn into another The Fault in Our Stars, which required an abundance of tissues.  I am happy to say that was not the case.

Mia is a high school senior who is waiting to hear if she will be accepted at a prestigious music school in New York.  While this is an amazing opportunity for her, she is conflicted because the school is on the opposite side of the country.  She will miss her family and her boyfriend Adam, who is an accomplished musician in his own right.  He is a member of a band that has been gaining popularity and was recently signed by a record label.  They are in the process of recording an album in Oregon and touring the west coast.  They barely have time to see each other while living in the same state, so moving across the country seems like an insurmountable challenge.

If I Stay quickly brings life into perspective.  The petty concerns in one's daily life, which seem like the end of the world at the time, are nothing in the grand scheme of things.  Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  

If I Stay is only 200 pages long and was a very fast read.  We learn about Mia and her family through a series of flashbacks with the occasional glimpse at the present.  As Mia processes the life changing events that have taken place, she needs to decide "if she should stay."  Gayle did a remarkable job of telling this story without the "John Green effect."  Anyone who has read TFIOS knows what I am talking about.  She incorporates several light and happy stories from the past to offset the gloomy aspects of the present.  The mix of emotions allowed me to keep my emotions in check and softened the tragic aspects of the story, which I greatly appreciated.

I would definitely recommend this book and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.  

5 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed this book and Mia's voice. I'm glad you did, too. Nice review!

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    1. Thanks! I wish there was a sequel or even an epilogue showing how things turn out for Mia and Adam.

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    2. Isn't there a second book in this series? Let me look...yes. According to Goodreads, Where She Went is the sequel. You're in luck! :)

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  2. There is! Where She Went! And it's so so good!

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    1. Get out!! I'm heading to Goodreads now to add it. Thanks Flo :)

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