If I Stay - Gayle Forman

Synopsis: 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.

Review: Seriously, why did I wait so long to read this book? SO many people have rated this as highly as they can and can’t speak highly enough about the book and here I am plodding along, and only just NOW gotten around to readint this.

And it was so amazing. Heartbreaking at times, but amazing.

Mia is invovled in a car accident that at first she thinks she’s walking away from unscathed, until she sees her body trapped inside the car. She soon comes to realise she’s not dead, but she’s not completely alive either. It’s up to her if she stays or if she goes.

We take a journey throughout this book, with Mia sitting next to her body lying in the hospital being flooded with memories of her life, both good and bad. The realisations she makes, the sorrow she feels. Her families reactions to her in the hospital bed are so moving and so emotional… nothing gripped me harder though than Adam’s reaction.

Adam is Mia’s boyfriend, and whilst they are young, they have a true love for one another and such a strong bond. Seeing Adam breaking down beside her bed was so distressing for Mia, and so distressing for me as a reader.

Ultimately Mia has to make a decision however.

This book is just heartwrenching and beautiful in it’s prose. It’s some of the best writing I have read in YA books currently and I am hoping to have a review shortly of the sequel to this book “Where She Went” which I hear is also amazing.

Please, if you haven’t read this book, don’t waste time like I did reading other books first. Get to this book immediately!

Rating: 5 out of 5