If I Stay by Gayle Forman Review

"Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

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."

Wow. I should had read this much earlier. I mean, I'd been planning to, but I was so busy and now I just want to sleep. For a long time. Or maybe I want to get out of this year. Because this year is a very, very hot mess. A very hot mess.

Or maybe my timing is just bad.

If I Stay is a gorgeous book. It sort of reminds me of Just One Day even though the plot isn't the same. (But the writing is, so... That might count for something). And I do have to mention that I cried while reading this book while babysitting my little bro. My dad was just coming around the dinner table, and he was like... "Do you need a little time alone?" Oh, yes. I do. With the sequel. And some time to think about the book as a whole.

So Mia has choices. She has a choice between career and her boyfriend. (If I was her, I would had gone off to Julliard, but that is not the way life works. Or the book works). Once she was in the car accident, things get both complicated and easier. Her family is dead (some of them). She wants to die, and she wants to live. She has a bright future in front of her, if she chooses to stay. But she also can go and reunite with her family. 

Two choices. Stay or go.

And I think I can even make a pro and con chart from all of that. 

The journey, the plot, of the book flips between present and past. As you go into the past, you learn more about Mia's family. You learn more about Adam. You learn more about Mia herself. In the past, you see her living and fully alive. In the present, you see Mia... Not exactly living. Though not exactly dead either. It is all really awesome and amazing. That kind of amazing you get when you read a really good book.

(Yeah. I definitely approve of this).

The ending is definitely one of the greatest moments. I had to reread it over and over again, because it is just so amazing and wow... Just wow. 

Overall, If I Stay is a gripping story that just hangs onto you very tightly. It makes you think and wonder about your own life. About the choices we make. If I Stay is pure perfection. 

Rating: Five out of Five