If I Stay, by Gayle Forman

Let me just start off this post by saying that this book affected me more strongly than any other book I have ever read. Did I cry when Fred died? Absolutely. Did I shed a tear at Bella's happy ending? You betcha. But by the time I finished this book I couldn't stop the tears from gushing.

Here is the cover art:



And the summary:

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, this will change the way you look at life, love, and family. Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

The book starts off very happy, with a family eating breakfast, chatting about the snow day. They take a drive to visit some family friends, and then the whole voice of the story changes as Mia has an out-of-body experience. She watches herself being taken away from the scene of the accident, wondering if she was dead, not knowing how to return to her body.

As she follows herself around, Mia slowly pieces together the details of the accident, while learning the fate of her parents and younger bother. Then she must make the decision to stay or join her family in death, while she watches a parade of loved ones visit her body, trying to convince her to wake up.

Throughout the book, Mia experiences flashbacks, helping the reader understand her, and simultaneously fall in love with her. The whole book lasts one long, tragic day as you navigate the trials of grief and indecision with Mia.

This book...I'd advise you to pick up this book with caution. It will definitely stay with you long after you finish it, but is quite the tear jerker. No matter Mia's choice, there will be no happy ending for a story like this, so for someone like me who thrives off of happy endings, it can be a bit difficult. So while I couldn't put it down, and it is indisputably an amazing, well-written, and eloquent book, I'm not sure if I would ever reread it, because I would rather fill my time with happy-yet-serious books like Entwined, by Heather Dixon (which I highly recommend!!).

All in all, a very good book, if a bit depressing.

Until next time dearies!

xoxo
Ariel