lizpatanders

For the past few weeks, If I Stay and it’s recently published sequel, Where She Went, have been two of the most hyped books in the blogosphere. Every time I mentioned that I hadn’t picked this one up, someone would yell at me to read it right away. If I Stay brought tears to my eyes and has stuck with me.The plot of If I Stay is told through Mia’s perspective, and the story Forman has created is heart-wrenching. Hands down, characterization is the strongest aspect of this story. Mia shows the reader everything from childhood memories to the immediate aftermath of the accident and her time in the hospital. Forman identifies and describes the emotions and confusion that Mia is feeling so perfectly that my heart couldn’t help but break for her.Some of the hardest and most enjoyable parts of this book were when Mia’s family and friends came to visit her. It was never easy to watch what they were going through, but their love and concern for Mia was overwhelmingly beautiful and eye-opening, and it was amazing to see how she responded to what them. The scenes with her grandfather and aunt had me particularly misty eyed.What bothered me about If I Stay was the ending, more specifically the last page. Some of the details are skimmed over, and the ambiguity bothers me somewhat. However, I also can’t see how Forman could have added more details without making things cheesy. I know some reviewers might see where one option is clearly preferable for Mia over the other, making the ending obvious. However, because of a combination of my world views, sympathy for Mia’s pain and indecisiveness, each choice seemed equally valid to me and I cared about what she wanted for herself. I’ve grown more accepting of the ending after flipping through the discussion guide in my edition and having a long chat with Ashley of Books from Bleh to Basically Amazing.It’s been a long time since a book has evoked the amount of thought and discussion that If I Stay has for me. While I only spent a few short hours reading it, I have been thinking about this story for days afterwards. If I Stay is worth every emotion that comes with reading it and is an absolute must read.