Friday Flashback: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Books don't have to be new to be deserving of a review! On Fridays I flashback to some of my favorite books of all-time.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman



Mia's life is perfect. She has a promising future as a concert cellist, an amazing boyfriend and cool parents. On one snowy day everything changes. Her parents are killed in a car accident and Mia and her brother are rushed to the hospital in critical condition. As she clings to life, Mia steps outside of her body to watch and listen while friends and family keep a bedside vigil and doctors fight to save her. The choice is hers. Will she let go of life, or will she fight for it?

This fast-paced, emotionally gripping novel takes readers through the 24-hour period in which Mia reflects on her life and decide whether, after so much has been lost, she has the will to live. Mia’s first-person narration alternates between bittersweet memories of the past and observations of the present, as her best friend, boyfriend and extended family visit her in the hospital. While the premise of Mia’s outer-body experience verges on the supernatural, Forman’s prose is seamless.  Her characterizations are so accurate that the reader is drawn into the narrative without questioning the magical elements that enable Mia to observe the scene.  At times deeply moving, at others humorous.  If I Stay is a book that will capture you in the first few pages and never let go.

Keep some tissues handy.  You'll need them for this one.

P.S. The story continues with Where She Went. Another gripping tale that will have you turning pages and wiping away the tears as you go.

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