Review: If I Stay

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Date Released: April 9th, 2009
Pages: 234 pages (paperback)
Rating: 5 out of 5

Description:
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:
Wow.  This book actually made me cry.  I think it's the first one that made the tears roll down my cheek.  Other books have attempted to make me cry, but it just never happened... I feel like I have to say this, but page 181 is where the tears started rolling, when Mia's grandpa was telling her that she could move on if she wanted.  I absolutely loved this book.  It makes you wonder if you were fatally injured in a car accident, would you want to move on or stay? 

I've been meaning to read this book for a long time... but I didn't want to get it hardcover, but I was lucky enough to win it in a giveaway.  And I'm totally glad I did.  This was an intense book because of the questions of life and death, and if Mia's going to live or not.  I think it was great how Forman was weaving in different parts of Mia's life that really shows you how her family was like as well as Adam, her boyfriend. 

In a way, it was funny to me how Mia was into classical music and is a cellist, but the rest of her family, and Adam, are the complete opposite, preferring rock opposed to classical.  But it's what made me really like her family because despite the differences, they still support each other.  I really liked the relationship between Adam and Mia because they both really cared about each other even though their taste in music was totally different, too.  But it's music that brought them together.

I'm really glad that I got a chance to read this book and it's probably one that I'll read again.  It was haunting and depressing, but it tells you to live life to the fullest because what if one day, you're not here anymore?  I definitely can't wait until the sequel, Where She Went, comes out because the ending sort of left you -not really on a cliffhanger- but it leaves you wanting more (or at least it did for me :D ).  And apparently it's turning into a movie?  I'll definitely be looking forward to that :)

Cover Review:
This cover pretty much tells you what you're going to read because it just looks so depressing, and the dark colors portray the depressing-ness of the book too.  I really liked the hardcover cover better, but then that cover leaves you thinking "Oh, it's going to be a very happy book!" which it really isn't, and that's what I thought all along before I actually picked up the book.

*Description from Goodreads.com
**Review copy won in a giveaway.

Cleo :)

Gayle Forman's website
If I Stay website