IF I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay is an engrossing story told from the point of view of a girl in her late teens who is stuck in a coma after a horrific car accident that claimed the lives of her parents and younger brother.  While the very premise of the story sounds morbid, the author writes with such naturalness and sensitivity that nothing seems grotesque or repulsive, which some scenes could have been.  I was taken with the story from the first page because the narrator's voice is so inviting and compelling---I just wanted to listen to her tell her story.  The basic premise of the novel is that the narrator has to decide whether she has the will to stay---in this world, in this life, without her family and brother.  She comments on the scene in the hospital room as family and friends visit, nurses take care of her, and her body fights to recover.  The author handles a grave situation in a very humane, respectful, and uplifting manner.  She makes an otherwise incomprehensible situation quite palatable, and invites the reader to consider some weighty questions in a thoughtful and mature way.  What if...? 


I give the story and writing a solid A.  Highly recommended for readers age 14 and up.  


You can read more about the book, the author, the story, and more at this website: http://www.ifistay.com/




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Ms. Guiney's Review:
Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Grade: A
Ideal readers: Boys and girls age 14 and up

Summary: Mia, the main character of this novel, introduces us to her perfectly flawed and utterly lovable family (mom, dad, and younger brother Teddy). The problem is she introduces us to them through the use of flashbacks because the family suffers a car accident that instantly kills both her mother and father. Mia herself is gravely injured in this accident and lies in a coma waiting to live or die. The amazing part of this story develops as the reader is pulled into Mia's realization that she must actually decide to leave (die) or stay (live). This was a heartbreaking story and I cried my way through most of it. Mia listens to the bed side vigils of her sweet grandfather, her brave grandmother, her spunky best friend, and her sensitive boyfriend, but all the while she is coming to a decision. Will she stay behind with the broken family she has left or will she leave it all behind and follow those she loved?

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