Goodreads Summary:
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 heart-achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make, and the ultimate choice Mia commands.
My Initial Thoughts:
I began reading If I Stay cautiously because I knew it would break my heart. Within the first ten pages, it did. I’m not going to talk about the heartbreak, or how much it will make you cry. I’m going to talk about Mia’s dilemma and why this book is so freaking amazing.
I know there are some out there that coudn’t connect with Mia, but I did. Several times in my life I’ve lost people I’ve loved. Once it was death and the few others… its almost as if they did die.
Review:
The back and forth scenes within the novel were easy for me to follow. I also felt like I was reading Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver where there were alternate chapters going back and forth in time.
The way the novel was written helped gain momentum for the ending and even if it was a simple ending, because the whole novel was moving to that point, it made it huge.
Throughout the novel we got to see what Mia would lose if she stayed and also what she would lose if she left. The entire book is her journey deciding whether she will stay or go.
The people in Mia’s life are strong. Her grandparents, family friends, Adam, Kim, when it comes down to a heavy part of life, they are strong and do everything and anything they can for Mia. If Mia stayed, all of those people would be by her side, helping her cope with the grief she would feel. They also understood if she decided to leave. The pain of being an orphan, of all of her immediate family dying at once is a horrible thing to deal with of she decided to stay.
I really found Adam and Mia’s relationship real and adorable. I also cried when I saw Adam frantically trying to get into Mia’s hospital room, wanting to see her, not caring he was missing his show. So many parts of this book tugged at the strings of my heart.
Overall, it is a novel about making the best of what you have and deciding if life is worth fighting for or not.
Rating: 5/5
The Talking Bookworm 
I’ve seen so many good reviews for this book – I really want to read it!
I originally didn’t want to read it, but anjie bought me the book so I HAD to read it and I don’t regret it one bit. It is a very sad book though. Even though it is short, it took me an entire week to read it. It is very heavy on the feels.