If I Stay (If I Stay, #1)

by Gayle Forman

[Amber]

The story kicks off with our main character, , driving with her parents and younger brother to see her grandparents. All of a sudden they’re in a terrifying car crash when a truck hits their car and knocks them off the road. The next part of the scene describes the crash, and the victims. It’s quite hard to read, very disturbing and rather gross.

Through the rest of the books, Mia is left disconnected from her body. She watches her family and friends visit her in the hospital, and the reader is treated to a series of flashbacks as Mia looks back upon her short life.

The main focus of this book is Mia, and whether or not she should pass on. Her love story with Adam is also intertwined in this novel, and I felt that this came on a bit strong. I do understand that Mia didn’t have much else to live for, however she did have the rest of her extended family and friends. I think there may have been too much focus on this aspect of the novel.

Music also plays a huge part in this novel, as Mia is an outstanding cellist. Music is Mia’s universe.

Overall, this is a great read, but I just didn’t find it as compelling as I thought I would. The story just wasn’t deep enough for me, mainly due to the fact that all Mia thought about was Adam. There wasn’t enough emotion there for me, and I honestly expected it to be a lot more intense.

The ending is a cliff hanger, which would have worked well as a stand-alone book and yet, it set things up nicely for the sequel. I have an e-book of Where She Went waiting to be read, and I will hopefully be picking this up soon.

Rating: 3/5