Will She Stay?
By Kaylee V.
If I Stay is a heart wrenching story that is almost guaranteed a few tears. Gayle Forman writes a story that follows along the life of Mia Hall. The story starts off on a normal family snow day. The Hall family decided to visit some friends on their free time, unfortunately on the ride there a snow plow crashes into their vehicle killing almost the entire family on impact. The protagonist Mia Hall faces an outer body experience where it seems as if it's her decision if she wants to stay in the real world, an orphan and accepted Juilliard musician or go into the after life and join her family in the grave.
The book has the reader experience many flashbacks to understand Mia's life before this tragic event took place. As we learn more about her life we relaize music is her entire life, her father being a former rock and roll star himself. Though Mia takes a more classical route deciding to focus her music mind precisley on her cello. Her life was as ordinary as it could be with an ex preformer of a father and a classical loving teen. Though what's an angsty teenage book without an angsty teen romance? One of the major conflicts of the book revolves around her rockstar boyfriend Adam. Their love for music bringing them together and pulling them further apart.
Personally as a reader I felt attached to her younger brother Teddy. We learn about his resemblance to his father with musical taste and his very active personality. Forman makes it seem likely he'd live, doctors believing surgery will fix him right up. Though as we follow the outer body Mia we read as the doctors struggle with surgery and then calling for the time of death. After loosing her brother Mia fully gives up, beginning to walk towards the light. She suddenly hears music playing and we learn her boyfriend Adam put earphones in her body's ears begging her to wake up, begging for her to stay.
That's where the book leaves off. A cliffhanger still wondering if she'll stay. Personally I loved the storyline and the dramatic aspect although I strongly feel as if the writing is very plain.and could use a lot of work. The story is easy to follow but I feel as if it's too easy. Reading it I almost felt like the author was reading the book to me slowly to understand. I have yet to read the sequel and I don't think I will read it.
