Format: Ebook
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
"Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.
Stay, he says."
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?
Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.
Oh my heart still hurts from this one! I don't usually start reviews with talking about the ending but OH MY GOODNESS. I was a mess reading that last line, sobbing uncontrollably at 11PM on a Saturday night. Yep.
So, let's now move back to the beginning.
This story gripped me from that very first line: "Everyone thinks it was because of the snow. And in a way, I suppose that’s true."
Now, the blurb for If I Stay doesn't reveal too much, it just mentions choices and love so when I read the first line I instantly wanted to know what Mia was talking about. What did the snow do? I had my suspicions from reading reviews on Goodreads and I knew the plot was based on Mia losing something. Nevertheless, in no way was I prepared for the emotional onslaught reading this short book gave me.
The chapters were not marked in the usual way and instead, time stamps were used and everytime I got to a new part I'd stop and think about what Mia was narrating. I did this because it gave me a lot to think about and I remember half way through this book something that Mia said hit me so hard that I cried for a long while.
“I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.”
I could fill an entire page with the quotes taken from this book because every single line was indescribably beautiful and so powerful. I have come to love Gayle Forman's writing. She was easily able to transition from Mia's out-of-body experience to the flashbacks and it wasn't choppy at all. It flowed well and gave me a helluva lot to think about. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a very long time!
I know this is highly irregular but I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this book. The cover was simplistic yet lovely, the writing was incrediblely amazing, the feelings I got were overwhelming in the best way possible and the characters were incredibly endearing and I found it easy to feel what Mia felt and my heart broke for her, for everyone actually. All of her family, Adam, Kim and when the flashbacks came and Mia was remembering precious memories, I became a blubbering mess.
She had a choice, which was the main point of this storyline. I wont tell you what the choice is because it's not hinted at in the blurb and I want you to go through the experience the way I did: knowing next to nothing. I could not even begin to imagine having that kind of choice to make, with everything that happened I don't know if I'd have been as brave as Mia was or as clear-headed. I understand she's a fictional character but still, the writing was so perfect it felt real and all those raw emotions were real too.
So, I am 100% advising every single one of you who has not read this book to GO NOW to your local bookstore, library, amazon, bookoutlet etcetc and buy this. I know you wont regret it. I thought I wouldn't like it due to the hype surrounding this book even after almost 4 years but I adored it and it made it's way to my favourites.
OH and good news for all the fans of If I Stay: There will be a movie!!! August 22nd I believe, the trailer (which I have obsessively watched a billion and one times) is on my 'Books To Movies' tab so go ahead and take a look. Then tweet me and fangirl with me! It looks amazing, so close to the book and the song (Say Something) was just made for this story. Chloe Mortez looks the part, as do Adam and Mia's parents and I just can't wait. It doesn't look like it'll be a disappointment but I'll be sure to do a review when I've seen it.
Okay, please follow me on google+ (as a way of being able to see all my new updates on here), Twitter and Goodreads which are all linked to the side of this page and on the Home page too! I would love to have you guys give me some reccommendations and I'd also love to just chat with you all! This is a great community but I barely get to speak to many of you, so please don't hesitate to message me on any of my social networks:).
PS. Please oh please ignore this: "Will appeal to fans of Stephenie Meyers' TWILIGHT." which appears on the cover of If I Stay. In no way does this book remind me of Twilight, absolutely no way. I don't know what those people were on but consider that suggestion absolute rubbish.
PPS. Before reading this book, be prepared. You will need: boxes(and boxes and boxes) of tissues, a big tub of ice cream, some more tissues, 1 person to vent to and then maybe a couple more tubs of ice cream.
You are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment