Gayle Forman: If I Stay (Paperback, 2019, Penguin Books)
Paperback, 288 pages
Published May 14, 2019 by Penguin Books.
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
The kind of book I ended up reading in one sitting, what a fascinating story!
I've not seen the movie "If I Stay" and don't intend to; however, I love this book as a counter-point to the infamous [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|29844228|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496655158s/29844228.jpg|2588213]. Both books are about life and death, but where one (at least in film form) justifies suicide, this one grapples hopefully with the inverse question of whether continuing life is worth the pain and struggle. Like others of my favorites, this is a fairly cerebral approach to story-telling that uses an out-of-body vantage point and non-linear memory-hopping to good effect. It has language, and might be argued to pander to the juvenile with the weight it puts on a single romantic relationship. However, in the book I didn't find that relationship to be overburdened. The climactic decision-making near the end was handled a little more trivially than I felt did the rest of the book justice, but overall it was definitely …
I've not seen the movie "If I Stay" and don't intend to; however, I love this book as a counter-point to the infamous [b:Thirteen Reasons Why|29844228|Thirteen Reasons Why|Jay Asher|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1496655158s/29844228.jpg|2588213]. Both books are about life and death, but where one (at least in film form) justifies suicide, this one grapples hopefully with the inverse question of whether continuing life is worth the pain and struggle. Like others of my favorites, this is a fairly cerebral approach to story-telling that uses an out-of-body vantage point and non-linear memory-hopping to good effect. It has language, and might be argued to pander to the juvenile with the weight it puts on a single romantic relationship. However, in the book I didn't find that relationship to be overburdened. The climactic decision-making near the end was handled a little more trivially than I felt did the rest of the book justice, but overall it was definitely a positive reading experience.
Disclaimer: I listened to this on audio. I HATED the narrator. This book may be tolerable if it is read rather than listened to, but I will never know.
I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to revise my star rating down to 1 1/2. There wasn't anything good here. The characters were ridiculous. Her parents were the most unbelievable, hipster, non-parents in the entire world. My disdain for her father was only topped by my utter hatred for her mother. Really, parents? Your "too cool for school" lifestyle made me want to punch you. Lucky for all of us that you are fictional characters. Father is a former rocker who didn't learn to drive until he was forced to "grow up" and be a real adult. Mother is a poser who rattles off indy bands to prove her edginess and insists on a midwife/birthing …
Disclaimer: I listened to this on audio. I HATED the narrator. This book may be tolerable if it is read rather than listened to, but I will never know.
I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to revise my star rating down to 1 1/2. There wasn't anything good here. The characters were ridiculous. Her parents were the most unbelievable, hipster, non-parents in the entire world. My disdain for her father was only topped by my utter hatred for her mother. Really, parents? Your "too cool for school" lifestyle made me want to punch you. Lucky for all of us that you are fictional characters. Father is a former rocker who didn't learn to drive until he was forced to "grow up" and be a real adult. Mother is a poser who rattles off indy bands to prove her edginess and insists on a midwife/birthing center for her punk-rock fueled childbirth. They are so cool that they let her rock star boyfriend sleep over. Seriously? And Mia is so full of insecurities and self-doubt that I could barely listen to her inner dialogue.
This book was terrible, and I won't see the movie.
