Book Review of If I Stay
                                                          
 
         "Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you."  Did you ever have to make a life changing choice? Seventeen year old Mia from award winning novel If I Stay by Gayle Forman most certainly did. This book was brilliantly written and intensely moving. It will make readers appreciate their lives and the people and things that make them worth living. If I Stay explores the concepts of family, love, and romance. This book is definitely well worth reading.  
        Mia Hall is a cellist that has everything a teenage girl can ever ask for- a supportive family, a loving boyfriend (Adam), and an amazing best friend (Kim). She has so many career opportunities ahead of her and practically a guaranteed acceptance into the prestigious music school in New York, Julliard. Her life is pretty much much ideal, until the devastating accident.
          "Isn't it amazing how life is one thing and then, in an instant, it becomes something else?" It is amazing. While Mia and her family were taking a drive on a snowy day to her grandma's house, they got into a tragic accident. In a single moment, everything changed and Mia's perfect life turned into a terrible nightmare.  Her parents died and Mia and her little brother were fighting for their lives. Mia fell into a coma and had an out of body experience, where she could hear and see everything that was happening in the ICU. She realized that she will eventually have to make the most critical decision of her entire life- wake up to live a life more difficult than she ever could have imagined, or slip away and die.
          Written by New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman, heart achingly beautiful If I Stay, will leave a continuous stream of tears running down readers' eyes. It will make teens ponder deeply about their lives and teach them to be grateful and appreciative of family and health. This book is a roller coaster of emotions- agonizing and eye opening at the same time. Alternating between past and present narratives, Gayle Foman builds Mia's life piece by piece. The tangibly real characters and the fascinating plot will make readers turn the pages rapidly. As stated in Kirkus Reviews, "Forman excels at inserting tiny but powerful details throughout, including the realistic sounds, smells, and vocabulary of a hospital, which will draw readers into this masterful text and undoubtedly tug at the toughest of heart strings."
           Overall, this book was spellbinding. Every chapter left readers wanting to read more, because of Forman's accurate portrayal of the voice of a seventeen year old girl.  Original, captivating, and well-written, If I Stay will appeal to teens all around the globe and capture their concern for Mia. Will she choose to live or die? Tragic ending or happy ending? Read If I Stay to find out.