BOOK REVIEW | IF I STAY (IF I STAY #1) BY GAYLE FORMAN

"And that's just it, isn't it? That's how we manage to survive the loss. Because love, it never dies, it never goes away, it never fades,
so long as you hang on to it."

- Gayle Forman (If I Stay (If I Stay #1))

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Pages: 262
Publisher:Speak
Published:
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780142415436
Rating: ★★★★☆

SYNOPSIS
On a day that started like any other, Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, admiring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. In an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the only decision she has left. It is the most important decision she'll ever make.

Simultaneously tragic and hopeful, this is a romantic, riveting, and ultimately uplifting story about memory, music, living, dying, loving.

MY REVIEW
We meet Mia, a teenager who's not your typical teenager. She's special, not in an in your face kind of way. She's a teenager, a big sister and daughter to the most punk-rock parents. Then suddenly, she's not. This story takes you away to some heartbreaking choices about love and loss and what you can handle.

I went into this book just knowing its about a girl who is going to choose to live or die. I didn't know how it ended and I'm not going to tell you either. Lets just say you will go through a roller coaster of emotions while reading this.

She's in love with Adam, this punk rock guy who just loves her... a real love, not some teenager high school affair that is full of drama and hormones. I really appreciated the way Gayle Forman wrote this romance. Because to be honest... although most high school relationships are hormonal, there are some that are real. 

I got connected to these characters in the short 262 pages. After I put this down, I immediately picked up Where She Went (If I Stay #2) because I just needed to know. I couldn't let the characters go quite yet.

I'd recommend this to any age group. I'm letting my 11 year old read it now. It's a great book for parents with teenagers, for teenagers, for people that had their first love in high school. It is a great book. A winter read for sure!

Find more about the book:
❥ GOODREADS
❥ BARNES & NOBLE
❥ BOOK DEPOSITORY
❥ AMAZON
❥ MOVIE WEBSITE
❥ GAYLE FORMAN'S TWITTER
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