The Book Addict Reviews: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Genre: Young Adult, New Experiences, Family Life, Social Issues
Order Online: Amazon.com
Author Info:  Website | Goodreads
Rating: 3 stars
Borrowed book from library. 

In A Nutshell:
It is almost ironic that I had read this book and was writing this review when an event happened that changed my life forever (if you don't know what I am referring to please see Taking A Break).  After everything has happened, I re-read what I wrote and the magnitude of this story hit me even more.  As someone who has lost someone important in the blink of an eye, I can say this book has an impact beyond what I initially thought and expected.

Review:
It has often been said that your life can change in the blink of an eye.  Mia can tell you that better than anyone.  One moment she was in the car with her family listening to a classical song and finguring  the next moment she is looking at the crumpled remains of the family car and watching the emergency rescue people trying to save her life. 

Wait--how can she be watching that?  Mia struggles with seeing everything going on around her, seeing everything that is happening to her, but not quite understanding what it all means.  Is she alive?  Is she dead?  Does she want to continue to fight to live?  Does she want to join her family?  But the biggest question she has is how to make what she decides to do actually happen?

I have seen this idea of the consciousness leaving the body in movies such as Ghost Dad and Ghost, but I feel that Gayle Forman has added something different to the mix.  In both Ghost Dad and Ghost, the ghosts desperately want to get back to their bodies or their lives.  Mia struggles with what she wants to do.  Either way, she knows her life has changed.  So which way will she choose? 

Recommendations:
In some ways, the ending disappointed me a little.  There was no closure, but I just learned that there is more to Mia's story: