Read: June 3-8th, 2014
Publisher: Speak
Series: If I Stay #1
Format: Paperback, 262 pages
Source: Bought
Description from GoodReads:
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.
Review:
Contains Spoilers:
Now I'm leaving. Any moment I'll be gone.
I had picked up If I Stay maybe 3 years ago, and returned it to the library because I couldn't get into it. For the longest time It was on my "gave up" shelf, but this year I had finally gotten into Contemporary and Realistic Fiction so I decided to give it another chance. I'm not going to lie, the movie trailer also had a big impact on deciding to reread it as well.
Life is short, time flies and days go by before we even realize it. Because it's so short, we take things for granted. What happened to Mia, is what every family dreads on happening. In tough situations like those that we forget everything we have and just hope for the worst to be over. Throughout the book Mia recollects on what has happened in her life. Most of it, the happy times. But along with the tough situation and forgetting what we have, she had chosen to focus on the negative in the situation. Her parents, and brother are gone, with two of the biggest parts of her life gone why should she continue to live? What's left to live for? That's it though, she still has so much to live for. It's not until Mia's best friend says "You still have a family." that you truly understand what you still have that's important in your life. If my parents and siblings were to die today, I would still be able to go on. I would still have my friends, my family, everyone that loves me would still be there. I wouldn't have to be alone. Which is exactly what Mia still has. She could still make the most out of what life still has to offer.
Gayle has you pulled into many different directions with this book, from happy memories of a past life to the seriousness of real life. It'll have you remembering all the good and the bad in your life as well as questioning where your life will lead you for the future. I am truly happy to have given this book another chance, and I look forward to seeing the movie in August 2014. Maybe I'll even read it's sequel Where She Went along the way.
Rating:
Favourite Quote:
" I realize that now that dying is easy. Living is hard." ~ Mia
Recommend to People Who Enjoy:
Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Death, Music
I loved this book...however, I was thoroughly disappointed by Where She Went. :(
ReplyDeleteI've just gotten Where She Went from the Library, I'm still not quite sure if I'm going to read it yet.
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