If I Stay (If I Stay, #1) in TBR

Mar 16, 2015 Carrie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: teen, young-adult, death, music, ebook, overdrive

Yet again another book I just ate up. It affected me differently then I thought it would. Yes it is sad and tugged at my emotions but I never cried. Normally I would and it's not the book that made me not cry it's honestly my head at the momment. I'm just so tired, never slept well at all so I'm going to guess that played a major role in my lack of tears.

I love that Mia plays cello, I absolutely adore cello music. I find it beautiful and haunting, it is the perfect instrument for this story.

I ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 07, 2017 Franziska rated it really liked it

Shelves: series-finished

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 21, 2011 Ngaio rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-books, disaster-survival, fiction, disease-medical-related, art, read-in-2014

I know I’m a little late to this bandwagon, but with all the new movie GIFs crossing my dash I couldn’t help but get curious about the book that inspired so much passion in its readers. To be clear, this is a book review not a movie review.

There wasn’t much I didn’t love about this book. It was short and super sweet with a bitter twist to it. Mia is a dedicated cello player who is just waiting to hear back from Julliard. Her boyfriend’s rise to music stardom is complicating things, but that’s no I know I’m a little late to this bandwagon, but with all the new movie GIFs crossing my dash I couldn’t help but get curious about the book that inspired so much passion in its readers. To be clear, this is a book review not a movie review.

There wasn’t much I didn’t love about this book. It was short and super sweet with a bitter twist to it. Mia is a dedicated cello player who is just waiting to hear back from Julliard. Her boyfriend’s rise to music stardom is complicating things, but that’s not a crisis yet. Then a routine car ride throws her life into chaos. A crash puts her in a coma and the majority of the book is her out of body experience remembering anecdotes about her life and deciding if she wants to keep fighting for what’s left of it.

Personal thoughts?

I’m a sucker for books set in the Northwest so that was a treat. It is completely true that an inch of snow can shut down cities out here. There were a couple tears for me in this one. Not too many, but I was not unmoved (an I can be hard to move so that’s saying something).

I loved Mia. Her passion for her music was inspiring. I loved how true she was to herself. The romance is well done. It wasn’t perfect and it acknowledged how difficult things can be. Adam loves her for her and yet she doesn’t make her decisions based on his which I thought was a great message. Her relationship is far from perfect, but it suits them which is better really.

Her quirky family that does not end with her biological relations are wonderful and funny. I loved that Forman demonstrated how strong Mia is without having to come out and say it. You can really see how her family gives her that strength.

There was one character that the reader doesn’t really get to find out the details of what happened to them. On one hand I could see how that would be too much, but on the other I wanted to know. Perhaps it will be in the sequel.

And am I ever glad there’s a sequel! It ends at the perfect moment, but I still wanted so much more. I was reaching for the next one immediately after putting this down.

4.5. stars ...more

Like · see review

Jun 09, 2013 Kelly rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed-it, ya

Short, poignant and of course, very reminiscent of Fault in our Stars. Mia has a pretty great life and wonderful family, she doesn't suffer from too much of the drama-style teen angst and her parents are cooler than cool. I love the style, snippets of her remembered past that tells her story as we go through the minutia in the aftermath of a terrible accident. I am eager to read the second book, maybe I'll see the movie - bring on the kleenex! ...more

Like · see review

Jun 17, 2014 Shannon M rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books

this book only got 4 stars from me because of Adam. The ending had me almost in tears, his heartfelt speech is something every girl doesn't know she wants. ...more

Like · see review