The book “If I Stay” was written by Gayle Forman. It is a tragic story of a girl named Mia Hall who loses her entire family in a car crash. She had two very loving parents and a little brother named Teddy. Her mom, Kat, and her dad, Denny, were high school sweethearts and had Mia at a young age. They were in a punk rock band when Mia was born, and up until Teddy was born, they still played occasionally. After he was born they decided they needed to be more responsible and got “grown-up” jobs to provide for their kids.

Forman beautifully crafts her story to jump between perspectives. It bounces back and forth from the present to Mia’s past memories which help explain Mia’s backstory to the reader. Despite the flashbacks, the book flows gracefully from one section to the next without confusing the reader.

There is also a love story between Mia and Adam, a guitarist in a rock band. They are complete opposites. Mia is a classical musician who loves to play the cello. Adam is a grunge rocker. They are from entirely different worlds, however, their shared love of music creates a bond between them that lasts for a very long time.

The story takes place following the tragic events that leave Mia orphaned, in the hospital in a coma and trying to figure out how and if she wants to wake up. She will either be alone and alive, or dead. She struggles with the choice as she also discovers that she can “leave” her body in the coma and travel throughout the hospital and beyond and no one can see her.

She and her family were very close and they welcomed Adam into their family too. Adam dedicates himself to helping Mia wake up and he goes to drastic measures to see her. With the help of Mia’s best friend, he organizes a diversion to get himself into the ER to see Mia. 

The book is very emotionally challenging because it deals with heavy subjects. It is definitely a little gory and graphic as it describes what she sees and goes through. Overall, the book is very good and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes to read.