If I Stay Paperback – April 6, 2010 Author: Visit Amazon’s Gayle Forman Page | ISBN:
014241543X If I Stay – April 6, 2010
Download
Save 25 through December 3rd Get Acrobat XI Pro software Work anywhere with the complete PDF solution Create and send forms online Learn MoreJan 12 2009 183 nbspJessica said Thanks so much for the list of great healthy crockpot recipes I am on a weight loss journey and I can always use new recipes No more missed important software updates UpdateStar 10 lets you stay up to date and secure with the software on your computer
- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Speak; Reprint edition (April 6, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 014241543X
- ISBN-13: 978-0142415436
- Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > Romance > Paranormal
- #7 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction
- #9 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary
After reading all the reviews here, I was expecting to read a beautiful, masterful, moving story. Instead, what I got was the distinct feeling that I was reading a Young Adult book geared towards the 12-16 year old female demographic. Warning: This may be the harshest review I’ve ever written about anything. Ever. So don’t read on if you’ve decided you’re going to feel personally offended by an opposing viewpoint.I understand that this tale is being told through the voice of a teen girl, hence the naive and youthful tone, but I really feel it could’ve been done in a more lyrical, artistic way. I was expecting something along the lines of Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones” — which was literary art. It was transcendent. However, listening to Mia’s “thoughts” was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Listening to a pretentious 17-year-old girl who lacks any real depth because her life has been SO charmed really grated on my nerves. I didn’t care about any of the characters — none were particularly likable because they were all so cliche’d and caricature-ish. I was irritated to the point of exhaustion by constantly hearing how awesomely fun and rad and liberal the parents were (it’s like, WE GET IT ALREADY! The parents were ex-rock star hipsters! How surprising and unexpected!). And Mia’s boyfriend is a handsome and famous rock star himself who — gasp! — surprises everyone by actually falling in love with her even though she’s just a “nerdy” Juilliard-bound classical musician! Wow, what a hip dichotomy! Mia’s backstory reads like a condescending junior-high romance novel, or a very bad Nickleodeon sitcom.
I have a feeling that If I Stay may be one of those books that sells millions of copies, wins numerous awards, and inspires people to pick up a pen and tell a story of their own.
It starts off with a lighthearted chapter that showcases the close relationship Mia shares with her Mum, Dad and younger brother Teddy. I instantly fell in love with these four characters, as they reminded me very much of my own parents and sister: happy, fun, and more like friends than family. However, by page eleven, the tone of the book shifts, and everything has changed.
Mia is left staring at her broken body, while her family lie sprawled around her. She finds herself in a kind of limbo, a limbo where she can see, hear and touch, but can’t feel anything. From here she must make the difficult decision of staying on Earth and living, or dying and hopefully seeing her family again. This has to be one of the most difficult decisions anyone could ever be faced with, and I applaud Gayle Forman for writing about it so eloquently and vividly.
I loved how the past was interweaved with the present, as this allowed us to get a glimpse into Mia’s life before the accident, and to really get to know her. Mia is a strong and appealing character, and one which I think a lot of people will identify with. I also have to mention Adam, Mia’s boyfriend. He’s caring, thoughtful and the kind of person that we should all get to meet at some point or another. In fact, I think he might be my favourite part of the whole book.
‘Just Listen’, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
The above sentence is one of my favourites. To imagine that anyone’s voice could sound like shrapnel has to be one of the most effective ways to describe someone dealing with unimaginable grief and fear.
If I Stay – April 6, 2010
Download
Please Wait…