“Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.” – Gayle Forman

If I Stay is set in a large family home. Mia tells the story of her life with Mum, Dad and younger brother Teddy. Mia is 16 years old, and has a love for playing the cello; she is working hard for her acceptance into the Julliard School. Mum is a fun, quirky and loving mother who encourages her children to do well. Dad is a school teacher who wears bow ties. His favourite style of music is Frank Sinatra. Teddy is that annoying brother that loves to watch SpongeBob.

One morning the family wakes up ready to go to school and work, until they hear on the radio that school has been cancelled. So the family decides to go for a drive to visit family friends and have dinner at the grandparents. On the way to the grandparents’ house, the family was in a car crash leaving both of Mia’s parents dead on the scene. Teddy, her brother is rushed to the hospital. Mia looks down to her mangled body to find out that she has a collapsed lung, ruptured spleen, internal bleeding and damage to her brain. She then is kept in hospital in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) as the doctors work hard to repair her damaged body. Family come and visit her in hospital but the one she wants to visit the most is her boyfriend. The hospital has never accepted him to come and visit her. Mia has a hard decision to decide if she wants to stay or die, due to the serious condition of her body.

I liked this book because it is a serious matter that can happen to anyone. It shows me not to take people for granted because they are always not going to be alive; your life can be changed in a matter of seconds. I recommend this story to teenagers because we don’t realise that people do so much for us and we need to thank them for that. Kaitlyn, Grade 9

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What would you do if you had to choose?

This book is an excellent read directed mainly to teenagers and young adults. The author, Gayle Forman, has chosen a popular issue in teen’s lives: choices. If you love reading all night and enjoy books you can’t put down then ‘If I Stay’ is the book for you.

The book demonstrates a massive choice for Mia, a seventeen year old, whose career and life ahead looks bright, (she is the main character who has a particular interest/talent with the cello), as she has to choose whether to stay alive or die to be with her parents. The book starts off when Mia, her parents and little brother, decided to go on a road trip to visit family as the schools have been cancelled as a result of the snow. They started the drive, thinking that music choice would be their hardest task. Then, all hell broke loose. The car started tumbling wilding out of control until it stopped. The bodies were thrown from the vehicle as a result of the accident. Mia realises here that she is different from the rest of her family, and she is on a rough adventure to discover what has happened to her. Later she learns of the tough decision that no teenager should have to make. Should she stay?

The book goes on with the decision and leaves you at the edge of your seat the entire way through. It takes you back to the past when necessary to fill in gaps and make it more interesting. This novel is incredible and I would recommend it to anyone, but as it is romantic is some parts it might appeal more to females. The book takes you on the journey of Mia and why she wants to go and why she wants to stay. The majority of the story was set in the hospital. I enjoyed this novel very much because it was a really exciting book filled with wonder, hope and thrill.  It is also a book that I can relate to as she has a tough decision to make. I give this book a 5 out of 5 star rating, as it was such a perfect experience reading the novel.

Tia, Year 9

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Have you ever been stuck with a decision, leaving you sitting on the fence? Then you can relate to this book, but the decision Mia has to make will blow your mind and leave you full of anxiety.

This book is about a typical 17-year-old girl named Mia. She has a fascinating family of four, and an interesting relationship with her boyfriend Adam, and best friend Kim. The whole story changes when the school they attended was closed because of the amount of snow that had fallen. They took advantage of the day and went to visit a couple of her mum and dad’s old musician friends. As they headed down the road they were stuck in a situation no person would want to be in. Mia’s whole world was turned upside down. She didn’t know what was happening. After the accident Mia was looking at herself from out of her own body but she wasn’t a ghost or she wasn’t dreaming, but what was she? Why were she and her brother the only ones getting rushed to the hospital? She follows her lifeless body to multiple hospitals. Mia isn’t worried about her own life but the life of her family. Flashbacks occur a great deal into the story the flashbacks are usually about when she first met this person or a fond memory they shared. Mia soon finds out that she has the choice of whether she was to stay or leave the world she was once so happy in, but the visits she has from friends and family just confuses Mia even more. She is faced with a decision she doesn’t want to make, but also knowing the state her family is in, she doesn’t know if she wants to come back. What will Mia choose?

This book was appealing to me because of the great storyline and the anxiety of not knowing what will happen next. This book was a great book to read and I highly recommend it to young teenage girls.

Niki year 9