“I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.” ― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

What would you do if you had to make the hardest decision of your life? Seventeen-year-old Mia Hall from Gayle Forman’s book If I Stay, had to make that decision. It all began with Mia living a great life with her friends, family and boyfriend Adam. Mia would never have thought that her life would have come this choice.

Mia narrates the story. Throughout the entire book, she explains how she and her family live. Her father had once played in a band but is now a teacher and her mother was a groupie but was now a travel agent.

When Kat and Denny (her parents) first fell pregnant with Mia they were expecting her to be like them, to share their passion for music: punk rock. But as Mia grew older she grew to love the cello. So her parents hired a teacher to teach her how to play, seeing how passionate she was.

As she grew up her love for the cello did as well. Her family were happy, her friends were happy, she and her boyfriend were happy, until one day it all came crashing down in a freak accident.

Everything Mia had once loved and cared for had just disappeared. Not only was Mia left an orphan but also was induced into a dreadful coma. This is where she experienced flash backs of all the wonderful moments she and her family had together. Mia was able to view everything that was happening around her, but was unable to participate. Mia could not feel anything, not even the pain her own body was going through. She knew if she were to continue living her life, she would awaken without her parents and brother; but if she were to leave, she would be with them. On the other hand, if Mia were to stay, she would still have her Grandparents, Aunties, Uncles and friends around her.

If YOU had the choice, would YOU stay?

This book was a beautiful story to read and the category, I believe, would fall under ‘heart filled’. I recommend this book to girls between the ages of 13-25 who also enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and or The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.

I would rate this book If I Stay 4 out of 5 stars because the ending could have been a little more exciting.

Alexia, Year 9

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“What if you got the choice to stay or to go?”

Gayle Forman’s ‘If I Stay’ explores the life of Mia, a 17-year-old talented cello player, the daughter of a travel agent and a schoolteacher. As a result of a tragic event, Mia is left without her parents and is placed into an induced coma. With nobody to help her, Mia has to make the biggest decision of her life – will she stay or will she go. While in this coma, Mia’s out-of-body experiences enable her to see everything that is happening around her. Essentially, she is a spirit walking on Earth. In addition to this, Mia has flashbacks of memories and events that happened in her childhood. Eventually, coming close to death, she is triggered to either pass on to the afterlife or awaken from her coma.

‘If I Stay’ draws on many themes that are relevant to young people, including love, loss and the importance of relationships and offers useful insight into human responses to tragedy.

I enjoyed this book because it was heart-filled with emotions, love and romance. A great variety of descriptive language was used throughout the novel and the flashbacks Mia had really made the story come together.

I would rate this book a 9/10 because of the relevance of the themes and language used throughout the text. Teenagers would be the best age group to read this book as it is about love, romance, and making one choice over another. It shows that choices are difficult to make in life and that you have to make your life count because it could be over sooner than you think.

By Taylah, Year 9  

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Could you imagine having to choose whether to stay and live in a world without your beloved family or to leave altogether and leave your grandparents, boyfriend and your best friend behind?

In the novel ‘If I Stay’ by Gayle Forman there are adventures of love, heartache and loss.

The novel contains the main character, Mia, narrating on her life. She fell in love with her soul mate Adam. Their relationship was full of ups and downs as Mia was a kind-hearted cello player and Adam was a wilder band member. Mia was close with her grandpa and grandma and was always spending time with them. Her grandparents were a big part of her life and were always there for her. Mia’s parents and brother were all the punk rock type of people with her dad who was in a band, Mum who was always around concerts and music and her brother Teddy who played the drums. They all respected her with the choice of playing the cello instead of a guitar.

One-day Mia’s life was put on edge; the accident affected everyone who had known her family. This is where Mia faced the hard choice: whether to stay or to go. The story of the novel was enjoyable but the end of the book was a bit of a let down.

It is a love story that captures your attention and makes you not want to put it down. This novel shows us how precious family and friends are to everyone because you never know what could happen. I would recommend this novel to teenage girls between the ages of 13 to 18 and/or anyone who enjoys reading heart-filled novels. Overall, this novel was enjoyable to read as it captured your interest throughout the whole novel. I would rate this novel a 4 out of 5 stars.

By Abbie D, Year 9

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What would you do if you had to choose? To live or to die. To stay or to go. How would it affect you? How would it affect your friends and family? For seventeen-year old Mia, these are the questions she has to face. Now she must make the heart aching decision to stay or to go.

For Mia, surrounded by family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend, decisions seem tough. Her family all share a love and passion for music. She was working towards her acceptance to the prestigious Julliard school. Her future was full of hope. But life can change in an instant. One cold February morning on a snowy road, Mia’s future changes for the worst. With her mother and father killed at the scene of the car accident and little brother injured, she now must make the decision of a lifetime, to stay with what’s left of her family and with her friends, or leave the world forever, making everything easier for herself.

I loved this book because the story is emotional and every page leaves you wanting to read more. I would recommend this book to thirteen to eighteen-year-old girls, or to anyone who like heart filled novels. I rate this book 4/5 with very high recommendation.

“Everyone has to make choices. Some might break you.”  Hannah C, Year 9   

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  Imagine if on one ordinary day, nothing different from any other day, your life was turned upside down and it would change everything. But instead of destiny doing its job, imagine if you had a choice to decide your fate. What if you could choose if you wanted to stay or go? This book, “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman is a story about a girl named Mia, who had everything: a happy family, friends who cared for her and a beautiful boyfriend. Her life was perfect until one day her life took a horrific turn and it was changed forever. However, instead of having fate do its work she had a choice on how her ending was going to be. So the question is, will she stay? Or will she go? Will she make the right decision? And will it be a good one or a bad one?

In my opinion I really enjoyed this book since it was filled with drama and action, something perfect for teenage girls. It really showed me that we all have to make our own choices sometime in our lives and making that choice may or may not be easy. From this book I did not only get a good read but I also learned things about how life works. I recommend this story for teenage girls who enjoy dramatic and heart-filled books such as “The Fault In Our Stars” because this book is just the sort that will make you cry and take your breath away.

Tara B. Year 9