Reviews with content warning for Blood - If I Stay

Title: If I Stay
Author: Gayle Forman
Series: If I Stay, #1
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: April 2, 2009

T H R E E • W O R D S

Tragic • Simple • Emotive

📖 S Y N O P S I S

On a snowy day, Mia and her family set out to spend the day with family and friends. What ensues is a fatal car accident, which kills her family. As Mia is rushed to the hospital, between life and death, the past and the present collide. Mia is faced with the decision of being with her family and dying, or living with the heartbreak of losing her family. A story of memory and loving, and of living and dying.

💭 T H O U G H T S

If I Stay tackles a heartbreaking matter in a poignant and respectable way. Alternating between timelines, what unfolds is an easy read that is extremely thought provoking. The pacing and writing were decent. What impressed me the most was how the author created a huge cast of characters with ease, and without creating a chaotic reading experience.

Forman has weaved both sadness and hope into the plot. Overall, this was a solid YA read that filled me with emotion. The ending was quite abrupt, which makes sense given there's a sequel.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• YA readers

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard."

Content Warnings

martianman's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

One thing I enjoyed about this book was how natural the dialogue felt. It really helped me get invested into the relationships in the story, particularly the familial ones. At times, the “punk rock” aspect felt a bit too tropey for me, and I think they reiterated the classical vs rock musician thing an unnecessary amount. Overall, it was an exciting read, and I loved the way the book was sectioned

Spoiler

by alternating between Mia’s current experiences in the hospital and her flashbacks of what life was like before the accident.

The lack of traditional chapters really tied in the idea that these events are happening within the course of one day.

Content Warnings

bimwittt's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

lauren_e_d's review

Go to review page

emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This book was… interesting. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, and honestly, I was expecting a little more. It was sad and emotional, but slightly predictable. The time jumps and memories confused me. There wasn’t always a clear signal to say “we’re switching back to the past”. I personally felt that Mia’s character was a little basic, although it was an interesting perspective to have on death.

Spoiler

I do think I would have enjoyed this book more had I not known there was a sequel (something I just found out before starting to read it) because it would have left a lot more mystery and intrigue to the ending, while knowing there’s a sequel basically gives away the end.

Overall, good book and emotional but the characters were slightly underdeveloped and the plot was slightly predictable.

Content Warnings

hardrockjoey's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0

I adore how the characters and their relationships are built through memories and current events in the plot.

Content Warnings

More...