Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Here is my review for If I Stay by Gayle Forman.

Synopsis:
"Gorgeous boyfriend who was madly in love with you?
Quirky hip parents who totally got you?
A musical talent that could take you anywhere?
What if your biggest problem in life was choosing which path to take?
Follow your first love--music-- to New York City?
Or stay with your boyfriend, friends, and family?


What if one day, you went out for a drive...

And in an instant everything changed?

What if suddenly all the other choices were gone?

Except for one--the only one that truly mattered?

What would you do?

A sophisticated, layered, and heart achingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands." (from Goodreads.com) 

Book Info:

• I give this book a 9/10 
• 272 Pages 
• Published 2009 by Penguin  

The Good: 
If I Stay is an amazing, one of a kind, moving book. This book is extremely sad and brought tears to my eyes, which is good! If a book can make me cry then the book gets some extra points. I loved the way Forman's writing just flowed and I had to keep flipping the pages to find out more. You want the best for Mia and while you read you will be asking yourself the question of if she should stay or go. This was a book I did not want to put down,which is refreshing because I haven't read a book like that in a while. The sequel Where She Went is coming out in 2011 and I will be getting my hands on that as soon as possible. This was a book that will leave you thinking long after you've finished the last page.

The Bad:
One thing about this book is I felt some of the characters were a little undeveloped, especially her boyfriend Adam. Adam was such a big part of Mia's life but I did not feel like I even knew anything about him, except that he was in a band. I'm hoping we will get to know Adam better in Where She Went. I also feel like some of the terminology was out dated and she didn't really capture teenagers in this era the way I had hoped for. 


Overall: 
Overall, the bad things about this novel are so minor compared to the good. Go read this book, you will be glad you did.