If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mia-- a senior in high school who is mature, studious girl who plays the cello, has a tight family she loves, and a boyfriend who just may be the love of her life--has just survived a car accident, and now hovers between life and death. As she reflects on her past and contemplates her future will she choose to fight for life, or will she let go?
It's an interesting concept and, given the subject matter, of course, it pulls at your heartstrings. In the end, though, I'm not sure the book had that much to offer, given the fact that it's a life and death book and it's marketed to teens. I mean, what makes a book a "teen" book? And who decides this is a "teen" book vs. an "adult" book? Is it just because the heroine is a teen? Because I find when I read "teen" books, I expect different things from them (and maybe that's not fair, but there it is). I don't expect there to be as much literary sophistication (which this book didn't have), but I do expect to find more clean language and less sex (which, I guess, comparatively this book did have, though not as much as I wished)but more than that, I expect the book to offer something more to sink your teeth into, to inspire or make you think. I think YA fiction sometimes just skims the surface, like teens aren't ready for deep thinking, and while Forman thinks her readers can relate to a serious girl that perfers Mozart over punk rock, and is mature enough to relate to her parents, who are "cool" enough to give her and her underage boyfriend alcohol, and then let them go upstairs with a "knowing smile" then surely, the decision to live or die should involve more inner struggle than "I am so tired" and "I just have to squeeze his hand".
This is not to say it's a bad book. The characters are well-written and aren't stero-typed. It does make you think about the little things in life that make life worthwhile, and it does celebrate a good family relationship. I guess I'm just as confused as Mia whether her story is good enough to tell.

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