If I stay

Book Cover
Average Rating
Series
If I stay volume 1
Publisher
Varies, see individual formats and editions
Publication Date
2009.
Language
English

Description

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

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Contributors
ISBN
9780525421030
9780142415436
9781101046340
9780739380857

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Also in this Series

  • If I stay (If I stay Volume 1) Cover
  • Where she went (If I stay Volume 2) Cover

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Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
These character-driven series explore relationships between teens complicated by the supernatural. Mia (If I Stay) leaves her body after an accident and must decide whether to return, while A (Every Day) wakes up in a new body each day. -- Stephen Ashley
These series have the appeal factors moving, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subjects "teenage boys" and "teenagers."
These series have the appeal factors character-driven and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and characters that are "complex characters."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the subject "teenage boys."
These series have the appeal factors character-driven and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subject "teenage boys."
These series have the appeal factors character-driven and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; the subject "bands (music)"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters" and "introspective characters."
These series have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subjects "fatal traffic accidents," "teenage boys," and "teenagers."
These series have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subject "teenage boys."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subject "rock concert tours."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; the subject "teenage boys"; and characters that are "sympathetic characters."
These series have the subjects "teenage boys" and "bands (music)."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subject "teenage boys."
These series have the appeal factors angst-filled, character-driven, and first person narratives, and they have the genre "realistic fiction"; and the subject "teenage boys."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Leaving Paradise - Elkeles, Simone
These books have the appeal factors multiple perspectives, and they have the subjects "fatal traffic accidents," "seventeen-year-old girls," and "teenage boys."
These books have the appeal factors haunting and nonlinear, and they have the theme "coping with death"; and the subjects "grief," "seventeen-year-old girls," and "grief in teenagers."
Both of these thought-provoking, emotionally intense books portray teen accident victims examining their earthly lives from an afterlife (or nearly afterlife, in If I Stay). Elsewhere adds detailed worldbuilding while If I Stay sticks to recognizable reality. -- Autumn Winters
As Liz (in Falling) and Mia (in Stay) linger between life and death, these haunting and intense novels alternate between the past and present, showing the lives of the two girls before and after devastating car accidents. -- Danielle Clark
These books have the genre "books for reluctant readers"; and the subjects "grief," "seventeen-year-old girls," and "grief in teenagers."
These books have the genres "realistic fiction" and "books for reluctant readers"; and the subjects "seventeen-year-old girls," "teenage boys," and "teenage boy-girl relations."
Teen girls struggle with overwhelming grief in these emotionally intense realistic fiction novels. Readers will identify with the teens' insecurities and doubts, revealed poignantly in the first person narratives. Flashback episodes play key roles in these character-driven stories. -- Julie Paladino
In these moving stories, dead teen girls face their own mortality and the world moving on without them as they face difficult choices. While Afterlife retells a Christmas classic, If I Stay is an original narrative. -- Abby Hargreaves
Trapped between life and death, the teen girls in these moving, lyrical stories look back on their lives and relationships. Sam (Before I Fall) tries to fix her past mistakes, while Mia (If I Stay) searches for reasons to live. -- Rebecca Honeycutt
NoveList recommends "Every day" for fans of "If I stay". Check out the first book in the series.
Teen girls left behind after terrible accidents grieve their deceased siblings in both the earthly and supernatural realms in both emotionally intense, moving, and character-driven reads. Introspective characters will encourage readers to consider their own pasts. -- Lindsey Dunn
Although If I Stay is more emotionally intense, readers who enjoy vivid characters and believable romance will fall for both of these bittersweet stories about family, grief, music, and love. -- Rebecca Honeycutt

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Gayle Forman and Virginia Euwer Wolff both write carefully crafted, moving realistic fiction for teens often involving themes of emotional upheaval. In these novels, compelling, well-developed characters drive the stories' action. -- Kelly White
Ann Brashares and Gayle Forman both write moving realistic teen fiction featuring strong female characters. Both authors' books are character-driven and deal with emotional upheaval, though Brashare's work tends to be more upbeat and less emotionally intense. -- Kelly White
While some of Terra Elan McVoy's work leans decidedly more toward chick lit, both she and Gayle Forman write emotionally intense realistic fiction for teens. These moving books also feature strong female characters who deal with emotional challenges. -- Kelly White
These authors' works have the subjects "fatal traffic accidents," "seventeen-year-old girls," and "grief in teenagers"; and include the identity "multiracial."
These authors' works have the subjects "seventeen-year-old girls," "children of divorced parents," and "seventeen-year-old boys."
These authors' works have the subjects "fatal traffic accidents," "preteen boys," and "seventeen-year-old girls."
These authors' works have the subjects "loss," "grief," and "seventeen-year-old girls."
These authors' works have the subjects "self-discovery in teenagers," "teenagers," and "grief in teenagers."
These authors' works have the appeal factors high-drama and romantic, and they have the subjects "seventeen-year-old girls," "teenage boy-girl relations," and "teenagers."

Published Reviews

Booklist Review

*Starred Review* Forman (Sisters in Sanity, 2007) provides a compelling and highly textured account of the brutal 24 hours that may be 17-year-old Mia's last. Her day starts with a drive, with her loving and moderately punk parents and her effervescent little brother, to a bookstore. A collision with another vehicle leaves Mia's parents dead. The narrative is told in a robust first-person voice, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, and out-of-body reports on her immediate surroundings as Mia is transported, in grave condition, to the hospital. The story then follows the medical efforts to save her life, extended family and friends' efforts to provide emotional care, and Mia's coming to terms with what has happened and what might still await her. Mia, a gifted cellist, finds support from her alt-rock boyfriend and a best friend whose own mother is a hysteric. Mia's recounting of this critical day is laced with insight, good humor, and wonder, allowing the reader to enter the scene as fully as Mia herself seems to have, at least for now, left her broken body. More developed and satisfying than a Lurlene McDaniel drama, Mia's story will engage readers willing to suspend their disbelief that the future can be seen in the present.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2008 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Publisher's Weekly Review

The last normal moment that Mia, a talented cellist, can remember is being in the car with her family. Then she is standing outside her body beside their mangled Buick and her parents' corpses, watching herself and her little brother being tended by paramedics. As she ponders her state ("Am I dead? I actually have to ask myself this"), Mia is whisked away to a hospital, where, her body in a coma, she reflects on the past and tries to decide whether to fight to live. Via Mia's thoughts and flashbacks, Forman (Sisters in Sanity) expertly explores the teenager's life, her passion for classical music and her strong relationships with her family, friends and boyfriend, Adam. Mia's singular perspective (which will recall Alice Sebold's adult novel, The Lovely Bones) also allows for powerful portraits of her friends and family as they cope: "Please don't die. If you die, there's going to be one of those cheesy Princess Diana memorials at school," prays Mia's friend Kim. "I know you'd hate that kind of thing." Intensely moving, the novel will force readers to take stock of their lives and the people and things that make them worth living. Ages 14-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-When you are 17 years old, you believe life is full of never-ending possibilities and promises. Mia, an exceptionally talented cellist, was no exception; she envisioned a life at Juilliard, New Years Eve on Times Square, summers and holidays with her supportive family, and a deeper relationship with Adam, her boyfriend. But one snowy morning, an ill-fated family trip to town leaves her parents and brother dead and Mia the lone survivor. She awakens from the crash to find herself in a "suspended state" of being-she has left her body, but not this side of life. In a coma, Mia must decide if she wants to fight to live. Although she feels like she is "experiencing everything through a fish bowl," it allows her to reflect on past memories and to contemplate her future. She reveals the love and commitment of family and friends connected directly or indirectly to her. Gayle Forman's novel (Dutton, 2009) alternates between Mia's past and present. Narrator Kirsten Potter is exceptional in her range of attitudes, from deep remorse to dripping sarcasm and everything in between. She offers small variations between characters, but she is Mia. Listeners can't help but revisit their own perspectives on life, rethink what is truly important, and expand their definition of family. A moving novel for young adult collections.-Cheryl Preisendorfer, Twinsburg City Schools, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Library Journal Review

The Lovely Bones meets It's a Wonderful Life. Mia has a big decision to make. One snowy day, her family is killed in a catastrophic accident, while she is thrown from the car and left in a coma. Now it's up to her. Should she stay here or move on, leaving the pain and struggle of life as an orphan? Mia's spirit hovers in the critical care unit as she sorts through her feelings about her family, her music, her boyfriend, and her best friend, Kim. Death would mean the end of hard decisions but also the end of love. Why It Is for Us: Mia's decision is not an easy one. If she moves on, she will join her loving family in whatever comes after but will miss out on life. If she stays, there's so much to enjoy, but she'll face grief and an uncertain future. This honest yet affirming story confronts the truth that all life is a struggle. Every reader who's ever wanted to avoid a painful decision will be compelled by the choice Mia must make.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Horn Book Review

Read by Kirsten Potter. (High School)A family car trip ends tragically, leaving seventeen-year-old Mia to face a critical choice. Narrator Potter conveys the raw emotion and tender memories that alternate in the comatose Mia's mind as she contemplates life as the accident's sole survivor. Matching the hour-and-minute chapter headings, Potter grounds the action in the hospital here-and-now with the tension and immediacy of her tone. Yet in the next breath, Potter's expression modulates to clearly demarcate the flashbacks to Mia's pre-accident life, her voice warming and softening to share the humor and romance of the past. As Mia confronts the choice of whether to stay with the living or join her family, Potter imbues her completely convincing first-person account with a lifetime of character development. The importance of music in prodigy Mia's life is underscored by the cello interludes that accompany each chapter transition. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

When snow cancels school, Mia and her family pile into their beat-up station wagon for a drive. Unlike most 17-year-olds, Mia is secretly enjoying hanging out with her quirky family until an oncoming driver shatters their lives, leaving the gravely injured Mia with the ultimate decision: Should she stay or go? As a spirit-like observer, Mia narrates the next 24 hours, describing how her medical team, friends, boyfriend and extended family care for her each in their own way. Woven into her real-time observations are powerful memories that organically introduce Mia's passion for classical music, her relationship with her boyfriend and her bond with her parents and brother. These memories reinforce the magnitude of Mia's decision and provide weight to both sides of her dilemma. Forman excels at inserting tiny but powerful details throughout, including the realistic sounds, smells and vocabulary of a hospital, which will draw readers into this masterful text and undoubtedly tug at even the toughest of heartstrings. (Fiction. YA) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

"*Starred Review* Forman (Sisters in Sanity, 2007) provides a compelling and highly textured account of the brutal 24 hours that may be 17-year-old Mia s last. Her day starts with a drive, with her loving and moderately punk parents and her effervescent little brother, to a bookstore. A collision with another vehicle leaves Mia s parents dead. The narrative is told in a robust first-person voice, with flashbacks, flash-forwards, and out-of-body reports on her immediate surroundings as Mia is transported, in grave condition, to the hospital. The story then follows the medical efforts to save her life, extended family and friends efforts to provide emotional care, and Mia s coming to terms with what has happened and what might still await her. Mia, a gifted cellist, finds support from her alt-rock boyfriend and a best friend whose own mother is a hysteric. Mia s recounting of this critical day is laced with insight, good humor, and wonder, allowing the reader to enter the scene as fully as Mia herself seems to have, at least for now, left her broken body. More developed and satisfying than a Lurlene McDaniel drama, Mia s story will engage readers willing to suspend their disbelief that the future can be seen in the present." Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.
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Publishers Weekly Reviews

The last normal moment that Mia, a talented cellist, can remember is being in the car with her family. Then she is standing outside her body beside their mangled Buick and her parents' corpses, watching herself and her little brother being tended by paramedics. As she ponders her state ("Am I dead? I actually have to ask myself this"), Mia is whisked away to a hospital, where, her body in a coma, she reflects on the past and tries to decide whether to fight to live. Via Mia's thoughts and flashbacks, Forman (Sisters in Sanity) expertly explores the teenager's life, her passion for classical music and her strong relationships with her family, friends and boyfriend, Adam. Mia's singular perspective (which will recall Alice Sebold's adult novel, The Lovely Bones) also allows for powerful portraits of her friends and family as they cope: "Please don't die. If you die, there's going to be one of those cheesy Princess Diana memorials at school," prays Mia's friend Kim. "I know you'd hate that kind of thing." Intensely moving, the novel will force readers to take stock of their lives and the people and things that make them worth living. Ages 14–up. (Apr.)

[Page 64]. Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.
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School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 9 Up—Forman creates a cast of captivating characters and pulls readers into a compelling story that will cause them to laugh, cry, and question the boundaries of family and love. While out on a drive with her family, 17-year-old Mia is suddenly separated from her body and forced to watch the aftermath of the accident that kills her parents and gravely injures her and her younger brother. Far from supernatural, this shift in perspective will be readily accepted by readers as Mia reminisces about significant events and people in her life while her body lies in a coma. Alternating between the past and the present, she reveals the details and complexities of her relationships with family and friends, including the unlikely romance with her punk-rock boyfriend, Adam. An accomplished musician herself, Mia is torn between pursuing her love for music at Julliard and a future with Adam in Oregon. However, she must first choose between fighting to survive and giving in to the resulting sadness and despair over all she has lost. Readers will find themselves engrossed in Mia's struggles and will race to the satisfying yet realistic conclusion. Teens will identify with Mia's honest discussion of her own insecurities and doubts. Both brutal and beautiful, this thought-provoking story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD

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