If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Amy       
Lynnie    

young adult

In If I Stay by Gayle Forman, Mia and her family are in a tragic accident at the beginning of the novel.  The rest of the novel is Mia's backstory and her inner debate about whether or not to "stay".

Amy's Review

This was an interesting premise but the novel fell flat for me. The events that took place in real time were the most engaging while the flashbacks were mostly ho-hum—pretty much normal teenage stuff and minimal drama.  There was no mystery about the “big decision” Mia would make—of course she’ll stay because what sort of a message would the book deliver otherwise?  So, I’m a little confused about the acclaim for this one.  I suppose its target audience is teenagers and that the story is probably better appreciated by that demographic.  The tragedy of Mia’s situation and her seemingly idyllic life before the accident are probably more wondrous to someone younger than I am. 

The audio book narrator, Kirsten Potter, is a good voice actor but she sounds too old to be 17 year old Mia.  She’s not the right narrator for this novel. Therefore, I have to give her a B which isn’t her fault for being poorly cast. I’m sure I’d have given her an A for a more appropriate novel.

Lynnie's Review

Obviously, I'm heartless. 

This book just didn't inspire the strong emotional reaction from me that it did in the people who recommended I read it (or its many fans). I thought, actually, that it was sort of cliche--the actual car wreck you can't turn away from. I didn't even find the characters interesting most of the time and never felt invested in any of them. Sorry.