Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I picked up this book at a Chapters in Canada (love that store) after seeing a movie trailer for the then-upcoming movie. I thought it was a beautiful idea for a book - having the choose between life or death, and I wanted to see how the story unfolded.

**This Review May Contain Spoilers**

Mia is a classical cellist-in-training with the perfect family: down-to-earth Rocker parents, two wonderful grandparents, and a little brother with a head of curly blonde hair.

Mia also has a best friend, Kim, and a boyfriend Adam who shares her love for music.

Mia is on the brink of finding out if she has been accepted into The Julliard School to study cello, her boyfriend's band has just signed a record deal, and her life is going just about perfectly.

Until one cold winter day that all changed. She, her parents, and her little brother were involved in a car accident that immediately killed both her parents, leaving her and her little brother in critical condition.

While her mangled body lay in the hospital, Mia's soul was able to leave her body and watch everything around her, including visits from her grandparents, friends, and a mob of angry Punk Rockers.

Mia has to make the choice - to either let go of everything she has ever known, her life, in order to join her parents on the Other Side, or to stay and live, go to Julliard, be with Adam.

The ending of this book had me flipping the pages so quickly, wondering what she will decide. Will she stay or will she go?!

The author did such a good job explaining what was going on in Mia's head that I didn't know how to root for her... I didn't know whether I wanted her to leave the pain and the sadness to possibly be with her parents, or to stay and fight and live but knowing that her whole family was gone.

I highly suggest this book and can't wait to see the movie.

5 stars.