#31--If I Stay

Bibliographic Information

If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Dutton Juvenile. (2009).

Price: $16.99 in hardcover

Pages: 201 in hardcover

Plot Summary

*Contains spoilers*

“Do I stay or do I go?” Mia asks herself as she hovers between life and death as a ghost. Although she cannot remember everything she knows that she, her parents, and her brother were involved in a horrible car accident caused by snow on the roadway. She knows that her parents are dead while her brother has been taken to a hospital different than her own. She also knows that she is currently in a coma and must somehow make the decision whether to live or die. It is a difficult decision as she sees the concern of her friends and family etched into their faces while simultaneously imagining a future devoid of her parents. Her decision is made even more difficult after she discovers that her brother is dead too leaving her the only remaining member of their family. Is the love of her grandparents, best friend, and boyfriend really enough to make her stay?

Critical Evaluation

A novel full of gentle humor and wit, If I Stay does an excellent job imagining how one teen might feel when deciding whether to leave or stay. Alternating between her past and her present, Mia reflects on the choice she must make now as well as the ones she has made in the past. With each new story she tells, readers grieve for her lost parents and brother and become more invested in her choice. Gayle Forman’s story will certainly make readers consider what they would decide if they were in Mia’s position. Certainly, there are no easy answers as living would not guarantee that Mia would fully recover from her physical and emotional injuries. Additionally, Mia’s supporters may not stay once their memory of the tragic accident fades, replaced by the everyday worries of life. Could Mia survive without their support? But leaving is not such a tidy solution either as she knows it would hurt her grandparents, her best friend, and her boyfriend. If I Stay is a masterful novel filled with thought provoking questions that will be sure to stay with readers long after they have finished the book.

Reader’s Annotation

Seventeen-year-old Mia hovers between life and death trying to decide whether to go or stay after she learns her family is dead and she is in a coma.

About the Author

Before she became an author Gayle Forman worked as a journalist, first at Seventeen magazine and then as a freelance writer. Her first young adult novel, Sisters in Sanity, was published in 2007 followed by If I Stay in 2009. If I Stay was inspired by the story of a boy who clung to life while the rest of his family died in a car accident.  Even though the boy ended up dying Gayle Forman was touched by his tenacity and would later go on to write If I Stay.

Find out more about Gayle Forman and her books here.

Genre

Supernatural fiction

Readalikes

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

·         The sequel to If I Stay

The Piper’s Son by Melina Marchetta

·         How can Thomas fix his life which became broken after his uncle died?

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

·         Caitlin struggles to deal with her grief after her best friend commits suicide.

Tags

17 yr. old, Cello, Gender roles, Judaism, Juliard, Portland,Oregon, Romance, Summer camp, Younger brother, Yoyo Ma

Awards Won/Lists On

2009—Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for YA Fiction

2009—NAIBA Book of the Year for Children’s Literature

2010—ALA/YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

2010—ALA Teens’ Top Ten

2010—Florida Teens Read Nominee

2010—Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee

2010—TAYSHAS High School Reading List

2011—Delaware Blue Hen Award

2011—South Carolina Book Award Nominee for Young Adult Book Award

2011—Pennsylvania Young Readers’ Choice Award Nominee

2012—Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee

Professional Reviews

AudioFile
Booklist
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers' Weekly
School Library Journal

Booktalk Ideas

Mia’s Decision

·         Kim—“Don’t Die” (57)

·         Gram’s desire for her to live

·         Adam—“Stay” (192-193)

·         Gramps’s Permission to Die (151-52)

Bibliotherapeutic Usefulness

This would be an excellent novel to use with someone who has lost a family member or who has a very ill friend.

Reading Level/Interest Level

Reading Level: 5^th grade

Interest Level: 9^th-12^th grade

These levels are according to AR Bookfinder

Challenge Issues

This book includes the following potentially controversial elements:

·         Atheist

·         Denial of God’s presence

·         Devil costume for Halloween

·         Discussion of virginity

·         Foreplay

·         Graphic birthing scene

·         Graphic surgery

·         Homosexual characters

·         Profanity

Librarians can point out that while this book contains heavy themes it is actually much milder than many other YA books. It also encourages the reader to think about the important things in life such as the afterlife and the importance of family and friends.

Why Was This Included?

I included this book because I am doing a presentation on ghosts. However, I also felt that it was time to revisit this novel as I had started it several years previously and put it down because it was too sad. Now that I’ve read If I Stay and thoroughly enjoyed it, I think I just wasn’t ready to read it earlier in my life.