“If I stay” – Gayle Forman

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    [pull_quote_center]Sometimes you make choices in life and sometimes choices make you.[/pull_quote_center]

    This year took place the premiere of the movie “If I stay”, based on the novel of the same name by Gayle Forman.

    Usually, I don’t write about books before I read them from the first page to the last, but, in this case, I cannot help it. It comes with some tough questions that I cannot find the proper answer to, and no matter how much I want the end to be a happy one, my intuition tells me that tears will fall eventually.

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    The story is not very complicated. I would say that there have been written quite a lot of similar books. Seventeen ­year-old Mia, a talented cellist, has to choose between going to Julliard for studies, in New York, or staying in Oregon with her family and boyfriend. Aside from this tough decision, her life is beautiful. Her family supports her no matter what, her friends and boyfriend are there for her. But one snowy morning everything changes. It’s like the good must be balanced with the bad. Mia loses her parents and younger brother in a car crash, and remains suspended between our world and the one beyond. She can see her grandparents and friends suffering and hoping that she would survive the tragic accident.

    Mia finds herself in front of a new decision, but this time the decision is far from an easy one to take. If she stays, she will have to live without her parents and brother. Will she be able accept their absence? How will she live with the pain? If she leaves, she will be with her family, but she will leave behind a life full of promises and people who love her, and want her to stay alive.

    The end of the novel is not far, but I still can’t choose something for Mia. Will she be strong enough to stay? Will she join her family? Yes, the optimist in me chooses that she lives, but… how about the pain? How could everyone bear so much pain?

    if-i-stay (1)You, who have not read the book, what would you choose? What do you think Mia should do? If you find it difficult to choose yourself, I recommend you read the book. Me… well, I think I’ll leave the author to give the verdict.

    Also, the book makes me very curious about the movie. The novel is written in the first person, Mia speaking about her life in addition to what she sees and hears in the hospital. I wonder how they actually managed to turn this book into a movie…

    Enjoy your reading, and, why not, enjoy the movie!

    Andres

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    Andres is working in the publishing industry and is the co-founder of www.serialreaders.com. She believes that everything happens for a reason. She has published a book and also writes on her own blog, aliasgreen.aboutblank.ro. As a contributor for theUrbanDiva, Andres will guide you through the fabulous world of books, those books that make you dream and smile. Follow her on Facebook & Twitter

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