Review

If I Stay

'If I Stay' tells an intriguing story of pain, sorrow, love, transcendence into adulthood, and choices.

Joshua Ehiosun

Article written by Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

If I Stay tells the story of someone whose privilege of choice is taken away from her. What happens when there are only two sides of a coin and not choosing a side automatically makes your choice the tail choice? This question is what forms the antagonism of the storyline of ‘If I Stay.’ In the book, Mia had to make just one choice, and she had to choose only one option, to stay or leave.

Pain

One thing I found to be intriguing from ‘If I Stay’ is that everyone’s pain seemed more personal than expected. Mia felt pain because her world tumbled with the demise of her parents and brother. The pain Mia felt was more for herself as she felt betrayed by the world.


History

Something that intrigued me from ‘If I Stay’ was the extent of how detailed Mia’s history was. Throughout the novel, Mia thought about her past and how her relationships with everyone around her transcended. Though she felt out of place, the more Mia thought about her past, the more she discovered that her life had history.


Love

Though pain is the main element in ‘If I Stay,’ love is also an even greater entity throughout the story. Mia soon realized that though her life was never going to remain the same after her family’s demise there were still people who loved her. She realized that there were people who still loved her and wanted her to stay.

If I Stay As a Non-Fictional Story

Though elements like Mia’s out-of-body draw a line on making ‘If I Stay’ a fictional novel, the book still maintained a high degree of authenticity and realism. From the refined storyline, which seems like it was told from the life of an actual person, ‘If I Stay’ comes out as a chronicle rather than a story, and the characters in the novel are more humane.

Another thing I found intriguing about ‘If I Stay’ being a non-fictional piece of literature is its storyline. Gayle Forman‘s adoption of an alternating intertwined story where Mia reminisced about her past made the book resonate with the reader because it showed how Mia felt about her past, present, and future.

If I Stay Review: Gorman's Emotional Masterpiece
  • Story
  • Characters
  • Setting
  • Writing Style
  • Dialogue
  • Conclusion
  • Lasting Effect on Reader
3.9

If I Stay Review

‘If I Stay’ is a book that follows the story of 17-year-old Mia Hall who has an out-of-body experience after an accident leaves her entire family dead and her in critical condition. Mia is then faced with a dilemma of having to make a choice between staying or leaving.

Pros

  • Excellent story
  • Fluid dialogues
  • Great setting

Cons

  • No in-depth description of characters
  • Full of clichés

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Joshua Ehiosun

About Joshua Ehiosun

C2 certified writer.

Joshua is an undying lover of literary works. With a keen sense of humor and passion for coining vague ideas into state-of-the-art worded content, he ensures he puts everything he's got into making his work stand out. With his expertise in writing, Joshua works to scrutinize pieces of literature.

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