Review

‘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.