If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay is one of those books that as soon as I finished reading it I thought to myself - Damn! I wish I wrote that!

This book is centered around Mia, who is a serious classical cellist. She has everything she wants - a great family - her mom and dad were former musicians and her little brother Teddy constantly says the most adorable things. She also has a great boyfriend - Adam- who is also a musician, more emo than classical though.

One morning all of that changes though and she loses some of the most important people in her life. Now she has a choice - Do I stay..?? As she gets to decide whether to stay or go she is able to watch the reactions of those still living, hoping that she will decide to stay.

I absolutely adore the way this book is written. It goes back and forth between the present and the past. The present is time stamped and the past shows you glimpses of Mia's life, each story showing you reasons why she would stay or go.

Not only does this book talk about living & dying, but it also shows you love - family love, friend love, and romantic love. There were times as I was reading that I kept saying to myself..OMG. The story just felt all too real, and it really did make me question that when that time comes if we really do have a choice.

Another key feature that stands out in this book to me is music. All of the major characters in this book are musicians and the writer did an amazing job of sort of giving you a soundtrack for this story. She gives you the first song that Mia ever played, the songs that played at the first concert that Mia and Adam went, & also the music that she listens to as she makes her decision. I feel like the music choices help perfect this story, because it makes you feel like you really know the characters.

I have to say that although this book discuss many serious topics, there were plenty of times that I caught myself laughing aloud. The story is real, and sometimes no matter how serious a situation may be - it's just plain funny.
I won't go into more detail since I don't want to ruin the story for you. I refuse to be your movie trailer - giving you all the good stuff in 2 minutes and leaving you feeling like you already watched the movie.  ;)