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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Eh. Maybe it rates higher as a YA novel. But I found it long, bland and melodramatic.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wish I'd taken everyone's advice and read this book sooner. It was simply amazing. It gives you a look into a young girls life and the simple choice of if she should hold on to like or let it go.
So good! It was a short book and a quick read, but the author was able to draw me in quickly. Can't wait to see the movie now.
I had high expectations for this book, but it was a total disappointment. To be honest, I was intrigued by the title and the beginning go the novel - the idea of the road trip in the snow seemed pretty decent to me. Despite it’s somewhat successful beginning, Forman still managed to make this novel very unreadable for me. “If I Stay” tells the story of a teenage girl, Mia, who got into a car accident on a road trip with her family. Mia’s parents died in the crash and her little brother and her were sent to hospital. Throughout the book, Mia’s ghost was free to move around in the hospital as her friends and family came to visit her. Stories were told about Mia and her friends and family through flashbacks of the past.
The plot was not engaging, mainly because there wasn’t much of a plot in the first place. The entire story is basically this: girl survives after car crash. The flashbacks in the book mostly seemed insignificant and forgettable. Most of the stories Mia told were unrelated to the plot and the big message which this book seeks to convey. Aside from the flashbacks, the events in the “reality” were very unrealistic: Mia’s boyfriend Adam and his friends just happen to be able to get some celebrity to stop by and help them sneak into the section of the hospital that Mia was in? And Mia’s mom and dad just happen to have a friend who can boss people around at the hospital that she was in? Forman could easily have thought of a better plan for Mia’s friends to get into the hospital, yet she went with this unrealistic approach making the episode seem like some cheesy soap opera, then again, “If I Stay” isn’t actually far from a soap opera.
Moving on to the characters. Forman’s depiction of the characters fell flat to me and they were mostly unlikeable and boring. Mia is one of the most ordinary protagonists I have ever seen in a book I swear, if I see her mention that cello of hers one more time, I’m going to puke inside my book. Mia is a Mary-Sue, she’s the perfect daughter and doesn’t have any major flaws whatsoever. The fact that she plays the cello was supposed to set her apart from the rest of the universe but it is actually very normal. Sure, her entire family like jazz and her boyfriend like rock or whatever, but the kind of music you like doesn’t define who you are. Other than the cello, there is apparently not one interesting thing about her worth mentioning. On paper, Mia just didn’t have a personality at all, there isn’t one thing about her that is memorable. I’m surprised she has any friends.
Speaking of her friends, her best friend is just plain rude. She swears and yells at her mother and doesn’t allow her to cry which is basically emotional abuse. Other than that, she also doesn’t have a personality, she is literally just the stereotypical “best friend” without any characteristic of her own. She is also extremely unlikable.
Mia’s boyfriend, Adam, was the stereotypical perfect boyfriend. Mia is THE MOST boring person ever. How they ended up together is a mystery to me. Other than that, the character himself, is flat af. Nothing about him stands out except for the fact that he likes rock. How HE became popular at school is another miracle to me.
When I was reading this book, I kept thinking that maybe the book would get better towards the end. I was mistaken. “If I Stay” remained the same old boring narrative of a girl dying and telling her irrelevant tales. The beginning chapter was almost perfect with the snow and the road trip, and a perfect day morphing into the horrific tragedy that followed. But the book could have gone into so much depth about her life after and how the incident have affected her in her adult life, how her *temporary relationship with her temporary boyfriend* worked out. But Forman’s writing was more of a fictional memoir rather than a good novel. Her writing style did not appeal to me, but it was tolerable. The content, not so much. After the finished reading the book, I felt cheated and that the book was a total waste of time. Would not recommend to a friend.
The plot was not engaging, mainly because there wasn’t much of a plot in the first place. The entire story is basically this: girl survives after car crash. The flashbacks in the book mostly seemed insignificant and forgettable. Most of the stories Mia told were unrelated to the plot and the big message which this book seeks to convey. Aside from the flashbacks, the events in the “reality” were very unrealistic: Mia’s boyfriend Adam and his friends just happen to be able to get some celebrity to stop by and help them sneak into the section of the hospital that Mia was in? And Mia’s mom and dad just happen to have a friend who can boss people around at the hospital that she was in? Forman could easily have thought of a better plan for Mia’s friends to get into the hospital, yet she went with this unrealistic approach making the episode seem like some cheesy soap opera, then again, “If I Stay” isn’t actually far from a soap opera.
Moving on to the characters. Forman’s depiction of the characters fell flat to me and they were mostly unlikeable and boring. Mia is one of the most ordinary protagonists I have ever seen in a book I swear, if I see her mention that cello of hers one more time, I’m going to puke inside my book. Mia is a Mary-Sue, she’s the perfect daughter and doesn’t have any major flaws whatsoever. The fact that she plays the cello was supposed to set her apart from the rest of the universe but it is actually very normal. Sure, her entire family like jazz and her boyfriend like rock or whatever, but the kind of music you like doesn’t define who you are. Other than the cello, there is apparently not one interesting thing about her worth mentioning. On paper, Mia just didn’t have a personality at all, there isn’t one thing about her that is memorable. I’m surprised she has any friends.
Speaking of her friends, her best friend is just plain rude. She swears and yells at her mother and doesn’t allow her to cry which is basically emotional abuse. Other than that, she also doesn’t have a personality, she is literally just the stereotypical “best friend” without any characteristic of her own. She is also extremely unlikable.
Mia’s boyfriend, Adam, was the stereotypical perfect boyfriend. Mia is THE MOST boring person ever. How they ended up together is a mystery to me. Other than that, the character himself, is flat af. Nothing about him stands out except for the fact that he likes rock. How HE became popular at school is another miracle to me.
When I was reading this book, I kept thinking that maybe the book would get better towards the end. I was mistaken. “If I Stay” remained the same old boring narrative of a girl dying and telling her irrelevant tales. The beginning chapter was almost perfect with the snow and the road trip, and a perfect day morphing into the horrific tragedy that followed. But the book could have gone into so much depth about her life after and how the incident have affected her in her adult life, how her *temporary relationship with her temporary boyfriend* worked out. But Forman’s writing was more of a fictional memoir rather than a good novel. Her writing style did not appeal to me, but it was tolerable. The content, not so much. After the finished reading the book, I felt cheated and that the book was a total waste of time. Would not recommend to a friend.
If I Stay *review*
4 stars!!! I liked this book, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I felt like I didn't connect to it in the beginning.
4 stars!!! I liked this book, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I felt like I didn't connect to it in the beginning.
Túto knihu nečítam prvý krát. Tuším že ju čítam už tretí krát
where she went was a gift from my mom who didnt know if i stay came before it. so i secretly bought it because i cant stand reading incomplete stuff.
i really wanted to read it because i watched the movie, it was really fast pased on my opinion unlike the book which focuses more about feelings, but of course i understand it isnt easy to portray feelings on screen and they changed it.
anyways it wasnt as touching as i imagined it to be but im still eager to read the next one.
p.s: im on my phone and this causes me to forget most of what i was planning to write here
i really wanted to read it because i watched the movie, it was really fast pased on my opinion unlike the book which focuses more about feelings, but of course i understand it isnt easy to portray feelings on screen and they changed it.
anyways it wasnt as touching as i imagined it to be but im still eager to read the next one.
p.s: im on my phone and this causes me to forget most of what i was planning to write here
reseña completa: http://lasestrellascaen.blogspot.com.ar/2014/05/resena-de-if-i-stay-si-decido-quedarme.html
¿Cómo expresarlo con palabras después del shock que me dejó este libro?
Una palabra.
Perfecto.
Lo comencé a leer cuando me enteré de que salía el trailer. Sinceramente, odio ver trailers sin leer el libro, pero cuando llegué a la mitad no aguanté y lo vi. Ahora que lo he terminado, confío en que es una película fiel a los hechos.
Mia se despertó una mañana como cualquier otra. Desayunó con su familia, festejó que no había clases por la nevada y planeó una salida familiar para aquel día.
Pero nadie sabía que les esperaba.
El libro se divide en dos partes en sí: la historia en el presente, y la historia en el pasado. La del presente es la del "espíritu" de Mia viendo las cosas pasar frente a ella. Ve a sus familiares, a su novio Adam y a su mejor amiga Kim verla abandonar. En todas las partes del presente se presenta a una Mia decidiendo si vivir o morir.
Eso fue lo que me gustó de este libro.
Vivir o morir.
Five Stars ♥
¿Cómo expresarlo con palabras después del shock que me dejó este libro?
Una palabra.
Perfecto.
Lo comencé a leer cuando me enteré de que salía el trailer. Sinceramente, odio ver trailers sin leer el libro, pero cuando llegué a la mitad no aguanté y lo vi. Ahora que lo he terminado, confío en que es una película fiel a los hechos.
Mia se despertó una mañana como cualquier otra. Desayunó con su familia, festejó que no había clases por la nevada y planeó una salida familiar para aquel día.
Pero nadie sabía que les esperaba.
El libro se divide en dos partes en sí: la historia en el presente, y la historia en el pasado. La del presente es la del "espíritu" de Mia viendo las cosas pasar frente a ella. Ve a sus familiares, a su novio Adam y a su mejor amiga Kim verla abandonar. En todas las partes del presente se presenta a una Mia decidiendo si vivir o morir.
Eso fue lo que me gustó de este libro.
Vivir o morir.
Spoiler
ella eligió vivir, aunque casi no tuviera razones para hacerloFive Stars ♥