Today could have been a really bad day.
First I am still ill, coughing and sneezing permanently.
Second I have an accounting exam in the morning.
Third I chose a depressing book to read. I picked it up because I saw the movie trailer and in general I far prefer to read the book than watch a toned down version on the big screen.
I am totally wrong. Yes I am still ill. Yes I still have my accounting exam (promise to myself: last time of my life I will ever have an accounting exam). But my book pick is actually really good.
If I stay is the kind of novel that grows into you. You begin it slowly, a little distant, half wondering why you are reading this. But as you turn the pages, the story becomes more gripping and heartwarming.
Mia is a seventeen year old shy cello-player. She lives in Oregon with her family, raised with love by her father, a former rock musician, and her mother, a punk groupie. On a February morning she loses everything in a car accident that lets her half dead. While she is in the coma, she is given a choice: live or let go.
Gayle Forman's accomplished writing allows the plot to progress without becoming melodramatic. The book is sad, but also wonderfully beautiful as Mia remembers her childhood, her love of classical music and her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam. The construction, alternating flashbacks and her situation in the hospital, is skillfully arranged.
You found yourself thinking about your own life, and the kind of memories you would take with you if you faced the same situation. Mia's remembrances weave a formidable picture of love, affection and friendship, that allows the reader to close the book with an emotional smile.
The sequel Where she went has been published in 2011.
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Penguin
First I am still ill, coughing and sneezing permanently.
Second I have an accounting exam in the morning.
Third I chose a depressing book to read. I picked it up because I saw the movie trailer and in general I far prefer to read the book than watch a toned down version on the big screen.
I am totally wrong. Yes I am still ill. Yes I still have my accounting exam (promise to myself: last time of my life I will ever have an accounting exam). But my book pick is actually really good.
If I stay is the kind of novel that grows into you. You begin it slowly, a little distant, half wondering why you are reading this. But as you turn the pages, the story becomes more gripping and heartwarming.
Mia is a seventeen year old shy cello-player. She lives in Oregon with her family, raised with love by her father, a former rock musician, and her mother, a punk groupie. On a February morning she loses everything in a car accident that lets her half dead. While she is in the coma, she is given a choice: live or let go.
Gayle Forman's accomplished writing allows the plot to progress without becoming melodramatic. The book is sad, but also wonderfully beautiful as Mia remembers her childhood, her love of classical music and her relationship with her boyfriend, Adam. The construction, alternating flashbacks and her situation in the hospital, is skillfully arranged.
You found yourself thinking about your own life, and the kind of memories you would take with you if you faced the same situation. Mia's remembrances weave a formidable picture of love, affection and friendship, that allows the reader to close the book with an emotional smile.
The sequel Where she went has been published in 2011.
Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Penguin