Review: If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Release Date: April 6, 2010
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 272
Genre: Young Adult
Source: from Publisher

(Summary from Goodreads)

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

My Review

I had heard such great reviews prior to picking up this book that I had high expectations. Let me tell you I was not disappointed. I literally could not put this book down. I read it within 24 hours it was that good. Instantly you can’t help but fall in love with the characters in this book. Mia seemed to have it all, a loving family, a handsome boyfriend and a budding music career ahead of her. Within moments her life as she knew it was shattered. Having lost her parents and little brother Teddy in a terrible car accident, Mia throughout the book contemplates whether she should stay and live a life without her family.

The story starts off all light and happy. Mia and her family are taking advantage of the snow day and decide to drive to see some family friends and then Mia’s grandparents. Everything seems right in the world until tragic strikes. I was most shocked at how well Gayle Forman was able to describe the scene of the car accident. Describing the car as “eviscerated” and the impact like that of an “atom bomb” you couldn’t help but think how anyone could survive. What was most haunting about the scene was when Mia describes being able to still hear the sounds of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 3. still playing on the car radio. I felt like I was right there witnessing the devastating scene right alongside Mia.

I loved how Forman told the story by switching between the present and the past. As Mia’s life hangs in the balance and she has to try to make one of the most difficult choices one would ever have to make, we get to learn a little more about her family, friends and her boyfriend Adam. I fell in love with each of the characters. They were well developed throughout the story. The characters that I think I really fell in love with were surprisingly her grandparents. Mia’s grandparents are constantly by Mia’s beside keeping vigilant of her and trying to remain hopeful that Mia will survive.

 There were so many scenes in this book that pulled at my heart but none more so then the scene with Mia and her grandfather. Mia wakes up to hear her grandfather crying by her beside. Sadly, her grandfather gives her a loving kiss on her forehead and gently whispers in her ear, “It’s okay…It’s okay if you have to leave us. It’s okay if you want to stop fighting”. Bring out the tissue. I was a slobbering mess when I read this. There were so many other scenes like this throughout the book that left me sad and broke my heart and left me wondering what Mia was going to do. Was she going to give up or stay and fight?

I whole-heartedly recommend this book. It will have you hooked from the very first page to the very last word. Long after I read this story it stayed with me. How difficult would it be to make such life altering choices? If I were put in Mia’s position what would I do?

I give this book my highest rating 5 out of 5 stars.

Below is the trailer for this book. There is also talk that this book is being adapted for the big screen and that Dakota Fanning may be cast. I would so be excited to see this on the big screen. I just hope that if it is turned into a movie that it is done well.

Review: Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson
Release Date: March 20, 2007
Publisher: Viking
Pages: 250
Genre: Young Adult
Source: Purchased by me

Summary (From Goodreads):
High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background—average student, average looks, average dysfunctional family. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer doing outdoor work to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany
Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy—and Tyler’s secret crush. And that sets off a string of events and changes that have Tyler questioning his place in the school, in his family, and in the world.


My Personal thoughts

Going into this book, I had high expectations. I had previously read Anderson’s critically acclaimed novel Speak and loved the book.  Plus the reviews for this book indicated that it was a must read. I was looking forward to reading another heartbreaking story that would resonate with me long after I read the last page like Speak did. Sorry to say that personally for me, this did not happen with the novel Twisted.

Determined to make a name for himself, Tyler Miller decides to deface his high school but ends up getting caught. Forced to do mandatory community service and pay for the damages, Tyler has to work at his local high school and a landscaping company over the summer as his punishment. The trade off to doing all that manual labor was the muscles he built up. He went from being this scrawny boy to a beefed up guy who ends up catching the eye of the prettiest girl in school Bethany Milbury. Getting close to Bethany comes with many problems.  She is the daughter of his father’s boss and the sister of his sworn enemy at school, Chip Milbury. Chip and his friends’ do everything in their power to make Tyler’s life miserable but Tyler doesn’t back down and is always ready for a fight. On top of fighting with the kids at school, Tyler also fights with his dad on a daily basis. Despite all his problems the one positive thing he looks forward to is his interactions with Bethany that is until the events that took place the night they attended a party. From that night on, things spiral out of control that pushes Tyler to the edge of no return.

While the premise of this story was intriguing, to me it took too long for the story to take off. I really didn’t get into the story until the end when the party happened. The first half of the book Tyler is either daydreaming about Bethany or fighting with Chip or his dad. I kept trying to figure out where Anderson was going with this story. The constant fighting with his father and the images that Tyler conjures up of harming his father had me thinking about why he hated him so much. Tyler and his sister Hannah always seemed afraid of their father, that I wondered if he was abusive. The mother in this story was not a strong character initially as she seemed to play the role of the dutiful wife but when things got hard she sought solace in the nearest bottle of gin. It wasn’t until the end that you see her show some signs of fight in her.

Even though I felt like this book dragged on, I had to finish it to see what was going to happen. I knew there had to be some life altering event that would change Tyler’s life. To me it just took too long to get to that point and the events leading up to it were not all that interesting. While this should have been a fast paced read with Anderson’s short chapters, it took me over a week to get through it. Although I did not enjoy this book, I will not let it deter me from reading Anderson’s other books. I do believe she is a brilliant writer as I fell in love with her writing after reading Speak. I will just chalk this up to an okay read for me.

I give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Hello All,

This is my very first post. Yay!!!! I'm really excited about starting my very own book blog. I am a follower of several blogs and got inspired to start my own. I have a passion for reading and love to gush to my family and friends about the latest book that I am into. I figured what better way to reach out to everyone and spread the joy and love of books by doing my own blog. On here you will find my own personal reviews of books that I have read and each review will have a rating to give you an overall idea of how I felt about a book. I will primarily be reviewing YA books but from time to time I may do an adult novel.

Since I am essentially a newbie at this blogging thing, I'm still trying to figure out the do's and don'ts. I am pretty happy with the way my blog layout is coming along but there is still much that I want to do. I want my blog to be somewhere that you can visit to get ideas on what to read next and also be memorable so that you will keep coming back for more.

With that said, I am working on writing up my first review which will be posted very soon. I also plan to participate in a couple of reading challenges to help push me in my reading as well as partake in a couple of weekly memes hosted by other fellow bloggers. It is my hope that by participating in these activities, that I will get my blog out there and gain a nice following.

Well that's it for now. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Until next time....