Module 7: If I Stay

Summary: Mia, a 17 year old cellist, is involved in a horrific car accident that kills the rest of her family. While Mia's body lies comatose in the ICU, her spirit must reflect on her life and her future and decide whether she should stay or move on. She deals with her insecurities, including whether to travel to Julliard or stay with her boyfriend in Oregon, her quality of life without her family, and what her leaving will mean to her grandparents and friends.

Forman, G. (2010). If i stay. New York, NY: Puffin.

My Impressions: This book hooked me. I was an orchestral musician in high school, although not as talented as Mia, and I was able to identify with her passion for music. The car crash scene was perfectly surreal and hyper-real simultaneously, and the rest of the book kept me eager to find out Mia's decision. The book is well-written, the characters real, and the debate in Mia's mind excruciating. Should she continue her life of such promise and be with her boyfriend, her best friend, her grandparents? Or should she succumb, forfeiting all the grief she'd feel knowing she was the sole survivor of her family's tragic car crash? Forman keeps you guessing until the end, and she makes a good case for both sides.

Reviews:

"Forman creates a cast of captivating characters and pulls readers into a compelling story that will cause them to laugh, cry, and question the boundaries of family and love....Readers will find themselves engrossed in Mia's struggles and will race to the satisfying yet realistic conclusion. Teens will identify with Mia's honest discussion of her own insecurities and doubts. Both brutal and beautiful, this thought-provoking story will stay with readers long after the last page is turned." - School Library Journal


Rashid, L. (May 1, 2009). Grades 5 & up: If I stay. School Library Journal. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://www.libraryjournal.com/slj/printissuecurrentissue/857319-427/grades_5_amp_up.html.csp.


"Intensely moving, the novel will force readers to take stock of their lives and the people and things that make them worth living. Ages 14–up." - Publisher's Weekly.

If I stay. (March 2, 2009). Publisher's Weekly. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-525-42103-0.

Uses in the Library: Teen read week. It also might be useful as a conversation starter before prom, homecoming, etc., to discourage drinking and driving. Even though Mia's dad isn't at fault, the agonizing decisions Mia must make as she hangs between life and death might make some kids stop and think twice about driving drunk.