If I Stay: A Book Review

7/30/2019 If I Stay: A Book Review

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F

STAYB Y G A Y L E F O R M A N

A review by Vincent John L. Raymundo

Sometimesyou make

choices in lifeandsometimes

choices makeyou.


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bout the author

Gayle Forman is a multi

faceted writer. Having

experienced writing for many

different mediums such as,

Seventeen Magazine, Details,Jane, Glamour, The Nation,

Elle, and Cosmopolitan, she

has definitely gained the

experience she needs to be the

successful young adults

author that she is today.Sometime in her 30s she

decided to go on a yearlong

trip around the world, along

with her husband to places

most of us would never expect such as Tonga, Kazakhstan,

and Tanzania. When she came back, she wrote the young

adults novel Sisters in Sanity, until she finished her next book,

If I Staywhich was a monster of success having been published

in more than 30 countries around the world. (Forman, 2011)

A


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IF I STAY

FORMAN

The novel If I Staywritten by Forman follows thelife of its leading character, Mia, but in the leastway you expected. In the story, she is caught at

the stage between life and death and she

explores her world in spirit form. She reflects

back in the life that shes had, what she might

leave, and what she wants to live for. This couldbe the story of the writer as well. Gayle Forman

has fulfilled her long drive to travel around the

world, experiencing things that she has never

felt her whole life. We could see that her spirit of

being a traveller reflects in the way Mia soul-

searches through her life. Through each

experience shes had, is equally relevant in her

building the story of If I Stay.

This novel is the second novel that Gayle has

written yet it has been her most successful one

yet. Before in her days writing in magazines for

teens, most of her writing has been shadowed by

the illusion of being just one of those teen-poppy

write-ups you would normally see in magazinessuch the ones aforementioned. It could easily be

concluded that her writing If I Stay and having it

become a widely successful novel for young

adults, makes it her breaking-out literary piece

as a serious writer in the young adult genre.


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THE

ELEMENTS


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SETTING

But this is Oregon. The roads are always wet.

The story takes place in Portland, Oregon where Mia isconfined in a hospital ICU post her accident. The state of

Oregon is found in the United States of America, up in the

northeastern part of the country. The timeline of the

novel probably happened in the contemporary era,

meaning in the past fifty years and onwards because of

the presence of modern technology such as helicopters

and modern hospital equipment.

Following the flow of the story, having the characters

dwell in Portland, Oregon serves as a great factor in

setting the mood of the story. Physically observing the

landscape of Oregon, it gives me such an eerie feeling that

gives me the shivers, only judging by sight. How the story

was themed is complemented by the setting because of

the mood it gives people.

Geographically, the storys flow of events would not have

changed simply because of a different setting. But

considering the aesthetics of writing a novel of such, you

must consider the behavior of the setting in place. In this

case, Oregon has a certain mysterious gloom to it that it

rovides as a erfect settin for the stor .


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PLOT

We can follow the story in different

perspectives


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IA

EXPOSITION

She is introduced alongwith her family. As I

would think of it, they

are like those musically

inclined type of a family.

The exposition of the

depth of their characters

is revealed throughout

the story, part by part.

RISINGACTIO

N

Mia, along with her family,

head off to visit their

relatives Henry and

Willow, and their child.

The family debates which

kind of song should be

played as they continuedtheir trip, when suddenly

their car comes to a

collision with a truck and

smashes them like some

tin can. Mia is awake, but

comes to realize that she

is in the verge between

life and death.

CLIM

AX

She is awake, but she is powerless to her surroundings.

Her physical body is in a coma and she is like some spirit

watching over everyone around her. She is caught in a

dilemma, one that would definitely have an impact on

her life. She has to make a decision if she should stay alive and living with the people around her, or should

she go free with the angels and spirits above.FALLINGA

CTION

Her physical body has

become weak. She must

make a decision and fast.

Mia reminisces on her past.

All that she has gone

through, and starts to weigh

the decision of whether sheshould stay or go. She finds

herself loved by the people

around her like Adam, her

boyfriend, and Kim, her

bestfriend. Although they

are not family, theyve come

to love each other like one.

DENOUMENT

She is caught in a standstill.Adam is beside her, and

with all his conviction, tries

to have her physical body

wake up and stay alive. Mia

comes to realize that there

is still life after this. She gets

a hold with her strength and

clinches her hand to Adam.


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ias Family & FriendsM

Through Mias stories and series of flashbacks, each charater like Adam,

Kim, Grans, Gramps, Henry, and Willow are presented to the story.

After the accident had happened, they get a glimpse of each other while

patiently waiting for Mias recovery in the ICU.

Adam, being the passionate lover that he is to Mia, wants to go inside

the ICU so that he may be able to see Mia and how she is doing in the

flesh. With the help of Kim, he devises a plan to get him in there. They

got the help of Adams bandmates and a famous musician named

Brooke Vega.

With the distraction by Brooke Vega, Adam is given a split second to

sneak in the ICU. With all the commotion happening in what was once a

lifeless hospital and is now a disturbed environment, Adam is given one

chance to succeed in his plan to see Mia. He hurried moved to the ICUbut was, unfortunately, caught by a nurse on patrol. Emotions started to

pour all over the place when Adam is caught in hysteria, in dire need to

see Mia. The nurse then called to security to take action.

The nurse had understood what kind of mind Adam was in. For theothers, he might have come across looking like a fool, but the nurse

knew that was not his case. He was so madly in love with Mia that he

would do anything just to see her and talk to her. The nurse let Adam in,

as well as Kim. After a while, Adam left and did not return for quite

some time.

Adam returns to Mia. For a moment there, she thought he just left her

for no good reason. She sees his eyelids are kind of swollen, which was

because Adam left so that he could cry over everything that has

happened without showing Mia his soft side. He plugs in a song by

YoYo-Ma in Mias ear, and pleas to her that she should stay, if not for

anything else, but for their love. Not long enough, he was holding Mias

hand and it grasps his. She stayed.

EXPOSITION

RISINGACTION

CLIMAX

FALLINGACTION

DENOUMENT


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The storys main turning point is

when the family gets caught in

the accident. This is the time

when all of the characters havebeen revealed in the same

timeline, in the hospital. We could

also consider when Mia finally

makes her decision to final stay

and live, because this gives way

for the beginning of its sequel

book also by Gayle Forman.

The whole novel made great use

of the flashback technique of

writing. It would relate to

somehow the idea of soul

searching in the time when we

get caught in unfamiliar

situations, and we use this to our

advantage to look back and

revaluate our past for our futureactions.

I guess that I could probably

relate this novel to the movie The

Notebook, not because of the

complicated love story, but

because they both used

flashbacks throughout the story.

Majority of the time, readers/

watchers would find themselves

looking at flashbacks that help

build the present events of the

story.


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THE CHARACTERS

MAIN CASTThere are three main characters in the story, they are: Mia Hall,

Adam Wilde, and Kim Schein. Mia is the leading character because it

is around her story that the story revolves around. The presence of

her character brings about commotion and gathering among the

other characters of the story. The can be two discussions whether

she is a static or dynamic character. She can be a static character

because physically in the story she is not able to move and do things

on her own; but we could also say that she is a dynamic character

because she is able to bring out the different complexities in the

other characters of the story.

The next major character in the story is Adam. He takes a major role

in the story, not because he is the boyfriend of Mia, but rather he is

the greatest force in Mia that is keeping her from giving up in the

game of life. He would have to be a dynamic character because he is

able to change the environment of the story with his own actions.

As well, he is able to move the main character of the story. As said

in one part:Theres no word for what happened to you. Theres

no good side of it. But there is something to live for. And

Im not talking about me. Its just . . . I dont know.Maybe Im talking shit. I know Im in shock. I know Ihavent digested what happened to your parents, to

Teddy . . . When he says Teddy, his voice cracks and an

avalanche of tears tumbles down his face. And I think: I

love you.

The last main character is Kim, Mias bestfriend. Kim should be

classified as a main and dynamic character because she helped in

assembling the group of characters that provided Mia with the love

and support she needs when she needed it the most.

There are like twenty people in that waiting room right

now. Some of them are related to you. Some of them are

not. But were all your family.

She stops now. Leans over me so that the wisps of her

hair tickle my face. She kisses me on the forehead. You

still have a family, she whispers.


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THE CHARACTERS

MINOR CAST

The minor cast of the story included Denny, Kat, and Teddy Hall,

Grans and Gramps, and Nurse Ramirez. Mias family Denny, Kat, and

Teddy, plays only a minor role in the story because after the

accident, they no longer were able to participate in the actual

timeline of the story. They were only mentioned by Mia as she was

having flashbacks. Although, they play dynamic roles in the story as

they we a big factor in molding the character of Mia based on her

flashbacks. They provide Mia with a complex environment to move

around in.

Grans and Gramps are Mias grandparents. They stayed beside Mia as

she battled through her coma, and waited her to choose whether or

not she should stay. Both of them also played a dynamic role in the

story by being able to provide the setting of the story with emotions

to the readers. They also contribute in building the character of Mia.

Youve sure got us on a roller-coaster ride today,

Gran says lightly. Your mom always said she couldntbelieve what an easy girl you were and I remember

telling her, Just wait until she hits puberty. But you

proved me wrong. Even then you were such a breeze.Never gave us any trouble. Never the kind of girl to makemy heart race in fear. You made up for a lifetime of that

today.

The last minor character in the story is Nurse Ramirez. She is the

keeper of Mia, the whole time she was in the ICU. She was the nurse

in charge to take a look at her. She is a dynamic character because

without her consent, Adam would not have been allowed to go in the

ICU and the ending of the novel would have been different.

In fact, she just left, but not before making sure to informthe nurse whod relieved Old Grumpy that the youngman with the skinny pants and messy hair is allowed to

see me when he returns.


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ONFLICT

MAN VS MAN

The conflict between man

and man could be seen

when all the odds are

against Adam and Kim as

they try to get inside the

ICU. They are stopped by

the nurses and securitypersonnel, which

prevented them from

getting in. Not that they

were truly against each

other, but the nature of

their jobs as personnel in

the hospital prevented

them from allowing Adam

and Kim to go inside the

ICU. In the end, they were

able to convince NurseRamirez to go allow them

to go in because they were

successful in showing

them that their intention

to go in the ICU is brought

about by love, an intensely

and fiercely powerful kind

of love for Mia. Like my

first comparison, I can

relate this to the movie

The Notebook whereAllies parents stood as a

hindrance to her

relationship with Noah.

They gave him hell just to

keep her away from him.

MAN VS NATURE

This kind will be seen in

the part of story where the

policemen had

investigated on the scene

of the accident, and had

concluded that the crash

Mias family experiencedwas brought about by an

unintentional accident. As

it seems, while they were

driving, a deer had crossed

the street and as the

opposite bus was

approaching to a stop, its

tires slipped because of

the slippery road causing

them to collide. Not only

was Mia the one affectedbut also her whole family

and the family of the bus

driver. None of them held

the odds of a deer crossing

a slippery road, but it got

the best of them. Again,

relating to The Notebook,

Noah and Allie wanted to

stay together but it was

during the time of the war

that Allie needed to servefor the military as a nurse,

and that separated them

again giving their

relationship another test

of true love.

MAN VS HIMSELF

There is a conflict between

man and himself (err,

herself) in the story the

whole time Mia was

deciding whether or not

she should choose to live.

There is an internal battlewithin herself, to choose

to stay or leave because it

comes to her that if she

does stay, she would be an

orphan, while if she wont

she would be up in heaven

with the rest of her family,

no getting left behind.

Reminiscing on her past

and hearing what

everyone around her issaying, she comes to the

conclusion that with the

love everyone is offering,

she could feel the warmth

of her family with them

and so she chose to stay.

How love was able to

conquer the challenge of

life is a mystery, just like

in The Notebook, through

all the odds, Noah andAllie were still able to find

in themselves the love that

was given by the other and

how they used that love to

conquer the odds.

There are three types of conflict present in the story: Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Himself


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POOINT

F

IEW

If I stay, if I live. It is up to me

What would it be like if I stay? Whatwould it feel like to

wake up an orphan? To never smell Dad smoke a pipe? To

never stand next to Mom quietly talking as we do the

dishes? To never read Teddy another chapter of Harry

Potter? To stay without them?

The story is told using the first person point of view. It is Mia who

is telling all the stories. As the reader, we are able to enter her

world. What she thinks, sees, smells, feels, and hears. We are

easily taken into the story because of the use of this kind of point

of view. It is quite important that this novel be told in the

perspective of Mia because in the majority of the storys timeline,

besides running to and fro flashbacks, she is caught in a coma and

only her spirit is the one roaming around. It would be a totally

different story if it were told in another persons point of view.Say perhaps Adams perspective. The story would turn out to be

different because they move around in different places in

different manners. As well, the whole point of the novel would be

different. It would shift from the dilemma of If I stayfrom Mia to

Why you should stay from Adam. The novel closely resembles the

literary piece we have discussed which is The Story of The Eldest

Princess. In both cases, the leading lady of the story is faced both

with a dilemma and with a choice. But at the end, they both findtheir ways and become triumphant in their own terms.


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THEME

&

S

YMBOLISM

The whole novel is about Mia, a teenage girl stuck at the

border of life and death, trying to decide whether she should

choose to stay and live or choose to leave and die. After the

accident that she had experienced with her family, she has

had flashbacks one after the other trying to decipher if her

life post-accident would still be worth fighting for. It deems

to make readers realize that our life is a series of events that

must be reflected upon. In doing so we are able to find a

deeper meaning to life, giving us fulfillment in everything

that we do. Whether it be for the love of a special person in

your life, or for the happiness that your family brings, there

are so much things in life that we must find deeper meaning.

The theme of the literary work that I have read could

possibly be: Life and its becoming of a constant choice, how it

will be answered through reflection.

I am still not entirely clear on the particulars here, but I do

know that once I fully commit to going, Ill go. But Im not

ready. Not yet. I dont know why, but Im not.

The title of the novel, If I Stay, summarizes the whole story of

it. The whole time, Mia is in a situation of asking the question,

If I stay? Would she be happy? Will she find the love she is

seeking? Will the warmth of her real family ever be found in

the other people around her? It may be a short title, but it has

a lot of power in the context of the story and its main

character.


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Throughout the development of the course, I have come to

realize that literature is not merely a written piece of work. It

is a reflection of stories and experiences that has the power toprovoke the minds of its readers. It is an art form. Free from

any biases, anyone will always have a different perspective

about it. But that is the beauty that it possesses, its multi-

faceted form allows its readers to have all the right

interpretations about it.

It is indeed a piece of literature.

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If I Stay: A Book Review