This was a really good one even though it made me cry and I wasn’t in a mood to cry. It is so well written- there are no slow parts to skim through. Every memory that Mia has of her family lets you in a little bit more to their world and deepens how much you care about them. And I kept flip flopping about what was coming on the last page. I am pretty good at guessing endings but this one was so well done I really had no clue. On the second to last page I still wasn’t sure which direction the story would go. And I really liked the ending which was also a relief.I’ve been thinking a lot about how it is almost the half way point in my year of honestly recording every title I’ve read and which books are the stand outs of the bunch. If I Stay would definitely be on my Mid Year Favorite Book List. And I’m so glad that I didn’t read any spoilery reviews of this book because even though I’m already thinking about reading it again I know I won’t have the same tingly feeling of worrying about what is going to happen next. I’m glad that I had it the first time though; I feel like there are so many books that I go into already knowing the big plot twist (Hello Atonement!) and it takes so much away from the reading.
And I really don’t get the Twilight comparisons I read about awhile back in reference to Catherine Hardwicke directing the movie version of If I Stay. Other than the facts that both books are YA with girl protagonists made into movies directed by Catherine Hardwicke there isn’t much in common. Certainly no sparkly vampires.
