If I Stay by Gayle Forman

genre: young adult

Mia: talented cellist, daughter, friend and girlfriend. Her life is so full of good things that it can't possibly be reality when an accident lands her in the hospital, hovering between life and death. The strangest part is that, she's still THERE. There, in the room, watching her body being worked on frantically by doctors as they try to save her life. All her memories are still with her, in this in-between place, and most of this beautiful story is Mia's sifting through her life and picking out the parts that stand out most.

I like Mia. She's someone I think I'd like to know - and while her parents were almost TOO quirky-fun for me, I loved how much music is a part of their story. I liked the feel of love that just sort of radiated out from all the relationships in this book - sometimes spoken and distinct and sometimes just bobbing there under the surface. Even though every once and a while Mia's narrative felt a bit forced, I liked where this book took me and I'm anxious to read its companion.

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