Our most-read book on the children's books site this month is a rather otherworldly tale, set in an interstitial realm between life and death: the unusual (yet captivating) novel If I Stay by Gayle Forman – described by our site members as "gripping", "heartwarming" and "heart-wrenching"!
17-year-old musician Mia is involved in a tragic car accident which leaves her in a coma, watching over her own body. Site member esther37 excellently summarised the rest of the plot: "As her friends and family come and go mourning over her injured body, Mia looks back on her life of music and relationships. She has to make an important choice; will she choose this life or death?"
Our site members particularly liked the strong characterisation in the novel. "All the characters are incredibly written and the story line is gripping and emotion-inducing – both good and bad," thought Thedauntlessbookthief. In particular, Helloitsheath felt that Forman set a "high bar" for fictional parents: "Mia's parents are the characters I adore the most. The flashbacks show how funny and cool and interesting they are."
But it wasn't just the characters at the core of the book's success; jboo1698 felt that the structure of the book was crucial to its emotional impact: "I like the fact that Gayle Forman didn't blow this topic up into a book that was 400 pages long and water down the point, and kept it to a nice amount; just over 200 pages. Short, but definitely sweet as well." Helloitsheath agreed that the conciseness of the book made it more powerful – "For what is a relatively short book, If I Stay is one hell of an emotional rollercoaster" – but also commented on Forman's manipulation of time: "Flashbacks not only give the characters more depth but make them more relatable as they have a back story and a story of their own outside the events happening in the book's present."
Ultimately, then, this book is all about emotion: Thedauntlessbookthief revealed that "This book is gut-wrenchingly sad yet heart-warmingly happy at the same time. There are parts where I was practically bawling my eyes out, and then others where it made me laugh out loud."
There was one point of contention amongst our reviewers, however. Jboo1698 was "quite disappointed to see Where She Went available as well. You can't serialise this book", but Thedauntlessbookthief enjoyed this: "The ending was the biggest cliffhanger I think I have ever read and I immediately went and bought the sequel (Where She Went by Gayle Forman) to know what happens next."
So, having eulogised about the book long enough… who should read it? Esther37 recommended the book to young adult readers due to some of the more complex content. "I would recommend this book to anyone over 12 because the book dealt with disturbing issues."
Summing up the overall impression of the book, Helloitsheath commented: "Overall, If I Stay is heartwarming and heart-wrenching all at once. From the relatable characters to the slightly ambiguous ending, If I Stay comes highly recommended from me!" The book was recently made into a film, which perhaps explains its popularity, but if our site members' reviews are anything to go by, it's definitely worth looking up as the original book!!
• Buy If I Stay at the Guardian Bookshop.
• See how If I Stay got made into a film
• And helloitsheath interviews Gayle Forman to get some more background to the story
Need some more tips for good reads this month? Other popular books this month included:
• The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet
• The Luck Uglies by Paul Durham
• Geek Girl by Holly Smale
• Fortunately, The Milk … by Neil Gaiman
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