If I Stay
*Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel. I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen. Stay, he says.* Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind? Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters. If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about If I Stay
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
A snowy Oregon morning ends in a car crash that kills most of Mia's family. From a hospital ICU, in a body that will not respond, Mia watches her boyfriend, her grandfather, and a long day go by.
Yes. A 2014 film adaptation directed by R.J. Cutler and starring Chloe Grace Moretz was released. The film follows the novel closely and was a commercial success.
Yes. Gayle Forman wrote a sequel, Where She Went, that follows Adam in the years after the events of If I Stay. The two books form a duology.
If I Stay was written by Gayle Forman, published in 2009 by Penguin USA, Inc..
If I Stay is 272 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, If I Stay takes most readers 4 to 6 hours to finish.
If I Stay is a standalone novel by Gayle Forman, not part of a series.
If I Stay is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.