Movie Review: If I Stay

After sitting through a so-so adaptation of City of Bones and a not-so-great adaptation of Vampire Academy, I was a little apprehensive about how the big screen version of Gayle Forman's If I Stay would go. I loved the novel as well as the sequel, Where She Went, and hoped that my last few experiences with YA novels-turned-films would not continue in the same vein.

The trailers for If I Stay did make me cautiously optimistic that fans of the book wouldn’t be let down. Of course trailers can be misleading sometimes, but I’m very happy to report that this was not the case here.

Where to start with how brilliant If I Stay was? Chloë Grace Moretz was simply perfect as Mia. Jamie Blackley was also a standout as Adam. Really, the whole cast was stellar, notably the actors who portrayed Mia’s parents and younger brother, Teddy. You truly got the sense of what a loving, close-knit family the Halls were, which made the tragedy that tore them apart even more devastating.

While there were certainly heartbreaking, sob-inducing moments throughout the film, they were well balanced with some lighter ones. This is an area where I thought the film really shone; the somber shadow that hangs over both the book and the movie can’t be helped, but it doesn’t dominate either of them. Mia’s flashbacks are full of many happy memories spent with her family and Adam. That’s another aspect of the novel that translated very well to the screen: the book’s narrative structure, which alternates between the present and the past. It’s handled seamlessly in the movie, and even having reading the book, I don’t think someone who’s unfamiliar with the source material would find the movie confusing to follow.

I have only glowing things to say about this film. It did not disappoint in any way, and although there were a few minor changes from the book, they were exactly that—minor. Unlike some of the other recent YA adaptations I’ve seen, this one did not make me want to scream, “But that wasn’t in the book!” The script was excellent, and the actors’ performances were all top-notch. Music plays such a central role in the novel, and its importance in the lives of both Mia and Adam is vividly captured in the film.

For anyone who hasn’t read If I Stay, you can feel confident that you’re completely fine if you see the movie first. But—please read the book! For those who already have read it, you can also feel confident that everything you loved about the novel has made its way to the big screen. I truly, truly hope that Where She Went gets adapted, too, because you just can’t leave Mia and Adam here . . . .

If I Stay Trailer

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I'm definitely going to need to keep a box of tissues handy for this one! I loved the book (yeah, I totally cried) and hope the movie does well because I'd love to see Where She Went adapted, too.

Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

If I Stay (If I Stay #1)
By Gayle Forman
Publisher: Speak

To Sum It Up: Mia is a talented cellist with a close-knit family and a very promising musical career ahead of her. There’s even a place at the prestigious Juilliard School looming in her future. But in a single moment, Mia’s life is shattered by tragedy. As she observes her unconscious self lying in a hospital bed and reminisces about the past, Mia has an extraordinarily tough decision to make. Should she return to her remaining family and friends, knowing how difficult and painful it will be to go on without those she loved the most? Or would it be easier to leave her old life behind and join those she’s just lost?

Review: I’m having a lot of trouble organizing my thoughts on this one, so I hope this review makes sense in the end. I’m always very wary of reading books like this because I absolutely hate it when tragedy is milked for every last cloying drop. I feel the same way about mawkish movies in which I can just tell that the director was probably ordering the actors to turn on the treacle so that the viewers will flood their popcorn buckets with tears. I’m not sure why syrupy books and movies have always bugged me so much; maybe it’s because I don’t like being told how to feel about something. If a book moves me to tears, I want it to be because the story has struck me in a genuine way and not because the author thinks I should be bawling my eyes out at a particular point. For me, there’s a fine line between a veritably emotional read and utter sap, and fortunately, If I Stay never even comes close to crossing into the dreaded territory of the latter.

Despite my skepticism (you might even call it cynicism) toward potential tearjerkers, I picked this book up because the reviews had been so glowing. I figured that if it didn’t turn out to be my cup of tea, I’d just set it aside. That never happened. This novel completely mesmerized me with its heartbreakingly beautiful story. I admit to having a hard time getting through some parts of the book without my eyes welling up, but never once did I feel like my emotions were being manipulated. Never. Nothing in this book ever feels forced.

I loved the portrayal of Mia’s tight-knit family and how close she was to her former rocker parents and her little brother, Teddy. They have their normal family squabbles, though, as shown through Mia’s flashbacks. I loved how realistically all of Mia’s relationships were depicted, including those with her best friend, Kim, and her boyfriend, Adam. The brilliant dialogue played a big role in making all of the characters so three-dimensional. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe Forman’s prose.

I know that what I’m about to say sounds incredibly trite, but this book resonated with me in a way that I can’t even articulate properly. There are some truly gut-wrenching, emotionally raw scenes in the book, but the grief and loss do not ring anything but true. I think that it takes a very special writer to accomplish this, and Gayle Forman certainly made a lifetime fan out of me with this stellar novel.

All in All: If I Stay is one of the best contemporary novels that I’ve ever read. If all contemporaries that dealt with weighty material were written like this one, I wouldn’t be so hesitant to read them.