Personal Narrative: If I Stay

“I don't know exactly what's happened to me, and for the first time today, I don't really care. I shouldn't have to care. I shouldn't have to work this hard. I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard,” says Mia Hall as she contemplates if her life is really worth fighting for in “If I Stay” by Gayle Forman. Mia’s life is basically perfect. She has a loving family, caring best friend, and devoted boyfriend. Passionate about playing the cello, she is confident she will get accepted into a prestigious school called Juilliard where she can further her Cello career. But, Mia’s hope and dreams of becoming a famous cello player are abruptly shattered, and her life takes an unexpected turn all in one single moment. Mia and her family were driving …show more content…
Mia must make a critical decision as to whether her newly changed life is worth living for or if she should slip away and let go. Will Mia choose to stay? Or has her life become more than she can handle? Even if she lives, what will become of her in this new life without a family? And through it all will her best friend decide she’s tired of waiting for her? Love will last through anything is the theme of If I stay. Regardless of the terrible circumstances of Mia being in a coma and barely clinging on to life, her boyfriend Adam remained by her bedside hoping and praying that his love would eventually wake up. This was significant to the book because throughout the whole novel one of Mia’s main concerns is that if she chooses to stay she will feel alone now that her family is gone, so the fact that Adam doesn't leave while she is in the coma shows she really isn't on her own. I would recommend this book to young teens who are ready to shed a few tears, and enjoy a quick and beautifully written contemporary story about reflecting on one’s life as well as realizing the blessings in life that outweigh the