“I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.”  After an accident occurs, seventeen-year-old Mia Hall is stuck between two choices: whether to stay or leave this reality.  It seems like a tragic teenage story, but put away your tissues, because you won't shed a tear. If I Stay by Gayle Forman is a disappointment that did not live up to the hype it received.
Forman so closely follows the overused plot of many young adult novels that the story becomes predictable. Since the entire conflict is making the decision whether to stay with her friends and grandparents or die, it is obvious what the ending is, with all her loved ones influencing her. The problems she faces aren’t out of the ordinary, such as the clothes to wear for date night. This causes the conflict to lose its uniqueness. The romance is also overwhelmingly cliché. The popular boy falls in love with the more introverted and quiet girl, who doesn’t understand why he likes her. Mia describes in the story, “Adam had chosen me, and this I didn't understand. Why had he fallen for me? It didn't make sense.” Adam also does anything possible to see her and be with her in the ICU, which is extremely cheesy and impractical.
Characters were another issue of the story. For example, Mia’s parents, Kat and Denny, are unrealistic. These parents allow their 10 year old child at the time to watch the birth of a baby and go to rock concerts late at night. Furthermore, the protagonist, Mia, is lovestruck, only wanting to hold Adam's hand the whole novel. She has so many other loved ones waiting for her to wake up, yet the only one who matters is her boyfriend. Mia also doesn’t have any special characteristics that made me interested in her struggle. She barely has any flaws, which would have made her different and more of a person. Her love for music is the only quality that really stands out throughout the book. Moreover, Adam is considered to be the perfect boyfriend. He is successful in his band, Shooting Star, loving towards Mia and her family, and willing to sacrifice anything. All of these characters are so ideal that they almost become boring.
Gayle Forman’s writing style causes the plot to be very confusing as well. It switches abruptly from the hospital and back to her memories. In one part, she sees her grandfather speaking to the social worker, and the next, she is describing her relationship with Adam. These scenes just explain how life was in her joyous and perfect past, and do not change the present. It makes the whole story seem like mostly backstory, instead of the plot actually moving forward.
Overall, with these typical moments and unrelatable characters piled into one book, nothing really stood out that hasn’t been used by other young adult authors. It certainly did not live up to the praise that it was given. This novel may be titled If I Stay, but I’m definitely not staying for another read.