Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Hardcover

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Published: April 9th 2009 by Dutton Juvenile

Paperback

Synopsis from Good Reads: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

Why I picked it up: This book was always on my radar to eventually pick up and read.  What finally got me to read it was I received the ARC for the sequel Where She Went (due out in April of 2011) in the mail.   So of course I had to read If I Stay.

My Thoughts on the Book:
I loved this book!!  My only complaint about the book was it had me crying like a little baby.  In fact just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.

Mia has a huge decision to make as she lays in a coma, to live or to die.  The whole story is told through Mia as she is having an out of body experience.  This allows her to see how extended family,her boyfriend Adam, and her best friend Kim are handling the aftermath of the accident. These moments in the present were the ones that had me bawling and also laughing.  I found great amusement of ways Adam tried to get into the ICU to see Mia. 

As Mia is making her decision she also recalls memories of her family, of her best friend, and how she started dating Adam.  These memories give a strong foundation of the development of the novel and gives glimpses of how Mia might make her ultimate decision. The characters are more fully developed in these glimpses of the past.  


This book is so great a must read!!!  Just be prepared to cry and then want the sequel desperately. 


Link to a great review from NPR

Leviathan vs. Airborn

I just recently finished listening to Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.  While I did end up enjoying the book at the end, I kept thinking about awesomeness which is Airborn by Kenneth Opel.


Brief summery of both books (source Clermont County Library Summary)

Leviathan:  " In an alternate 1914 Europe, fifteen-year-old Austrian Prince Alek, on the run from the Clanker Powers who are attempting to take over the globe using mechanical machinery, forms an uneasy alliance with Deryn who, disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service, is learning to fly genetically-engineered beasts."

Airborn:  "Matt, a young cabin boy aboard an airship, and Kate, a wealthy young girl traveling with her chaperone, team up to search for the existence of mysterious winged creatures reportedly living hundreds of feet above the Earth's surface." And really this summary doesn't do it justice because there is mayhem and pirates also. 


Publish date/length of audiobook:

Leviathan: 2009/ 8 hrs and 20 mins
Airborn: 2004/ 10 hr. 30 min  

Why I listened to them:

Leviathan: I will fully admit that I had no intention to read this book.  I have only read one other book by Scott Westerfeld which was the Uglies and though I enjoyed that book I did not feel the need to continue with the series.  Yet, when I found out that Alan Cumming was doing the narration, my interest was peaked, and I was soon looking into how I was going to get the audio book.   

Airborn: So I listened to this in 2007 and I think I randomly picked up the audio book at the library.  Which ended up being a wonderful accident.


Who does the narration and what I thought:

Leviathan:   As mentioned above Alan Cumming.  I loved Cumming's narration!  I knew he was a great actor and does an excellent job with accents, I was overly impressed with his variety of voices for each character. 
Airborn: Was narrated by David Kelly and accompanied by a full cast.  I generally enjoy full cast audio books and Airborn was no exception.


What I thought of the books and will I pick up the next book(s):

Leviathan: My main complaint about the book was the switching of the narration between the Prince and Deryn.  It drove me nuts!!  I listened to this book while driving and occasionally would tune out and once tuned in again the narrator had switched.  This lead to some mild confusion at points to say the least.  There were many times where I wished the book was told strictly in Deryn's perspective.  I was far more interested in Deryn's story then the Prince's. 
I am still debating if I want to listen to the next book.  I probably will just because of the amazing job that Alan Cumming did. 

Airborn: Loved this story!!  I loved every stinky part of it.  In fact when the next books in the series were released I bought the hardcover and highly enjoyed the sequels.