The choices we make

Book info @Goodreads

Sometimes you make choices in life, and sometimes choices make you.

That quote pretty much sums up the overall theme of Gayle Forman’s If I Stay. 

Truthfully, I wasn’t planning to read this if it wasn’t picked by most members in the online book club I recently launched (you’re welcome to join through this link!). In the end, I’m glad I did. It was a very fast read. The plot was simple to follow, even though it was depressing at first. They’re mostly based on Mia’s memories and it ended before you think it would, which is the reason for book 2. I’m not sure yet whether I’m going to read book 2 or not.

It’s not the most exciting book, but it has a few good parts that when you put them together makes reading the entire book worth it. It’s also a very short book written in a characters’ perspective, but you love the other characters because of what Mia says about them, and you kind of learn to like her too in the process. She’s not the most likeable character, but she’s not dislikeable either. My favorite character is Teddy. He is so pure, unique, and loveable. He says things that you really don’t expect him to say. He tends to surprise you with what he says. Sometimes, he sounds like an adult, but sometimes he’s just like other kids, other little brothers. I love his great relationship with Mia. Too often, little brothers don’t have good relationships with their teenage sisters in stories or books, so I really enjoyed that part of the story. It made me wish I had a little brother too. I also like Kim. She’s the typical loveable best friend who doesn’t lie and just speaks her mind. I always love that character.

The book was not just about Mia’s choice. It wasn’t just about her ultimate choice to die or to live, to leave or to stay. It was also about Adam’s choice to love Mia, to be willing to leave Mia just so she can have a new life. It was about Mia’s choice to love Adam. It was about her choice to play cello and classical music despite her parents’ different musical background. It was about her and Kim’s choice to be friends. It was about her grandpa’s choice to be willing to let go of Mia to set her free. It was about her dad’s choice to leave parts of his old self to be his idea of a good father.

If I Stay is all about the choices that people make despite not knowing the outcomes of their choices. It is about taking a risk. It is about making more choices to make the choices we first make worth it. We are not solely composed of the choices we make. We are not entirely made of our successes nor our failures. But sometimes they make us, they become a big part of us. And that’s what counts: knowing that our choices, even though we are not just our choices, still matter.