If I Stay

I'm not sure what to say about this one other than it wasn't for me. Partially due to the narration style, partially due to the actual plot.

Mia's voice seemed cold, clinical. I found it really hard to empathize with her because she seemed so stiff even during the most heartbreaking moments of the book. I couldn't feel her love for her family, her boyfriend or her music. Her memories seemed just these detached recollections about things that were long gone. Maybe I felt like that because I just didn't like Mia's character. This was partially due to her wooden personality and partially because I kept picturing Chloë Moretz, as I saw the trailer for the movie. I used to like her, but not anymore, not since Carrie. Now I can barely stand her acting.

On paper, the other characters look great. I liked her family, her parents seemed amazing. Adam was interesting enough. Their passion for music was a nice angle, except that I couldn't feel it. I would have loved all of that, but I didn't because I was seeing it all through Mia's eyes.

And probably the biggest turn off for me was basically the foundation of this book. The out-of-body experience. It's not something I can take seriously. I might have been more open to it if I had actually enjoyed the main character. But the combination of these two elements didn't set well with me.

Technically, I know that it's a sad story, but to me it didn't feel genuine, it felt like a Lifetime drama. Needless to say I'm not dying to see the movie. But I did read the sequel and I'll write a few words about that too.