Gayle Forman If I Stay Quotes

Mia Hall is not the average high school student. She lives in a home filled with punk-rock parents and a little brother whose favorite way to pass time is banging on the family set of drums. Even though her whole family prefers rock music, Mia is dedicated to classical music. Adam, Mia’s boyfriend, is also involved in the punk-rock scene, and Mia also felt out of place in his world. However, Adam soon makes her comfortable when he invites her to a classical concert in honor of their first date. All of these characters make choices in this novel, but none of them compare to the final choice Mia has to make. In the touching and poignant novel, If I Stay, Gayle Forman conveys a heart-wrenching tale relevant to the concept of choice. 7:09 A.M.

It is not even an inch, but even the slightest bit of snow will stop the whole town. The school district decided to cancel school for the day. Mia’s parents also choose to skip work and plan for the day ahead of them. The family decides to drive to their grandparents’ house, despite the slippery and wet roads. Her Dad sits behind the wheel, and the rest of the family piles into the car after him. They battle over who controls the music. NPR, Frank Sinatra, Spongebob Squarepants, or Classical? Regardless of all the many options, Mia eventually wins stereo dominance with the classical-music station. Eventually, Mia gives in to the soothing sound of Beethoven’s Cello Sonata no. 3 and slowly drifts away. Suddenly she’s awake, the sound of Beethoven still in her hears, but something is not right. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour crushes the passenger side of the car. Parts of the car thrown into the forest for someone to find at a later date. Mia’s mother was killed

Gramps takes a moment to tell Mia that it is okay if she needs to go. He is the only one who truly understands both options. As bad as he may want Mia to be alive, he knows deep down how hard it would be to live. Image coming back to life, knowing you do not have a family to go back to. No more staying up late because of her little brother playing the drums during the ungodly hours of the night. No more talks about life and love with her fierce and sassy mom. No more calming and thoughtful talks from her dad when she is scared to go back on stage. Mia would come back to nothing, and she knows it. “I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard”(Forman 175). Mia recognizes this feeling in her head, and even though it is impossible for her to say it out loud, Gramps seems to understand. In the ICU he says, “So I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It’s okay if you have to leave us. It’s okay if you want to stop fighting”(Forman 181). Gramps gave Mia a gift when he said this, a gift of choice. He finally acknowledged the fact that Mia has nothing left, when everyone else was too scared to. The social worker told Gran and Gramps to not upset Mia, but his recognition of her choice empowered her. Even though Gramps wants nothing more than to speak to his granddaughter again, he still gives her permission to choose. The room goes silent after Gramps eventually falls asleep. So quiet that