Theme and Author's Purpose

I am on page 87 of the book If I Stay, by Gayle Forman and in this part of the book, the plot line is very intense. Mia is coming to the realization that if she lives, it is up to her. She makes the decisions, it all matters if she is strong to survive from the car crash. She doesn't know how her parents are doing and the novel is mainly focused on her right now. Mia says, "If I stay. If I live. It's all up to me" (87). This teaches the readers a very good life lesson, that life can be very short. Mia is only 16 and she doesn't know if she is going to survive. She has barely lived her life yet and has so much planned for the future, and it might be taken away from her in an instant. The author's purpose of writing this novel was to entertain readers, and also to show the readers the importance of family. I would definitely recommend this novel because it has a very good plot line and it keeps the readers on their toes, because they don't know what's going to happen next. I strongly recommend this novel.

Structure and Point of View

In the novel If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, the point of view in this novel is 1st person. The main character, Mia, is speaking the whole time. She says, "I haven't gotten into Julliard yet, but my audition went really well" (15). This lets the readers know that Mia is into music and what she wants to do in the future with her life, which is going to Julliard and playing the cello. Mia is very unreliable because she is just telling her opinion the whole time. The readers don't know if the things Mia is telling them is true, because it's mostly opinion. This story would be completely different if it was told from a different perspective. If it was another one of Mia's family members, the story might not be as intense. Also, the readers wouldn't know much about Mia's personal life, because it wouldn't have been told by her. The author uses many flashbacks so the readers can get to know Mia better and what her life was like before the fatal car crash.

Literary Devices

I am on page 50 of the novel If I Stay, by Gayle Forman. The main character, Mia, is admitted into the hospital with her mom, dad, and brother, Teddy, after a tragic car accident that leaves the family in a fatal condition. The author uses many literary devices, such as metaphors, to cause imagery in the reader's mind and to compare with the audience so they can connect with the characters more. "They all have the same watery gray-blue eyes, the color of the ocean on a cloudy day" (50). Mia is comparing her dad, grandpa, and Teddy's eye color to the ocean on a cloudy day. It puts an image in the reader's mind about what these characters look like, and let's the readers get to know the characters a little better.

Characterization

I am on page 39 of the book If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, and so far, the main character Mia is having a flashback. In the flashback, she is talking with her new boyfriend, Adam about their favorite bands. Mia starts to narrate to the audience about the shy and timid person she is. She says, "Kids were nice enough to me, but they tended to treat me as if I were a grown-up" (39). This tells the audience that Mia is very mature for her age. She doesn't really fit in with a lot of the girls at her school; they can't connect with her, because of how mature she is.

Tone & Diction

In the book, If I Stay, by Gayle Forman, the main character, Mia is upset. She makes that very evident in the choice of words she chooses and the tone of her voice throughout the novel. She had just gotten into a severe car accident and she doesn't know if her mom, dad, and brother, Teddy, are going to make it. She seems to be a "ghost" and can see and hear all of her friends and family, along with herself. She uses words in the novel to show her how worried she is. She says, "If he is crying, it will kill me" (102). She says this because her boyfriend just arrived at the hospital to see her, and she doesn't want him to break down and worry about her.