Plot Overview

About the Author

It all happens to 16 year old, Mia when she is a

junior in high school. Mia is very passionate
about music and she loves to play a string
instrument, her cello. Adam, a senior at the
beginning of the book who notices Mia and falls
in love with her, he takes her to some of his
bands concerts (Shooting Star). Little by little
they both fall in love with each other and Mias
family loves Adam. Once Adam graduates and
moves to college things starts to get
complicated for them because Adams band
gets booked more often and they are becoming
more famous. During one of Mias birthdays,
Mias grandma suggests that she tries out for
Juilliard University. At first Mia wasnt sure if
she was good enough but luckily she got an
audition for it. When she decided to tell Adam
he was happy but after that they had a huge
argument and Adam leaves. After a while on a
snowy day, Mia and the rest of her family
decide to go pay a visit to a family friend. While
they are going up the mountain a truck is
coming the opposite way and they crash. Her
mom dies instantly because she's the one
sitting where the truck hits them, then Mia
passes out. When she wakes up again she
sees all the paramedics around her and moving
her onto a bed to take her to the hospital. At
first she seems really confused by all that's
going in this between life and death moment.
She goes to ask about her parents but the lady
at the front desk doesn't seem to notice her, in
fact nobody seems to notice her. Later that day
she finds Kim, her best friend but Kim doesn't
see her either. One of the nurse in charge of
her tells her that it's up to her if she want to live
or not. At the end Mia opens hers eyes and
decides to live.

Gayle Forman, the author of If I Stay was born

in June 5th, 1970. Forman was inspired to write
IIS from an actual story of a car accident that
had occurred, she randomly remembered the
story of this family and the 2 little boys turning
the oldest into Mia in her story, Adam was
inspired from her husband. The second book
about Mia & Adams story came true due to fact
of Forman feeling guilty of leaving the character
in a bad spot at the ending of the first book.

Novel Notes
If I Stay
Gayle Forman
Lesly Cruz
March 23, 2016

Essential Quotes
Historical Context
If I Stay was written in 2009, the historical
context from this year does not connect at all
with the book. During this year there was a
pandemic virus (H1N1), also the economy was
not at its best place.

Still, his attention baffled me. It wasnt that Adam

was such a popular guy. He wasnt a jock or a mostlikely-to-succeed sort. But he was cool. Cool in that
he played in a band with people who went to college
in town. Cool that he had his own rockery style,
procured from thrift stores and garage sales, not
from Urban Outfitters knockoffs. Cool in that he
seemed totally happy to sit in the lunchroom
absorbed in a book, not just pretending to read
because he didnt have anywhere to sit or anyone to
sit with (Forman 33,34).
Everyone thinks its because of the snow. And in a
way, I suppose thats true (3).

"If I Stay Paperback April 6, 2010."

Amazon.com: If I Stay (9780142415436):
Gayle Forman: Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 26
Mar. 2016.

Character Analysis

Themes

Mia- a 16 year old girl who is very dedicated to

her cello and loves her boyfriend Adam. She is
the good kind of teenager who doesn't like to
go out and stay home instead of being a rebel.

Treasure the ones you love- The book

explains how you never know when your last
day can possibly be, and to try to enjoy the
people around you

Adam- He has his own band and is the

opposite of Mia, he's popular and loves to be
out during night but somehow has a powerful
connection towards Mia. Adam and Mia's
parents connect because of the music.

Always go for opportunities- When Mias

grandma suggested she should sent in a
recording of herself for the Juilliard auditing Mia
wasn't sure but she took the chance and got
the audition

Teddy- Mia's little brother, Mia feels that when

Small factors- Even the smallest object can
Teddy was born he brought a different feeling to lead to a huge product, when they crashed the
the family
ice on the road played the big part all through in
other situations it may seem harmless
Kim- The best friend who is a photographer for

Motifs and Symbols

Symbols
Costumes: During Halloween they both
wore the opposite music genre
costumes, this represents how they love
each other no matter their differences
College: Although Adam is already off to
college and Mia is still in High School as
a senior, college is represented as
distance and in some occasions the
drifting away of their love
Angels: In this case Angela are a
representation of death/heaven because
Mias grandma says that when people
die they come back as angels to take
care of their family

the schools newspaper. Her and Mia have this

strong friendship.
Kat (Mom)- Kat and Mia have such a strong
bond, Mia could tell her anything. She is the
first one to die during the accident
Denny (Dad)- At a young age he had a band
but he quit music and became an English
teacher when Teddy was born to give it a more
family feeling.

Motifs
Cello: Ever since the beginning of the
book the cello is mention during multiple
parts. Mia loves her cello, it represents
her life and how she dedicates most of
her time to it
Music: Different genres of music are
mentioned throughout book but mostly
classical and rock, these 2 types brought
people together for example Mias
parents are together because of music
and Adam and Mia are together for the
same reason