Gayle Forman's If I Stay

Summary: Where She Went by Gayle Forman is a sequel to If I Stay. This book picks up three years after the result of the first book. The story leads up telling the reuniting of the main characters, Mia and Adam. At the end of the first book Adam and Mia went their own separate directions, and their lives have become unusually different during the years apart. Mia is a talented, star cellist and a graduate of Juilliard, and Adam’s rock band has become extremely popular and widely known.

Mia is the central character of this story. She is kind, musically gifted, and quiet. She cares a lot about her family and friends and also, she possesses a deep love for her cello. Mia

A quote people should remember from the book is, “I learned long ago that loss is not only probable but inevitable. I know what it means to lose everything, to let go of one life and find another. And now I feel, with a strange, deep certainty, that it must be my lot in life to be taught that lesson over and over again.” This quote is a perfect example of having a good mentality and being courageous, compassionate, and hardworking. Therefore, because of this quote we will be reminded that God works in mysterious ways. We cannot control what happens in our lives. We can only hope that when the time comes, we too will be prepared and ready to step up to difficult tasks like Molly and

And most importantly, she learns to forgive herself for the accidental murder of her mother and understands that the past is unchangeable and she have to move on for she is a person worthy of

Finally, later in the book and towards the end, Anna starts going to therapy sessions, and learning how to deal with her PTSD, and becomes much more confident and in control. “So it’s not like you live happily ever after… But you do handle it. Because the thing that you learn is that

They got into a car accident on the way over which leads to her coma and the death of her mom, dad, and brother. This is a significant change because she has to make many decisions for herself: should she die or should she continue to live her life. There were many results of this change such as her relatives and close friends visiting her constantly, staying with her family that is still alive, and having different surgeries. Many of Mia’s family and friends visit her while she’s in the hospital bed. “I have quite the crowd now. Gran and Gramps. Uncle Greg. Aunt Diane. Aunt Kate. My cousins Heather and John and David. Dad is one of five kids, so there are still lots more relatives out there” (62). Everyone is in the hospital for Mia because they care about her and she knows that they’re fighting for her which makes her want to fight to stay too. Mia’s little brother, Teddy, was at a different hospital than her which is why everyone was there at once. She knows she has to stay with her family and friends that she still has with her instead of leaving them and choosing to die. “‘Stay.’ With that one word, Adam’s voice catches, but he swallows the emotion and pushes forward” (230). Other family members want her to stay with them because they all love her very much and Mia has to have many different surgeries because she has a lot of injuries. They want to give her confidence during the surgeries. Another major effect of the accident was the abundance of surgeries.“There are a lot of things wrong with me. Apparently, I have a collapsed lung. A ruptured spleen. Internal bleeding of unknown origin. And most serious, the contusions on my brain. I’ve also got broken ribs. Abrasions on my legs, which will require skin grafts; and on my face, which will require cosmetic surgery - but, as the doctor's note, that is only if I’m lucky” (40). Since

When they pulled up to Mia's house Erik walked her the door and kissed her goodbye. Mia walked into a dark as the house not being able to see anything. As she turned around she saw her mother turn on the lamp. "Mom you frightened me, Mia said." "Where have you been young lady, Sheila asked?" "I was out with dad and the others, she responded. Right then and there Mia saw something different in her mom that she never saw before. She knew that her mom was a different person than who she was

This led to her not being able to live her life out to the fullest. She couldn’t forgive herself for surviving while her mother and sister did not. In the end though, she was able to fight back against society and become herself again because she finally told the people she trusted and loved, the truth. This was her way of fighting back and finally ending the war with society and

They keep her strong because they tell her that her mother lives and dies for Aila to continue

But she actually dies because her free life has come to a sudden stop, And is heart-broken that she will not be able to live her life as she hoped she could, alone.

She was very close with Teddy, despite their age gap, and they had a very strong connection. When Mia was in her in-between state she was distressed when she first realized he had died. She thought of how he never was able to grow up and experience everything life has to offer. The next main thing I believe that happened is that Mia, both, went to Julliard and lived a happy life with Adam. Mia always though she had to choose between either her love for music or her love for Adam.

She illustrates that had it not been her mother that obstructed her “I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet. ”(81) and that her dreams could’ve came to fruition. She tells him next how lonely she gets and “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.”

At this point, Mia continues to follow the hero’s journey into the stage initiation. The initiation has more stages than any other part of the hero’s journey. Instead of facing challenges and trials, Mia begins with a mentor. Her mentor is her grandmother, Queen Clarisse. She teaches her all the things she needs to know about the royal world. Clarisse gives her a full makeover and excuses her for all her absences. Going into challenges and trials, Mia is faced with losing her best friend. She has the chance to become popular and fit in with everyone else but, she has to overcome the fame and all the attention. Leading into temptation she accepts an invitation to Josh Bryant’s beach party, who is the most popular boy in school and it was a dream

Though these stars play a bigger role in the film than one may assume. Mia’s dream since she was a child, dancing and singing along to movies with her aunt, was to become a movie star. Sebastian has dreams of becoming a music star, specifically a pianist. All through the movie, they try to accomplish their dreams of becoming these prodigies together. However, once they both achieve their dreams and they are the stars they always longed to be, it ends up tearing them apart.

What if the world that one knows comes to an end? What if one day one wakes up and everything one once knew suddenly changes? “What and if two words as nonthreatening as words come But put them together side-by-side and they have the power to haunt you for the rest of your life: ‘What if?'...”(Friedman, Letters To Juliette 2006). “What” and “if” are two words that haunt Mia as she has an out-of-body experience after a terrible car accident. Published in 2009, “If I Stay” is a young adult novel written by Gayle Forman. The story follows as the 17-year-old music talented, Mia Hall experience a car accident that killed her whole family. In a coma, Mia has decision to make that would determine her fate. She has to choose whether she fights for