If I Stay by Gayle Forman 

Mia’s world splintered apart the snowy morning of the car crash.  One moment, she was laughing with her loving family and the next she was an orphan trapped in a coma.  Now she must make an impossible choice: to let go of everything or struggle to live without the people that she loves the most.  If I Stay is told from Mia’s perspective while she is in the coma and having an out of body experience.  She can see her broken body on the hospital bed, but feels no pain and can’t communicate with anyone.  Mia passes the time by watching her visitors in the ICU and remembering the good and bad times that she spent with them. 

This book is an amazing balance of heartbreaking and hopeful.  I was crying my eyes out when I read it, but If I Stay is a tearjerker in the best possible way.  The strength of the love between Mia and her friends, boyfriend, and grandparents is shown through her memories and the ways that they cope with the current tragedy.  Mia’s memories vividly show the life that she once had, and lots of scenes are really sweet and funny.  All of the characters are excellent and the little details that Forman includes bring them to life.   I’m not usually a fan of books that make me cry, but If I Stay is an outstanding exception. 

This book is being made into a film and the director will be Catherine Hardwicke, who directed Twilight.  She seems to be a popular director for YA book adaptations because she is also directing the movie version of Maximum Ride by James Patterson.