Book Review: If I Stay

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.



Get ready for an emotional roller coaster ride that could change the way you think about life and realize that life doesn’t always go the way you expect it to. In an instant, everything can change. “If I Stay” is an amazing story about life, death, love and loss.

“If I Stay” talks about lots of things. It talks about friendship. It talks about family, but it mostly about how it is like to be able to choose between life and death, especially when you know that your life will never be the same again.

This book didn’t exactly meet my expectations, but I still loved it. “If I Stay” is one of the best books with a first person narration that I’ve read in a very long time. I really liked the writing style. When you read it, you feel like a real person is talking to you.

I don’t know what to say about the plot because this story takes place in a short period of time. There is not really much going on. The story moves back and forth between the flashbacks and the hospital. Usually I don’t like a book with many flashbacks, but in this one, I didn’t have a problem with it. The flashback is the way you get to know the characters and get a character development.

I loved all the characters. Gayle Forman has this amazing ability to write characters that are so lovable yet so real. This is the first book that I’ve ever read and found myself loving all the characters. In some ways, I found some of the characters to be inspiring, especially Mia. It’s hard to find people as passionate as Mia, a person that knows what she wants. Mia is really a character to look up to.

I loved Mia and Adam together. I guarantee you will fall in love with this couple. It’s definitely not one of these cliché love stories. These two have their own problems, but they’re a very good representation of what true love is. It doesn’t matter how much you argue or how different you are. What’s important is to have someone that accepts you, respects you and stand by you no matter what. That’s what I found in Mia and Adam’s relationship.

What I didn’t like about the book is that I found it too short and the story felt incomplete. Well, I didn’t feel too bad at the beginning because I already knew that there is going to be a sequel. “Where She Went” will come out in the spring of 2011. However, when I think about it again, I really can’t imagine a story like this to turn into a series. I like the story but I would prefer if “If I Stay” and the sequel “Where She Went” were turned into one book.

“If I Stay” gets 3.5 out of 5 because while I loved this book, I felt something huge was missing and it took me a while to get into it. I will still be looking forward to the second book and I got a feeling that “Where She Went” is going to be even more emotional. I congratulate Gayle Forman for her amazing novel and I’ll be looking forward to more of her books.

I highly recommend this book for everyone, especially those who love music. It’s worth checking out. It is an easy, but at the same time an emotional and a heartfelt read.

Final Grade: 4/5

Thirteen Reasons Why: Book Review

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

This book shows you how it is like to be giving up… on yourself. You get to see Hannah the main character's downfall. After reading this book, you will start considering the way you look at people, the way you judge people based on what you hear or what’s apparent. There is so much more in a person than any of us can figure out.

This book will also make you reconsider the way you treat people because sometimes, it’s okay to ask for help or even offer help. You don’t know, you may end up saving someone’s life without even knowing it. Believe it or not, many people around us are in pain, especially in high school, where most of us - if not all - are in pain. I may sound confusing, but when you read this book, you will understand what I mean.

I have to be honest with you. I picked up this book with high expectations. The idea itself gripped me. Unfortunately, this book didn’t turn out as good as I thought it was going to be, but it was a good story. What I like the most in a book is one that makes you feel and think, which what “Thirteen Reasons Why” offers.

I didn’t find this book hard to put down. The characters weren’t anything unique or interesting, but you learn from their mistakes, especially the main characters. Basically, watch what they did wrong and do the opposite. And yes it’s harder than it sounds, but it has good results. Also, I’m just speaking of myself here, the ending didn’t satisfy me. This story felt incomplete. I wished we could see more of the people on the tapes, how these tapes changed them.

What I really didn’t like about this book is the writing. It wasn’t that good. I noticed several grammatical mistakes as I was reading it. There was no character description. Although I didn’t like the writing style, I’m still glad I read this book.

I couldn’t bring myself to give this book a 2 because at the end, it has a meaningful story. You should check out this book. It’s a very easy but also a very dark read. I don't recommend this for teens under 15.

Mark: 3.5/5

Wings: Book Review

Laurel's life is the very definition of normal . . . until the morning when she wakes up to discover a flower blooming from her back. As it turns out, nothing in Laurel's life is what it seems. Now, with the help of an alluring faerie sentry who holds the key to her true past, Laurel must race to save her human family from the centuries-old faerie enemies who walk among them.

     It wasn’t that bad. That’s how I would describe it. This is not usually the kind of book I would pick up, but I decided to give this one a chance because many people recommended it. I was hesitating to read this book at first because it was compared to Twilight a lot. And yes they do have similarities, but they are very few. I found this book way better than Twilight! I hate reviewing a book by comparing it to another book, but in this case, I should because I don’t want this book to be judged because it was compared to Twilight.

     Unfortunately, this book makes the same mistake as Twilight by not having enough action and also the lack of complexity in the plot. The story ran too smoothly for me. There wasn’t enough suspense and action. However, what I liked about this book that there is actually story there. True that there is a lot of romance, but the story mainly focuses on Laurel discovering who she really is. It focuses on the main character.

     I really liked the characters. Laurel the heroine is a tangible yet strong character. She would do anything to protect the people she loves. Laurel is definitely no Bella Swan! She actually has a personality! I liked David too, even though I thought he was unrealistic. He is too nice. I liked Tamani more. He is such a charismatic character!


     The love triangle in this book is definitely more intense and interesting than the one in Twilight. Although this book had more David/Laurel than Tamani/Laurel, you can’t tell which one she will choose!


     The writing style is very suitable for its target audience, though it’s not what I usually prefer. This book is better written than Twilight. It says more in a lot less pages. The descriptions are not over the top. It gets straight to the point. Reading this book requires absolutely no brain power, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

     If you love love-triangles, if you are a Twilight fan or you were just looking for an easy light fantasy/romance to read, this book is for you.

     This series has a lot of potential. I just hope the author will choose a more complex formula for the plot in her next book. I’ll not be expecting much though. As I said, this book is not that bad, but doesn’t have anything that memorable. Pike has an interesting take on Faieries, but the story could’ve been better. I give Wings 3/5. It is worth checking out, an easy-light read. And I expect “Spells” to be better.


Mark: 3/5

Who Moved My Cheese? Book Review

Hi everyone!

today I want to give a short review on a book I think everyone should read.

The story of this book is very simple yet very meaningful. It's mostly a story about change and how people deal with it. While I was reading the book, I was comparing myself with the characters in it. what is wonderful about this book is that it's less then 100 pages but it takes you on a journey where you can see yourself in the characters as they look for their own special cheese. The cheese means anything that's important to you.

I loved this book very much because it taught me that no matter how comfortable your life is, nothing stays the same and you have to seek for new adventures and oppportunities before life changes shock you. Also if you worked hard, you will get what you want eventually.

Some Quotes:

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

"Nothing gets better until you change."

Some people don't get the message of this book due to its simplicity. In my opinion, it's is worth reading it has a powerfull message. Check out this book because it's simply amazing.


Mark: 5/5
And if you already read it, I hope you leave a comment and tell us what do you think.

The Book Trailer