The setting for the book If I Stay is in Portland, Oregon mostly in the Hospital. The setting is important because in the book Mia states, "I wake up this morning to a thin blanket of snow. It isn't even an inch, but in this part of Oregon a slight dusting brings everything to a standstill" (Forman 3). Without this light dusting of snow, Mia's family wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be fighting for her life. The main character in my book is Mia Hall. Mia is 17 years old and is quiet, kind and very musically gifted. She loves her family, her cello and her friends. Mia feels that she doesn't fit in with her family and boyfriend because they are all a big fan of rock and roll when Mia loves classical music. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
I agree with what you said about the setting, "Without this light dusting of snow, Mia's family wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be fighting for her life." The setting is the whole reason why Mia is in the hospital. Without the setting being like it was the whole plot would change. Also your quote went perfectly with your reason about the setting. Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
I agree with jennifer, if it wasnt for the little snow that they got that caused the fatal accident, the plot of the book wouldnt be the same and it would make it a completely different story, but it also makes me wonder that if all of mia's family didn't die in the accident, what would the story be like then? Aurianah Jones Jones 3
If I stay by Gayle Forman is set in Portland, Oregon. The setting in this book is why she in the situation of choosing life and death. "The car is eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb" (Forman 13). If it wasn't for the snow day, possibly her family would still be alive and in work or at school. Mia, who is the main charater and narrator in the story is in the hospital and is in critcal condition. Mia Hall is talented, bright and a musically gifted individual. She loves her family but feels she never belonged because of her differences. She is very timid and uncertain about the choices she has to make. J.Ingoldsby Jones 3
I agree with you about the snow day. If the snow day wouldn't have happened, neither would have the accident. Mia is most definitely gifted. She has a gift for music and she seems to be her own person instead of following what people want her to be. I like how you put in the detail of the "four ton pick up truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb". Very good description. Heather Hill Jones 3
I also agree about the whole snow day. I was thinking that while I was reading also. You can definitely tell That Mia is very different from her family, she just loves classical music. I really like the quote you included because it just gives me such a vivid picture in my head of the accident. "The car is eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb" Carly Getzlow Jones 3
The main character of the book if I stay is Mia Hall, who is a quiet person but very musical talented. She feels like an outsider in her family because she is a lot different, she doesn’t even look the same as most of the people in her family who are blonde haired and blue eyed. Everyone in her immediate family loves music, which is something they all have in common but it’s the type of music that she prefers that sets her apart from them also, she prefers more classical music while the rest of her family is more into the punk rocker scene. This makes her feel connected to her family somewhat but she still feels left out in some ways. “Dad sometimes joked that the hospital where I was born at must have accidentally swapped babies because I look nothing like the rest of the family. They are all blond hair and fair and I’m like their negative image, brown hair and dark eyes. But as I got older, Dad’s hospital joke took more meaning then I think he intended” (Forman 19). The setting of the book is in Oregon, where it mostly wet and rainy or snowy. The setting of the book is important because it could have had something to do with losing her family in a car crash and her having to fight to survive her serious injuries. Aurianah Jones Jones 3
Mia is very different from her family and I liked how you used the quote from the book, “Dad sometimes joked that the hospital where I was born at must have accidentally swapped babies because I look nothing like the rest of the family. They are all blond hair and fair and I’m like their negative image, brown hair and dark eyes. But as I got older, Dad’s hospital joke took more meaning then I think he intended” (Forman 19). It describes exactly how the Mia feels because she loves classical music and looks nothing like her family. Even though her family jokes about it, she feels insecure about her differences. Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
I absolutely love the way you described the book so far. You got in depth with it, and that's great. I also agree with Jennifer about the quote you chose to use. It was perfect for the description and shows exactly how noticeably different Mia is from the rest of her family. Clearly, Mia is insecure about her differences, but that makes her who she is. The setting of the book is very important to the conflict Mia now faces, I agree with that as well. If it wasn't for the weather that day, the truck would have never been plowing the snow and hit the car Mia and her family were in. Heather Hill Jones 3
In the book if I stay, mia is 17 years old, living in Portland, Oregon. She faces a car accident which her whole family is involved with which causes her to stay in the hospital. The setting is important because the day of the accident, it was snowing and that's how the car crashed happened. In the book, mia mentions how just a dusting of snow can cause a lot of trouble. That makes me feel.as if Portland is typically dry so when it does snow, its incredibly dangerous and wet. Mia's whole family seems to be involved with music, just different types. Mia seems to have a good life. She does good school and has a steady boyfriend. She's the typical teenager. Heather Hill Jones 3
I agree with what you are saying about Oregon always being dry so the little snow they had was very bad for them. Mia's family seems almost to be a little upset that she is into classical music and not what they are into but they love her still. Yes I also agree that Mia is just the typical teenager that walks down the road until the car accident. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
I also agree about how the weather had such an effect on how the crash happened. It sort of reminds me of how missouri is, when we get a little snow, it seems to effects us alot more then people think it would.I also agree that mia is a typical teenage but she seems to have alot of insecurities, which every teenager does but i think if she just had talked to her family about some of the problems she had about not fitting into the family, she could have been alot happier with her life. Aurianah Jones Jones 3
An internal conflict Mia is having is that she can't decide if she is dead or if she is alive. After the car accident she can see herself laying in a ditch and can walk around freely. "I decide to try a simpler maneuver. I walk into the wall, imagining that I'll float through it and come out the other side. Except that what happens when I walk into the wall is that I hit a wall" (Forman 36). I predict that the conflict will be solved by Mia just giving up on trying to figure out what type of state she is in and focus on how to escape this nightmare. The tone the author has created is very intense and Formans diction helps with the intense tone. When Forman tells us about the car crash it gives you goose bumps because of how in detail she goes on. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
I like the quote you chose, "I decide to try a simpler maneuver. I walk into the wall, imagining that I'll float through it and come out the other side. Except that what happens when I walk into the wall is that I hit a wall." I also like the word choice. You're completely right, what Mia is going through right now is a complete nightmare and she seems very strong. Forman writes with an intense tone, but that's what makes everything so real and kind of suspenseful. I know that personally, I can predict what she's going to choose in the end, but it's all the steps in between that I have no clue about. Heather Hill Jones 3
I 100% agree with what you said "I know that personally, I can predict what she's going to choose in the end, but it's all the steps in between that I have no clue about" you took the words right out of my mouth. I think what Forman wanted from her audience was to know the final decision but not the steps in between. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
I agree with you guys completely. Her decision is pretty predictable. But with all these things going on inbetween, it's hard to figure out what is going happen next until you actually read whats going on. And carly I like how you said "I predict that the conflict will be solved by Mia just giving up on trying to figure out what type of state she is in and focus on how to escape this nightmare". It seems like everything shes going through is a nightmare and she just needs someone to give her a good smack in the face to wake her up.But i think adam is the person that is going to give her that smack to wake up and help her out of this situation. If adam could only get a chance to be with her,we could find out. Aurianah Jones Jones 3
Mia's internal conflict is her deciding if she should stay alive and be with her family and friends or die and be with her mother and father. Throughout the book she can not talk to anyone so it is all up to her to make the decision. I predict the conflict will be solved by Mia hearing and seeing what her family and friends want and ultimately what she will want to do. The author has created a tragic tone for the beginning of book. "This cannot be happening. We are a family, going on a drive. This isn't real. I must have fallen asleep in the car" (Forman 15). Mia could not believe her parents were dead and anyone who loses someone that close to them is horrfied. I this Gayle Forman did a very well job with this tone because it seemed so realistic. Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
Mia's internel confilict is choosing a choice between life or death. She knows she's going to eventually have to make a choice about which one to choose. But at the same time, she doesn't want to focus about wheather or not she is going to die. She seems to be more focused on seeing everyone else and trying to observe their actions. At this point, Mia's body is on the hospital bed, but Mia's soul is wandering around the hospital trying to figure out all that she can about the visitors in the waiting room. She's also trying to figure out all that she can about what's going on with herself. I think that since she loves her boyfriend, Adam and can't wait to see him, that he will ultimately tell her what he wants her to do and she will do whatever that decision is to keep him happy. I also think that because Adam gives her hope because when she sees the car he rides in pull up to the hospital, she gets beyond excited. "All day long I've been imagining Adam's arrival and in my fantasy, I rush to greet him, even though he can't see me" (Forman 86). Forman has an intense tone but it's realistic. She makes it realistic by how she words her sentences and the words she chooses. There is a lot of places that Forman gets so in depth and realistic that I can just picture the whole scene in my head like a movie. Heather Hill Jones 3
Heather, I like the tone you chose for the book. Everything she writes about is very intense yet so realistic. I love how you wrote, "There is a lot of places that Forman gets so in depth and realistic that I can just picture the whole scene in my head like a movie" because it is exactly how I feel when I read the book! Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
I really like what you said "she doesn't want to focus about wheather or not she is going to die. She seems to be more focused on seeing everyone else and trying to observe their actions." Mia is worried about her gram and gramps because of how they have been acting around her. I also do agree that Adam gives her hope because any time Mia mentions Adam all she has is positive things to say and his good vibe rubs off onto her. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
I agree with you when you said "I think that since she loves her boyfriend, Adam and can't wait to see him, that he will ultimately tell her what he wants her to do and she will do whatever that decision is to keep him happy". I think that once adam finally has a real chance to be with her, touch her,and speak to her that she will make the decision to live or not because even though she is close to her grandparents, she will never have a connection with them like she had with her parents and still has with adam. I also agree with on how you said that the tone of the author is intense but realistic, and that its like seeing a movie in your head. Thats exactly how I feel, like when she talks about how everyone bursted into the ICU and adam rushed to find mia and when he found her, he was just about to touch her hand and talk to her, but he was snatched by security before he could. That part was really intense and so vivid, it was like a movie in my head, and it also told me that it would be up to adam to help her with her decision to live or not. Aurianah Jones Jones 3
The main character of the story, Mia is having an internal conflict about whether or not she should keep living or the just give up and end her life. She’s in a coma in the hospital and her grandparents come to visit her for the first time and they wonder if she can hear them while she is in the coma. Then a nurse stops by and tells them that it’s really all up to her to make the decision to keep on fighting for her life and wake up or just give up and die and leave the remaining family and her friends behind. “‘Don’t you doubt for a second that she can hear,’ she tells them. ‘She’s aware of everything that’s going on.’ … ‘You might think that the doctors or nurses or all this is running the show,’ she says, gesturing to the wall of medical equipment. ‘Nuh-uh. She’s running the show. Maybe she’s just biding her time. So you talk her. You tell her to take all the time she needs, but to come on back. You’re waiting for her’” (Forman 68 and 69). What this nurse says gets her grandparent thinking and it makes Mia realize that what this woman has said is true and that she really does make the decision to live or die and this scares her and she doesn’t know what to choose. I think that she will choose to live because she still has a lot to live for and that she really has no reason to let herself die. She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life. I’m also curious as to if she does choose to live, will the injuries that she sustained in the car accident have an effect on her ability to play the cello or effect her memory in anyway. I think the mood of this book is sorrowful because I feel bad about the fact that her and her family have to deal with so many loses in the family and they have to deal with Mia being in the hospital and they can’t really help her. All they can do is wait and I can see that their feeling kind of helpless because they can’t help or control what happens next. “It’s the social worker who speaks to Gran and Gramps in hushed sympathetic tones. She tells them that I am in ‘grave’ condition. I’m not entirely sure what that means---grave… ‘I wish there was something we could do,’ Gran says. ‘I feel so useless just waiting’” (Forman 44). Aurianah Jones Jones 3
I love how descripitive you get when explaining something. The part you wrote and said "She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life." That is so true! Mia has insecurities just like most girls and even guys in the world, and in reality they think thats a reason to give up on life. But it's not. I don't think Mia is going to give up. I think in the end she'll choose to stay. But, I also like how you're connecting it to reality, wheather or not you meant too by saying that, thats how I took it and I liked that part a lot. Heather Hill Jones 3
I like how you went into a lot of details about her internal conflict. When you wrote, "She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life" I believe that is very true. She is young and has her whole life to live. She will have to live without her parents and brother but she has the oppountity to be on earth, unlike them. I feel bad for Mia but choosing to live is the best thing she could do for herself and her family. Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
I was pretty satisfied with the ending of "If I stay". Mia finally made the decision to live and face her life as it is now. The only thing I did not like was the fact we didn't get to know how Mia life is after she woke up. "And then I hear the sharp intake of his breath followed by the sound of his voice. It's the first time today I can truly hear him" (Forman 196). After that all we know was Mia could feel Adam and squeeze his hand. But I did enjoy this book very much because Forman's vivid imagerty and it had a great plot. I think this book was chosen as a recipient of the Gateway Book Award because it was relatable, dramatic, funny, exicting and not predictable. She made the reader think about if this happen to you, what would you choose? I feel the gateway books are choosen if us teenagers can put ourselves in the character's shoes, and Forman did that. Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
I was satisfied with the ending of "If I Stay". Mia made the choice that I was expecting her to make and I am glad she did. She has her whole life ahead of her that she needs to live and this will now bring her together even more with all her friends and family. The only down fall about this book is how the last word leaves you hanging "It's the first time today I can actually hear him. "Mia?" he asks." (Forman 196). You want to know what happens to her life after she wakes up. I think this book was great for the Gateway Book Award because there is so much emotion flowing through the text and readers can connect and that is what Gateway Books are supposed to be like. This book sparks many questions like what would you do or how would you handle this. Carly Getzlow Jones 3
The ending of "If I Stay" was great because obviously Mia chooses to stay otherwise she wouldn't have gripped Adamas hand on page 195. I'm glad she chose to stay, and the predictions I made were right. But, what I didn't like was how Forman ended the book with just "Mia," (Forman 196). It leaves me with a ton of questions. I am interested in knowing what happens after that. Who does she live with? Does she change her life in big ways? Does she stay with Adam? Does she continue to play the cello that she once thought about quitting? These are all questions I asked myself when I read the last line of the book. I think this book was a wonderful pick for a gateway book because Forman's style of writing is unique, the story itself was fantastic and the details of the book make you feel like you're actually in the hospital with Mia. Heather Hill Jones 3
I'm very satisfied with the ending of the book "If I Stay" because it proves all the predictions that we had for the ending. The only I didn't like was the way the book ended without enough information on what happens to mia next. It left me asking a lot of questions and wondering what happens next but I guess thats why there's a second book. I think this book was chosen to win a gateway book award because it makes you feel like relate and understand what's happening to the main character and it makes you feel like you're there with person watching and seeing everything they see and do. This book had funny moments, sad moments and moments that make a person "wow". "I'm feeling not just physical pain, but all that i have lost, and it is profound and catastrophic and will leave a crater in me that nothing will ever fill"(Forman 195). I hope I have enough time to read the second book. I also hope that the second book is just as good or even better then the first but I have no doubts that it will be. Aurianah Jones Jones 3
"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman is one of the most mermorable and eye opening book I had read. The story is about a girl name Mia who got in a car accident with her family and she is the only one who surivived but is in a coma. She can hear and see everything around her but no one can see her. It is a fiction book but how Forman described everything it seemed so realistic. "But am I dead? The me who is lying on the edge of the road, my leg hanging down into the gulley, is surrounded by a team of men and women who are peforming frantic ablutions over me and plugging my veins with I do not know what" (Forman 17).I love how this book went from the past to the present. It really gave the reader a true understanding of the characters by not giving it away right away in the beginning. The only thing I would critize about the book is that in beginning it should have gone into more background about the characters because of that I couldn't get into it till a little later. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I'm planning on reading the second book to it! Jennifer Ingoldsby Jones 3
The novel "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman is a really good book. The story really made me feel like I was living through everything the main character mia was. Everything in this book was detailed and in way it was written. It felt like I was literally watching a movie and sometimes it felt like a was in the movie. I loved how the book went from present to past events that happen in the character's life. Sometimes it felt like some of the past event didn't really tie into what was going on but towards the end of the flashback it would all make sense. This book also kept me wondering what was going to happen next, although the ending of the book was very predictable. The author also worded some of the things that the characters said so realistically that it felt like the character saying them them was actually speaking to you. “‘Don’t you doubt for a second that she can hear,’ she tells them. ‘She’s aware of everything that’s going on.’ … ‘You might think that the doctors or nurses or all this is running the show,’ she says, gesturing to the wall of medical equipment. ‘Nuh-uh. She’s running the show. Maybe she’s just biding her time. So you talk her. You tell her to take all the time she needs, but to come on back. You’re waiting for her’” (Forman 68 and 69). This really did deserve to be have a gateway book award. It had all the elements a good book should have like suspence, sadness, happiness, awkwardness, and everything inbetween. I give this book a 5 of 5 stars and I can't wait to read the sequel "Where She Went". Aurianah Jones Jones 3
The setting for the book If I Stay is in Portland, Oregon mostly in the Hospital. The setting is important because in the book Mia states, "I wake up this morning to a thin blanket of snow. It isn't even an inch, but in this part of Oregon a slight dusting brings everything to a standstill" (Forman 3). Without this light dusting of snow, Mia's family wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be fighting for her life. The main character in my book is Mia Hall. Mia is 17 years old and is quiet, kind and very musically gifted. She loves her family, her cello and her friends. Mia feels that she doesn't fit in with her family and boyfriend because they are all a big fan of rock and roll when Mia loves classical music.
ReplyDeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
I agree with what you said about the setting, "Without this light dusting of snow, Mia's family wouldn't be dead and she wouldn't be fighting for her life." The setting is the whole reason why Mia is in the hospital. Without the setting being like it was the whole plot would change. Also your quote went perfectly with your reason about the setting.
DeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I agree with jennifer, if it wasnt for the little snow that they got that caused the fatal accident, the plot of the book wouldnt be the same and it would make it a completely different story, but it also makes me wonder that if all of mia's family didn't die in the accident, what would the story be like then?
DeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
If I stay by Gayle Forman is set in Portland, Oregon. The setting in this book is why she in the situation of choosing life and death. "The car is eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb" (Forman 13). If it wasn't for the snow day, possibly her family would still be alive and in work or at school. Mia, who is the main charater and narrator in the story is in the hospital and is in critcal condition. Mia Hall is talented, bright and a musically gifted individual. She loves her family but feels she never belonged because of her differences. She is very timid and uncertain about the choices she has to make.
ReplyDeleteJ.Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I agree with you about the snow day. If the snow day wouldn't have happened, neither would have the accident. Mia is most definitely gifted. She has a gift for music and she seems to be her own person instead of following what people want her to be. I like how you put in the detail of the "four ton pick up truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb". Very good description.
DeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
I also agree about the whole snow day. I was thinking that while I was reading also. You can definitely tell That Mia is very different from her family, she just loves classical music. I really like the quote you included because it just gives me such a vivid picture in my head of the accident. "The car is eviscerated. The impact of a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour plowing straight into the passenger side had the force of an atom bomb"
DeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
The main character of the book if I stay is Mia Hall, who is a quiet person but very musical talented. She feels like an outsider in her family because she is a lot different, she doesn’t even look the same as most of the people in her family who are blonde haired and blue eyed. Everyone in her immediate family loves music, which is something they all have in common but it’s the type of music that she prefers that sets her apart from them also, she prefers more classical music while the rest of her family is more into the punk rocker scene. This makes her feel connected to her family somewhat but she still feels left out in some ways. “Dad sometimes joked that the hospital where I was born at must have accidentally swapped babies because I look nothing like the rest of the family. They are all blond hair and fair and I’m like their negative image, brown hair and dark eyes. But as I got older, Dad’s hospital joke took more meaning then I think he intended” (Forman 19). The setting of the book is in Oregon, where it mostly wet and rainy or snowy. The setting of the book is important because it could have had something to do with losing her family in a car crash and her having to fight to survive her serious injuries.
ReplyDeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
Mia is very different from her family and I liked how you used the quote from the book, “Dad sometimes joked that the hospital where I was born at must have accidentally swapped babies because I look nothing like the rest of the family. They are all blond hair and fair and I’m like their negative image, brown hair and dark eyes. But as I got older, Dad’s hospital joke took more meaning then I think he intended” (Forman 19). It describes exactly how the Mia feels because she loves classical music and looks nothing like her family. Even though her family jokes about it, she feels insecure about her differences.
DeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I absolutely love the way you described the book so far. You got in depth with it, and that's great. I also agree with Jennifer about the quote you chose to use. It was perfect for the description and shows exactly how noticeably different Mia is from the rest of her family. Clearly, Mia is insecure about her differences, but that makes her who she is. The setting of the book is very important to the conflict Mia now faces, I agree with that as well. If it wasn't for the weather that day, the truck would have never been plowing the snow and hit the car Mia and her family were in.
DeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
In the book if I stay, mia is 17 years old, living in Portland, Oregon. She faces a car accident which her whole family is involved with which causes her to stay in the hospital. The setting is important because the day of the accident, it was snowing and that's how the car crashed happened. In the book, mia mentions how just a dusting of snow can cause a lot of trouble. That makes me feel.as if Portland is typically dry so when it does snow, its incredibly dangerous and wet. Mia's whole family seems to be involved with music, just different types. Mia seems to have a good life. She does good school and has a steady boyfriend. She's the typical teenager.
ReplyDeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
I agree with what you are saying about Oregon always being dry so the little snow they had was very bad for them. Mia's family seems almost to be a little upset that she is into classical music and not what they are into but they love her still. Yes I also agree that Mia is just the typical teenager that walks down the road until the car accident.
DeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
I also agree about how the weather had such an effect on how the crash happened. It sort of reminds me of how missouri is, when we get a little snow, it seems to effects us alot more then people think it would.I also agree that mia is a typical teenage but she seems to have alot of insecurities, which every teenager does but i think if she just had talked to her family about some of the problems she had about not fitting into the family, she could have been alot happier with her life.
DeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
An internal conflict Mia is having is that she can't decide if she is dead or if she is alive. After the car accident she can see herself laying in a ditch and can walk around freely. "I decide to try a simpler maneuver. I walk into the wall, imagining that I'll float through it and come out the other side. Except that what happens when I walk into the wall is that I hit a wall" (Forman 36). I predict that the conflict will be solved by Mia just giving up on trying to figure out what type of state she is in and focus on how to escape this nightmare. The tone the author has created is very intense and Formans diction helps with the intense tone. When Forman tells us about the car crash it gives you goose bumps because of how in detail she goes on.
ReplyDeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
I like the quote you chose, "I decide to try a simpler maneuver. I walk into the wall, imagining that I'll float through it and come out the other side. Except that what happens when I walk into the wall is that I hit a wall." I also like the word choice. You're completely right, what Mia is going through right now is a complete nightmare and she seems very strong. Forman writes with an intense tone, but that's what makes everything so real and kind of suspenseful. I know that personally, I can predict what she's going to choose in the end, but it's all the steps in between that I have no clue about.
DeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
I 100% agree with what you said "I know that personally, I can predict what she's going to choose in the end, but it's all the steps in between that I have no clue about" you took the words right out of my mouth. I think what Forman wanted from her audience was to know the final decision but not the steps in between.
DeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
I agree with you guys completely. Her decision is pretty predictable. But with all these things going on inbetween, it's hard to figure out what is going happen next until you actually read whats going on. And carly I like how you said "I predict that the conflict will be solved by Mia just giving up on trying to figure out what type of state she is in and focus on how to escape this nightmare". It seems like everything shes going through is a nightmare and she just needs someone to give her a good smack in the face to wake her up.But i think adam is the person that is going to give her that smack to wake up and help her out of this situation. If adam could only get a chance to be with her,we could find out.
DeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
Mia's internal conflict is her deciding if she should stay alive and be with her family and friends or die and be with her mother and father. Throughout the book she can not talk to anyone so it is all up to her to make the decision. I predict the conflict will be solved by Mia hearing and seeing what her family and friends want and ultimately what she will want to do. The author has created a tragic tone for the beginning of book. "This cannot be happening. We are a family, going on a drive. This isn't real. I must have fallen asleep in the car" (Forman 15). Mia could not believe her parents were dead and anyone who loses someone that close to them is horrfied. I this Gayle Forman did a very well job with this tone because it seemed so realistic.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
Mia's internel confilict is choosing a choice between life or death. She knows she's going to eventually have to make a choice about which one to choose. But at the same time, she doesn't want to focus about wheather or not she is going to die. She seems to be more focused on seeing everyone else and trying to observe their actions. At this point, Mia's body is on the hospital bed, but Mia's soul is wandering around the hospital trying to figure out all that she can about the visitors in the waiting room. She's also trying to figure out all that she can about what's going on with herself. I think that since she loves her boyfriend, Adam and can't wait to see him, that he will ultimately tell her what he wants her to do and she will do whatever that decision is to keep him happy. I also think that because Adam gives her hope because when she sees the car he rides in pull up to the hospital, she gets beyond excited. "All day long I've been imagining Adam's arrival and in my fantasy, I rush to greet him, even though he can't see me" (Forman 86). Forman has an intense tone but it's realistic. She makes it realistic by how she words her sentences and the words she chooses. There is a lot of places that Forman gets so in depth and realistic that I can just picture the whole scene in my head like a movie.
ReplyDeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
Heather, I like the tone you chose for the book. Everything she writes about is very intense yet so realistic. I love how you wrote, "There is a lot of places that Forman gets so in depth and realistic that I can just picture the whole scene in my head like a movie" because it is exactly how I feel when I read the book!
DeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I really like what you said "she doesn't want to focus about wheather or not she is going to die. She seems to be more focused on seeing everyone else and trying to observe their actions." Mia is worried about her gram and gramps because of how they have been acting around her. I also do agree that Adam gives her hope because any time Mia mentions Adam all she has is positive things to say and his good vibe rubs off onto her.
DeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
I agree with you when you said "I think that since she loves her boyfriend, Adam and can't wait to see him, that he will ultimately tell her what he wants her to do and she will do whatever that decision is to keep him happy". I think that once adam finally has a real chance to be with her, touch her,and speak to her that she will make the decision to live or not because even though she is close to her grandparents, she will never have a connection with them like she had with her parents and still has with adam. I also agree with on how you said that the tone of the author is intense but realistic, and that its like seeing a movie in your head. Thats exactly how I feel, like when she talks about how everyone bursted into the ICU and adam rushed to find mia and when he found her, he was just about to touch her hand and talk to her, but he was snatched by security before he could. That part was really intense and so vivid, it was like a movie in my head, and it also told me that it would be up to adam to help her with her decision to live or not.
DeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
The main character of the story, Mia is having an internal conflict about whether or not she should keep living or the just give up and end her life. She’s in a coma in the hospital and her grandparents come to visit her for the first time and they wonder if she can hear them while she is in the coma. Then a nurse stops by and tells them that it’s really all up to her to make the decision to keep on fighting for her life and wake up or just give up and die and leave the remaining family and her friends behind. “‘Don’t you doubt for a second that she can hear,’ she tells them. ‘She’s aware of everything that’s going on.’ … ‘You might think that the doctors or nurses or all this is running the show,’ she says, gesturing to the wall of medical equipment. ‘Nuh-uh. She’s running the show. Maybe she’s just biding her time. So you talk her. You tell her to take all the time she needs, but to come on back. You’re waiting for her’” (Forman 68 and 69). What this nurse says gets her grandparent thinking and it makes Mia realize that what this woman has said is true and that she really does make the decision to live or die and this scares her and she doesn’t know what to choose. I think that she will choose to live because she still has a lot to live for and that she really has no reason to let herself die. She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life. I’m also curious as to if she does choose to live, will the injuries that she sustained in the car accident have an effect on her ability to play the cello or effect her memory in anyway. I think the mood of this book is sorrowful because I feel bad about the fact that her and her family have to deal with so many loses in the family and they have to deal with Mia being in the hospital and they can’t really help her. All they can do is wait and I can see that their feeling kind of helpless because they can’t help or control what happens next. “It’s the social worker who speaks to Gran and Gramps in hushed sympathetic tones. She tells them that I am in ‘grave’ condition. I’m not entirely sure what that means---grave… ‘I wish there was something we could do,’ Gran says. ‘I feel so useless just waiting’” (Forman 44).
ReplyDeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
I love how descripitive you get when explaining something. The part you wrote and said "She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life." That is so true! Mia has insecurities just like most girls and even guys in the world, and in reality they think thats a reason to give up on life. But it's not. I don't think Mia is going to give up. I think in the end she'll choose to stay. But, I also like how you're connecting it to reality, wheather or not you meant too by saying that, thats how I took it and I liked that part a lot.
DeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
I like how you went into a lot of details about her internal conflict. When you wrote, "She does have insecurities about herself but that doesn’t really give her a reason to give up on life" I believe that is very true. She is young and has her whole life to live. She will have to live without her parents and brother but she has the oppountity to be on earth, unlike them. I feel bad for Mia but choosing to live is the best thing she could do for herself and her family.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I was pretty satisfied with the ending of "If I stay". Mia finally made the decision to live and face her life as it is now. The only thing I did not like was the fact we didn't get to know how Mia life is after she woke up. "And then I hear the sharp intake of his breath followed by the sound of his voice. It's the first time today I can truly hear him" (Forman 196). After that all we know was Mia could feel Adam and squeeze his hand. But I did enjoy this book very much because Forman's vivid imagerty and it had a great plot. I think this book was chosen as a recipient of the Gateway Book Award because it was relatable, dramatic, funny, exicting and not predictable. She made the reader think about if this happen to you, what would you choose? I feel the gateway books are choosen if us teenagers can put ourselves in the character's shoes, and Forman did that.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
I was satisfied with the ending of "If I Stay". Mia made the choice that I was expecting her to make and I am glad she did. She has her whole life ahead of her that she needs to live and this will now bring her together even more with all her friends and family. The only down fall about this book is how the last word leaves you hanging "It's the first time today I can actually hear him. "Mia?" he asks." (Forman 196). You want to know what happens to her life after she wakes up. I think this book was great for the Gateway Book Award because there is so much emotion flowing through the text and readers can connect and that is what Gateway Books are supposed to be like. This book sparks many questions like what would you do or how would you handle this.
ReplyDeleteCarly Getzlow
Jones 3
The ending of "If I Stay" was great because obviously Mia chooses to stay otherwise she wouldn't have gripped Adamas hand on page 195. I'm glad she chose to stay, and the predictions I made were right. But, what I didn't like was how Forman ended the book with just "Mia," (Forman 196). It leaves me with a ton of questions. I am interested in knowing what happens after that. Who does she live with? Does she change her life in big ways? Does she stay with Adam? Does she continue to play the cello that she once thought about quitting? These are all questions I asked myself when I read the last line of the book. I think this book was a wonderful pick for a gateway book because Forman's style of writing is unique, the story itself was fantastic and the details of the book make you feel like you're actually in the hospital with Mia.
ReplyDeleteHeather Hill
Jones 3
I'm very satisfied with the ending of the book "If I Stay" because it proves all the predictions that we had for the ending. The only I didn't like was the way the book ended without enough information on what happens to mia next. It left me asking a lot of questions and wondering what happens next but I guess thats why there's a second book. I think this book was chosen to win a gateway book award because it makes you feel like relate and understand what's happening to the main character and it makes you feel like you're there with person watching and seeing everything they see and do. This book had funny moments, sad moments and moments that make a person "wow". "I'm feeling not just physical pain, but all that i have lost, and it is profound and catastrophic and will leave a crater in me that nothing will ever fill"(Forman 195). I hope I have enough time to read the second book. I also hope that the second book is just as good or even better then the first but I have no doubts that it will be.
ReplyDeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3
"If I Stay" by Gayle Forman is one of the most mermorable and eye opening book I had read. The story is about a girl name Mia who got in a car accident with her family and she is the only one who surivived but is in a coma. She can hear and see everything around her but no one can see her. It is a fiction book but how Forman described everything it seemed so realistic. "But am I dead? The me who is lying on the edge of the road, my leg hanging down into the gulley, is surrounded by a team of men and women who are peforming frantic ablutions over me and plugging my veins with I do not know what" (Forman 17).I love how this book went from the past to the present. It really gave the reader a true understanding of the characters by not giving it away right
ReplyDeleteaway in the beginning. The only thing I would critize about the book is that in beginning it should have gone into more background about the characters because of that I couldn't get into it till a little later. Overall I really enjoyed this book and I'm planning on reading the second book to it!
Jennifer Ingoldsby
Jones 3
The novel "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman is a really good book. The story really made me feel like I was living through everything the main character mia was. Everything in this book was detailed and in way it was written. It felt like I was literally watching a movie and sometimes it felt like a was in the movie. I loved how the book went from present to past events that happen in the character's life. Sometimes it felt like some of the past event didn't really tie into what was going on but towards the end of the flashback it would all make sense. This book also kept me wondering what was going to happen next, although the ending of the book was very predictable. The author also worded some of the things that the characters said so realistically that it felt like the character saying them them was actually speaking to you. “‘Don’t you doubt for a second that she can hear,’ she tells them. ‘She’s aware of everything that’s going on.’ … ‘You might think that the doctors or nurses or all this is running the show,’ she says, gesturing to the wall of medical equipment. ‘Nuh-uh. She’s running the show. Maybe she’s just biding her time. So you talk her. You tell her to take all the time she needs, but to come on back. You’re waiting for her’” (Forman 68 and 69). This really did deserve to be have a gateway book award. It had all the elements a good book should have like suspence, sadness, happiness, awkwardness, and everything inbetween. I give this book a 5 of 5 stars and I can't wait to read the sequel "Where She Went".
ReplyDeleteAurianah Jones
Jones 3