RE-READ REVIEW of IF I STAY & WHERE SHE WENT by GAYLE FORMAN

 “Love, it never dies. It never goes away, it never fades, so long as you hang on to it. Love can make you immortal.”

Ever since we first picked up a copy of If I Stay some 3+ years ago, we’ve always spoke of our desire to revisit these books again. This series meant so much to us and we can recount exactly where we were and the feelings Mia and Adam’s story elicited from us in this deeply moving, profoundly beautiful and soul searing series.  These books are always in our thoughts when discussing our all-time favourite reads.  Mia and Adam’s story, to this day, still remains up there as one that touched our hearts and never let go.

“But the you who you are tonight is the same you I was in love with yesterday, the same you I’ll be in love with tomorrow.” 

Now, with the imminent release of the movie for If I Stay, watching the trailer made us want to drop everything and was a good excuse as any to pick up these books again. We couldn’t wait to finally get back to reliving those special moments created by an author with a true gift of storytelling.

Let us just say, we felt every single moment as if it was the first time and being back with Adam and Mia was akin to visiting some old friends, who, although you may not see often, they still manage to invade our thoughts constantly.

Our hearts broke all over again. We sobbed, we cheered, we loved, we laughed and we awed at the courage, love and strength shown by these young people whose story we will never forget.

“I know that all the magic kisses in the world probably couldn’t have helped him today. But I would do anything to have been able to give him one.”

We’re not going to cover the story because we would hate for readers to have any part of this journey ruined. We originally went in blind and we our reading experience was all the richer because of that.

Gayle Forman delivers a powerfully told story set against a background of music, that deals with the  intense and complex feelings of first love, it deals with loss, longing, choices, strength, courage and second chances and displays how a heart that loves bears the greatest strength of all.

“But seventeen is an inconvenient time to fall in love.”

A not to be missed series and please, we implore you…..please read the words the author has so beautifully and emotionally written before seeing the movie. You won’t forget them. We know we haven’t and we know we never will.

But still, I find the need to remind myself of the temporariness of a day, to reassure myself that I got through yesterday, I’ll get through today.”

We were moved implicitly by If I Stay. We were rendered speechless and left breathless in Where She Went. Two memorable books that tell a story where you wish, with every fibre of your being, that love will prevail.