Though the plotline of “If I Stay” revolves around a terrible tragedy, its fans insist that the novel is not depressing. One minute Mia is in the car with her family. In the next, she is standing outside her body watching paramedics take it away. Her parents have died and her body is in a coma. Mia must decide: should she fight to live, or go on with her family? Much like in Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones,” former journalist Gayle Forman’s young protagonist narrates the novel from afar. She reflects on her past through flashbacks and watches the people in her life – even reading their thoughts – as she makes the bittersweet decision.
