Back for 2015! If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I have been in the midst of my MBA studies and a big move at the end of last year but I have missed this silly little blog so I thought I'd start up again so I can record some of the thoughts about the lovely books that I am reading (or listening to as the case may be).  The great thing about having limited time to read for - if there can be an upside - is that I am very selective about my literary endeavors and, as a result chose some really lovely books since I started this whole educational journey.

The other big change is that I am back out on the road now so audio books have become my best friend.  There is just something so soothing about having someone read to you and experience the characters in a way that the author intended.  The other bonus is that a lot of the books I have read lately via audio format have had additional author interviews tacked on to the end and/or were read by the author.  I tell you, that is just the coolest.

So I am going to start with 2015 books for this year but I may dip back into 2014 for some books that I adored but didn't have a chance to blog.

My first audio book of the year was "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman.  The reason that I picked this one out was due to the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge that my friend Vanessa and I decided to do together - this one satisfied the "Book that was turned into a movie" category.

The premise of this novel centers around Mia, a teenager involved in a tragic accident that took her immediate family.  She realizes that she has the option to either stay on earth or let go into whatever lies beyond.  The story is told from her out of body point of view as she watches her loved ones cope with what has happened to her and her family.

While the writing and the musings of Mia were lovely, there was something in this novel that didn't grab me entirely and I would have loved to have seen more flashback and fewer absurd little subplots (like the rock star distraction). No spoilers but the ending seemed a bit abrupt.  It could have supported another chapter, but now I understand this is part of a series of books so I may have to try book 2 "Where She Went" to see if what I hoped would be fleshed out in this novel is continued by the author.

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

Read Date: January 6, 2015