if i stay

Gayle Forman's if i stay novel really drew me in and kept my attention. If I had to classify the type of novel this is, I would say "supernatural." The story is set in Oregon on the day of a two-inch snowfall. Since the county where Mia and her family live has only one snow plow, school is cancelled for the day.

So Mia and her much younger brother Teddy and her parents decide to plan a special day eventually ending up at her Grandparents house of dinner. Since the snow melts quickly, they venture out on the road. "As usual, there is a battle for stereo dominance." They decide to listen to the news first followed by classical music. Since Mia is a cellist, she is delighted to hear the first few bars of Beethoven's Cello Sonata no. 3 playing when suddenly their car is rammed  by a four-ton pickup truck going sixty miles an hour.

Mia can still hear the radio--strange, however, since the car is entirely cut in half. She can see  that her parents have been killed immediately. She strives to find the other half of the car to see if Teddy needs help. When she looks down, she sees herself in the car. But how can this be when she is standing over the wreckage? Is she alive? Is this what it feels like to be dead?

When emergency vehicles arrive and start to work on her, she realizes that she must still be alive.

Read this intriguing story to find out what happens to Mia.