Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Every now and then I read a YA book and whenever I do I think back to my teenage self saying to my Dad "I'll always want to read YA books. I'll never grow out of them." and he, wisely as ever saying "Maybe one day you will." And then the strange discovery one day that all I read was adult fiction and had truly left the YA genre behind. But every now and again I feel compelled to revisit it, just in case there is some magic there that I am not acquainted with.

I read If I Stay by Gayle Forman in one sitting (a huge positive about the YA genre) and enjoyed it for the most part. It reminded me in a way of The House of Secrets series by Joyce Stranger that I relished as a pre-teen, Georgie's Secret (has anyone read that?) in that the central character is unconscious. Nice. If I Stay is narrated by by Mia, a classical music loving 17 year old cello player, who is involved in a horrific car accident and is stuck somewhere between life and death watching the aftermath. She soon comes to realise that she has to make a decision, to stay and live with the love of her life, or to die and be at peace.

I loved the premise for this book, I can never go past a tragedy, but there were a couple of frustrations for me. And to be fair, I'm being super picky here. No, really there was just one main issue. She misspelled Haydn. A classical composer. And Mia, who loves classical music and her cello more than anything talks about about 'Hayden'. There is no 'e' in Haydn. Now I don't know if Ms Forman was trying to make this book more accessible to the teen audience, or she genuinely didn't know the correct spelling, or if in fact they refer to Haydn as Hayden in America, but whatever, it annoyed me. I don't think it ruined the book for me and I definitely know that I'm overreacting so I will now shut up on that point. I also feel that the injuries Mia sustained (particularly to her brain) will actually require a miracle for her to recover from, but perhaps I'm a bit jaded by brain injuries in my workplace. And this is a work of fiction and miracles certainly do happen!

Overall I think that this is a great book for teens. I found it a bit too sentimental at times, but what teenage girl doesn't love a bit of drama? There is a sequel to this due out next year called Where She Went, which in itself may give away the ending of this book, but my lips are sealed. Who else has read this? What were your thoughts?

Book Review: The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee

Do you remember when you were little and you watched Fern Gully for the first time and it was the most magical and visually stunning thing you had ever seen? Then you tried to relive the magic when you were all grown up and it was poor quality (because you're watching it on video) and dull with a very simple story? Well I am afraid that that is how I felt about The 'Halfmen of O' by Maurice Gee. When I was in grade 5 we read this as a class and I loved every minute of it. However I moved to another city and subsequently left the class before we finished and I have wanted to finish it ever since. So I took the opportunity of the Once Upon A Time IV Challenge as the perfect opportunity. Oh how I wish it was perfect.


The blurb of this book reads...

Susan has always been a bit odd and never really got on with her cousin Nick, but the mark on her wrist draws them together in a frightening adventure. They are summoned to the beautiful land of O in a last-ditch attempt to save the planet from cruel Otis Claw and his followers, the evil Halfmen, who have lost every trace of human goodness and kindness.

I don't quite know what to say about this book because it is a children's fantasy book, which is a genre I haven't read since I was a child myself. The book is average length for a children's/YA novel, 186 pages, so the action begins and finishes very quickly. I felt that the writing wasn't stellar, however it was appropriate for its target audience. I will be the first to admit (and I've said it before) that I am far from an expert on the fantasy genre but I felt that this book had all the fundamental elements of a fantasy. A young heroine who rises to a mammoth task, another world, strange creatures, lots of things that warrant capital letters (the Halves, the Motherstone) and people wearing cloaks. But I am not able to discern if this makes it an original and unique children's fantasy, or a run-of-the-mill adventure book set on another planet.


What I liked: The land of O was beautifully described and made out to be a beautiful planet. It seemed to me reminiscent of Pandora, of Avatar fame (which I haven't seen), or Fern Gully. O was so diverse and full of different and fantastical species, the Halfmen, the Woodlanders, the Birdfolk, the Stonefolk and the Seafolk, and their quest took them to such different environments throughout the land. Susan was a worthy heroine and got appropriately drawn in to the drama and enormity of her task.

Image from here

Image from here

What I didn't like: Nick. Possibly one of the most annoying characters I have ever read. He was so full of his self importance, yet obviously an idiot (harsh?). He tried to be protective and noble but had his own agenda (of being the protective and noble) and stated the obvious ALL THE DAMN TIME!! All the big action bits were over in a couple of pages and there was always a convenient solution to the bigger challenges. I never felt the suspense, worried for the characters or wanted them to complete their task.


So... the biggest letdown for me was the memory. I think if I had finished it when I was 11 I would have just loveloveloved it. I am giving this a big yes for the 10-13 age group but sadly a no for me at this age. Maurice Gee is a New Zealand author and this book was first published in 1982. It won a few awards back in the day, but I haven't seen it in any book shops recently, nor have any of my friends read it. Though I didn't love it myself, I think this book is too good to be forgotten. I am interested to hear of anyone else out there who has read this? What did you think?