4 stars 
 Now this is a book that surprised me a little way in - surprised me in that I started to actually quite like it. 
 I didn't read the blurb before starting this - I just got it off my to-read list, having added it forever ago and forgotten the entire premise. To its credit, the blurb doesn't give the main plot point away, but the cover does. Fortunately, I'm not the most observant and I didn't notice. 
 If I Stay is about Mia - a 17-year-old cello-player who generally has a pretty ordinary life, despite her 'quirky' family. Mia and her family are then (view spoiler)[ involved in a car crash, in which her parents and younger brother Teddy, are killed, and Mia herself is seriously injured. Mia spends the rest of the book as a sort of ghost, while she decides whether she wants to go with her family or to stay behind. (hide spoiler)] 
 I liked the concept, though I have seen similar before, it was never quite in this way - not so much of an emphasis on Mia's decision and I like how it was done, to some extent. 
 I liked how a large amount of the book was Mia's reflection on her life, and the unoriginal 'quirkiness' of her family, boyfriend etc. didn't annoy me too much so must have been quite well done. I'm yet to read a book about music where I thought that worked - it works in a film, because you can hear the music, fall in love with it yourself, but a book can't do that and it's generally just annoying. I don't feel like it took away from the plot too much though. (view spoiler)[ I must say I really hated the bit with the rock star woman and all the others in the hospital, just so unrealistic and cringey. Admittedly, though, I never like made-up famous people in books. (hide spoiler)] 
 I didn't find any of the characters particularly engaging - Adam was particularly annoying and I just felt Teddy was really badly written - like a completely stereotypical bouncy 8-year-old. (view spoiler)[ I did have a bit of a cry when you find out that he's died. This is maybe largely because (hide spoiler)] Mia's love for him was quite well written, so I became attached to him through that. (view spoiler)[ also maybe partly hayfever, I was outside (hide spoiler)] 
 Anyhow, it was emotionally engaging - more so than I expected, given the characters. I do think Mia herself was quite well-written, although that may just be us seeing more of her, and seeing her more objectively, with her being the narrator. 
 I expected this book to be....light. An easy read. I was certainly wrong there, but it is nice to be surprised by a book. I did like it, it was a good read, and fairly well done.