Through the events and characters actions it shows a lot on how the theme could be good versus bad. Readers will find themselves drawn to empathize with mia and nearly all of. The novel also demonstrates how ones close friends such as mias boyfriend adam are indeed a. Gayle formans bestseller if i stay, shows a situation where mia, the main character, has to make the right decision when her life is literally in her hands. The beginning of the novel strongly introduces this theme as a group of socs, the west side rich kids, jump and. As a teenager, mia is at the crossroads of many major life decisions. In if i stay, clothes and music are used to define a persons identity, and almost every character is obsessed with looking cool or listening to cool music. Develop a thoughtful, persuasive multiparagraph essay that effectively convinces mia to stay and live.
If i stay is a novel that explores the kinds of sacrifices that inevitably accompany choices. For example, as a talented cellist, mia has to decide whether to pursue her study of the instrument at juilliard in new york city, or whether she will remain with her boyfriend, adam, in the pacific northwest. The power of family bonds is the most prevalent theme in if i stay. Family in lots of young adult novels, the protagonist either doesnt associate much with his or her family or outright despises them. To determine the theme of a book, you should select a word that expresses the subject of your book. My brilliant friend 2012, the story of a new name 20, those who leave and those who stay 2014, and the story of the lost child 2015. The entire crux of the novel hinges on mias decision about. Perhaps some of the situations are old and have been tried in other tellings, but the approach in this book, is fresh and has a nice combination of the themes with a bit of a twist. Sometimes you can get through an entire book and not realize what the author meant. Music as a dividing and uniting power music functions paradoxically in gayle formans if i stay, dividing the characters along lines of personal taste, personality, and worldview. If i stay is a young adult novel by gayle forman published in 2009. Their listeners are both sensitive and dramatic, which is the perfect way to describe if i stay, a book about a violent car accident that causes a teen girl to ponder. If i stay themes freebooksummary study guides and book.
If i stay is an epic that asks us to focus on the loves we have in our lives and the importance of pursuing our dreams and passions. While the rest of her immediate family decided what they could do with this free time mia already has other plans. Teenagers are grappling with choices about life and love as much as adults, so why shouldnt. Music functions paradoxically in gayle formans if i stay, dividing the characters along lines of personal taste, personality, and worldview. The book follows margaret and casey brewer, whose father has been acting very strange since losing his job as a botanist at a nearby university. Like those fables, adebayos stay with me a beautifully produced book with a matisseinspired jacket that felicitously captures the spirit of the authors writing has a.
For example, you could say preparation best symbolizes the three little pigs. Trapped between life and death writer kaleb nation admits that he buys books for their covers thats why he first picked up gayle formans if i stay. If i stay study guide contains a biography of gayle forman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a. My thoughts on stay sweet prior to sitting down and reading the book are that even though the premise for stay sweet is interesting, i wanted to keep my expectations low. I honestly have nothing negative to say about this book. This book stays with you long after the book has ended.
If i stay by gayle forman book club discussion questions. The story follows 17yearold mia hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. For their first date, adam used all his money to buy two tickets to a yoyo ma concert. Within our book group there was much discussion about womens lives in nigeria and other cultures including our own as the book provoked research into many. Apr 17, 2020 vw book store is a featurerich, flexible, robust and reliable wordpress theme for book stores, ebook sites, writers, magazines, journalists, editors, authors, publishers and online book sellers. Thats what a colleague said to me about ayobami adebayos searing debut novel, stay with me and not sadistically. Love can decide between life and death is a constant theme that occurs thoughout the entire story. The theme of living is easy, dying is hard stays with you for a long long time and shapes your own life for the better. The theme of music and harmony in if i stay from litcharts. Soon to be a film, if i stay calls to mind alice sebolds the lovely bones, but readers must cope with the tragic events in the novel without having the satisfaction of a specific character to blame. She scans the morning paper looking for news about her. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work.
Learn how to find the theme of a book or short story. Its a book for kids precisely because it explores serious themes. You can add if i stay to the pantheon of afterlife fiction, but this one is the most understated and mundane of the bunch. It doesnt matter what kind of love, whether it be storge,philia or eros.
However, it is an extremely accurate exposition of any and all relationships between two people. The novels actionhinges on mias decision to stay or to go. Jul 11, 2019 a book s theme is the main idea that flows through the narrative and connects the components of the story together. The neapolitan novels are a 4part series by the italian author elena ferrante, translated by ann goldstein and published by europa editions new york. One of the most terrifying aspects of catch22 is the fact that the lives and deaths of the men in yossarians squadron are governed not by their own decisions concerning dangerous risks but by the decisions of an impersonal, frightening bureaucracy. Music as a separating and joining force music works incomprehensibly in gayle formans on the off chance that i remain, isolating. In all romantic books the topic of love is explored. Portrait of a nigerian marriage in a heartbreaking debut. This was a charming book and i think most women will find it easy to relate. She can see and hear everything that goes on, but her ghost is not seen by others, and she cant feel anything.
The conflict of making choices is a prominent theme in the book. If i stay is one of those great rare books with a deeply authentic voice that can speak for and move a generation. The themes of sacrifice and choice occur throughout the story and play out in several. Even though mia was a cellist and adam was in a rock band, they still loved each other. The theme is a message that you take away from the book and it is defined by the symbols or a motif that keeps appearing and reappearing throughout the work. Parents need to know that this is a book for teens about a girl who loses her family in a car accident and is now in a coma. Mia is the only member of her family to survive, and she finds herself in a coma. The characters that are involved in her making her choice are all her family, adam, and kim. Mia has her love for adam, her love of her parents, her love for her brother, her love. Discussion of themes and motifs in gayle formans if i stay. If i stay s mia and kim arent going to be joining the sisterhood of the traveling pants, but they are good friends, even if mia sometimes veers into bellas territory of choosing her man above anything else. Stay out of the basement is the second book in the original goosebumps book series. For instance, mias folks, her beau adam, her closest companion kim, and by far most of her familys dear companions have a.
Next, use that word as the foundation for a complete thought such as, making smart choices requires. Mia doesnt get to fly around, see god, or even walk through walls. This study guide consists of approximately 23 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of if i stay. Oct, 2014 gayle forman, if i stay people think i like chick flicks, and i always have good excuses for reading books that are apparently, chick flicks. This book would not be able to move along without conflict. Just the whole situation on how mia and her family got into a car accident had her thinking whether to stay alive or not. Jul 24, 2017 like those fables, adebayos stay with me a beautifully produced book with a matisseinspired jacket that felicitously captures the spirit of the authors writing has a. If you find yourself struggling to identify the theme of a book youre reading, theres a simple trick you can use. Sacrifice and choice if i stay is a novel that explores the kinds of sacrifices that inevitably accompany choices. Another theme in if i stay is that there are different types of love. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. Although she is physically unconscious throughout the story. The juxtaposition of familiar coming of young adult age issues with far more heavy themes elevates the film above your average ya love story just not enough for if i stay to have the sort of crossover appeal that, say, fellow ya book adaptation the fault in our stars achieved earlier this year. In a fairly slim volume, author gayle forman manages to create a believable and virtually blameless character in mia.
Mias primary conflictwhether to stay alive or join her. Theme the main theme of the story was love that will last through anything no matter what the circumstances are. The main theme of the story was love that will last through anything no matter what the circumstances are. For example, mias parents, her boyfriend adam, her best friend kim, and the vast majority of her familys close friends have an affinity for rock music. One of the most dominant themes in the outsiders is that of class conflict. The theme of music that runs throughout the book is something else that makes if i stay appealing. After mias dad discusses his decision to quit his band and his musical career with her, he explains that sometimes you make choices. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. The epic beginnings with mias family sharing a flapjack breakfast on a frigid oregon morning.
Stay with me could be enjoyed on many different levels and it was interesting to note the setting of nigeria in the 1980s with many political undercurrents which piqued my curiosity. Music as a separating and joining force music works incomprehensibly in gayle formans on the off chance that i remain, isolating the characters along lines of individual taste, character, and perspective. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. The primary theme of if i stay is the concept of choice. Gayle forman, if i stay people think i like chick flicks, and i always have good excuses for reading books that are apparently, chick flicks.
Key characters theme setting the book that i chose for the. In if i stay our seventeenyearold mia wakes during a snowing morning, her parents and other family are busy celebrating the holiday with chocolate chip pancakes. The second theme is reflecting on the past can change the future. If i stay study guide contains a biography of gayle forman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. One theme is love can decide between life and death. It is a recurring theme in the book since mia has a lot of love in her life. When you finish reading, ask yourself to sum up the book in a single word. The importance of love and family is a driving force in if i stay, as many of the choices and sacrifices made within the novel are done for the sake. Even though mia was in the hospital, and there were high chances that she would not wake up, adam waited by her bedside hoping and praying that she would wake up. Write a multiparagraph essay in which you compare and contrast the role of rock and classical music in if i stay. This is a breathtaking and tragic book about marriage, family, and the lengths one will go to bring a child into this world.
For example, mias parents, her boyfriend adam, her best friend kim, and the vast majority of her familys close friends have an affinity. Not since twilight have we seen as emotionally moving a book for a youth audience with this kind of crossover appeal. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in if i stay, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. The theme of sacrifice and choice in if i stay from litcharts. Pdf if i stay by gayle forman read online book download. A work of fiction may have one theme or many, and they arent always easy to pinpoint right away. Your essay should include supporting passages from the text. Gayle forman, the author of the book, shows a love story hidden under the mess of a tragic family car accident. Remote work advice from the largest allremote company. Mias primary conflictwhether to stay alive or join her family in deathspeaks to the unassailable connection she has to her parents and brother. Because it is written in a unique style, it is extremely challenging to read rapidly. If i stay themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. However, this is a good basic list that you can build from.
Learn and understand all of the themes found in if i stay, such as choice. There are two themes in if i stay that really stick out. Teen readers will be thrilled, horrified, saddened and excited by the subject matter. Truly an outstanding book, stay with me, is one of the best books i have ever read. Aug 22, 2014 the juxtaposition of familiar coming of young adult age issues with far more heavy themes elevates the film above your average ya love story just not enough for if i stay to have the sort of crossover appeal that, say, fellow ya book adaptation the fault in our stars achieved earlier this year. If you were mias friend, how would you convince her that life is worth living in spite of her enormous loss. The theme can very well serve libraries, reading clubs, online movie, music and game selling sites. Stay with me by ayobami adebayo book club discussion. The novel is broken into four parts with 42 chapters in total, but for this guide. As she did in if i stay, forman offers an introspective examination of the line between life and death, and the courage it takes to persist. The story is told from the firstperson perspective of two main. If i stay is a pageturner, save the moments when reflection is required. The book is about a girl mia that likes a boy adam.
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