REVIEW: If I Stay: Book vs.Movie Adaptation

If I Stay Book Cover                         If I Stay Movie Poster

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make. (Goodreads)



I was planning to watch it in cinemas so I made sure I read the book again. So, I did. But for some reason, I was not able to watch it so I waited for a Blu-Ray copy of the movie.

Now, it has been more than a month since the movie adaptation of If I Stay was shown here in the Philippines and yet I just finished watching it a few hours ago, which I think is a very good thing. It was a good thing I didn't waste money by catching it in cinemas because frankly, I did not like the movie adaptation.

I did not like it because for me it was boring. I had to skip, skip, and skip some scenes or else I would end up falling asleep. I was already yawning in the middle of the movie. I think there is something lacking in the acting of the casts though they were already good. There is something lacking not only in the casts, but also in the film in general.

If I were to compare it with The Fault in Our Stars, the book and the film were 10/10. My expectations from the movie was achieved. The book and the film have the same intensity of emotions. I was teary-eyed five minutes into the movie (TFIOS)!

If I were to rate If I Stay The Movie, I would give it 7/10. But the book? It is 10/10.

I am hoping there would be a film adaptation of Where She Went, If I Stay #2 and I hope it would be better than If I Stay because all the exciting events are there!