Hi Ben.
I think the interesting thing about this story, with its two timelines (you see Mia in the present day, and you see her in all kinds of flashbacks), is that you get a double dose of Mia’s transformation. When Mia came to me, she was 17, but already oddly mature (more mature than thirty-something me). I think seeing her as a child, in the context of her cool-but-different family, then seeing her as a musician, and finally seeing her fall in love with Adam, allows the reader to understand how she became this poised young woman who is then put through such a wringer in the present tense story. That Mia is strong. So much stronger than she knows. Really, that Mia’s transformation is about recognizing this strength, and tapping into the reservoir love that feeds it in order to decide her fate.
As for what I hope teenagers will take away, I’m never sure how to answer that. I don’t write morals or takeaways into my books. (If I did, they would be dreadful!). If I Stay is to me, a series of love stories: Familial love, friendship love, music love, romantic love. I just want readers to blanket themselves in that world, in that love. What they do when they finish is up to them, but if they go give someone a hug, I would not be at all displeased. :)
- Gayle Forman