If I Stay by Gayle Forman

The book If I Stay, by Gayle Forman is really amazingly written because it is such a deep and interesting book with such a great structure.  The author of this book does a really good job of keeping the plot intriguing, and giving a clear difference and perfect balance of past and present detail.  The book switches from Mia's life in a coma, observing what is happening in the real world, to memories of the people around her which she cares so much about, but can't communicate with currently.

I think that it is such a good job that Forman is doing because it isn't the least bit confusing of whether or not you are reading present day events, or one of Mia's memories.  The book also cleans itself up well, and really clarifies what is happening currently in Mia's mind with her flashbacks.  Because the book started pretty much with the car crash, it helps a lot to refer back to moments with each of the characters, because we, as readers, never originally got a basis of Mia's relationships, so it helps a whole lot to flip the format between memory and present interactions.  The author does a beautiful job with maintaining balance and a well written plot, and this book is really keeping my attention through every detail.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I just started reading the book If I Stay by Gayle Forman this weekend, and so far it's really simple and character introductions.  The book hasn't developed at all up to this point, but the main character is extremely relatable through her interests and family conflicts and relations, even though she is seventeen years old.  Being that I just finished the first chapter, there was only one substantial excerpt that I felt had some meaning beyond introduction purposes.  It might just be a short setting opening, but when I read through it for the second time, it showed importance, and poetic development of the future plot.  The first page reads, "Everyone thinks it was because of the snow. And in a way, I suppose that’s true.  I wake up this morning to a thin blanket of white covering our front lawn. It isn’t even an inch, but in this part of Oregon a slight dusting brings everything to a standstill as the one snowplow in the county gets busy clearing the roads. It is wet water that drops from the sky—and drops and drops and drops—not the frozen kind."

I'm not sure what the "it" is in the first sentence of this paragraph, but I think her description of the snow has some foreshadowing insight within it.  I think that describing the snow as "thin" and saying "it isn't even an inch" shows small change.  I think that it is showing the lesson that even the smallest of actions can make a difference, and that even if you are just one person, you can change a lot in the world.  This also goes into the next line, "a slight dusting brings everything to a standstill."  I think this is showing the change that each action can make.  Further on in the story, I believe that Mia, the main character, will have a series of life changing/world changing actions, that may be small, yet still have a large outcome.  The repetition at the end of the paragraph sort of helps this description flow into the next idea of the book, but also shows, within the lesson that I got from this opening, how change isn't sold, or all there at first, but it slowly drips its way into the world to make a difference, even if the people around you (the snowplow) try and wipe away your change. 

This section reminds me of two quotes:

"But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream."

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The main character, Tris Prior, from the book Divergent, by Veronica Roth, is a character that I can relate myself to, and strive everyday to become more like her. Tris starts out weak, and works her way up to being very strong; and she has the courage to make change, as well as lead that change; but along with both of those fantastic traits, she still has the heart to care about how her decisions affect her family, friends, and all those around her in her life.  Those aspects of her personality are ones that I admire and wish to adapt and maintain throughout my life.

Tris put her life at risk multiple times to protect those in her community, she went into war knowing that she was the most wanted person from the government.  Also, because she switched factions, she knew nothing about the process of being a dauntless, but took her previous knowledge to formulate something of herself.  Tris was not the best, but always strived for better, and that is very admirable.  When you are trying to be brave and make change, it can be very easy to forget about your loved ones, but throughout the entire time she was becoming a dauntless, she never lost site of her heart of an abnegation girl.  Tris balanced her life well and is an extremely amazing role model.