If i stay is a tearjerker that will illicit emotions about things buried deep inside you. The story follows 17yearold mia hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family. Discussion of themes and motifs in gayle formans if i stay. If i stay by gayle forman if i stay is about mia hall, an up and coming cellist with a charmed life. Report story just stating that you can use any of these for your theme. 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. And with these themes, there is also the love between adam and mia. The following version of this book was used to create this study guide. Because of this, a movie may differ from the novel. Dont give up hope because if you do, you wont see the end. Below is a list of the upcoming story themes for the story subscription program. Snow days should be less bloody, but mia doesnt have a choice yet. H as she did in if i stay, forman offers an introspective examination of the line. Love, because of all of the people who come to see mia and express their love for her in their own way.
The conversation has probably been going on long before then too. One theme is love can decide between life and death. Learn how to find the theme of a book or short story. The story is told from the firstperson perspective of two main characters yejide and akin. The story behind microsoft ceo satya nadellas new book. Mia is the only member of her family to survive, and she finds herself in a coma. Mia thought the biggest choice she would have to make was to go to juilliard for college but, this choice is bigger. If i stay summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes.
Read 185 this passage shows that parrado and vizintin finally found the broken tail of the plane. She can see and hear everything that goes on, but her ghost is not seen by others, and she cant feel anything. There are two themes in if i stay that really stick out. The power of family bonds is the most prevalent theme in if i stay. 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. Some will describe it as the heartbeat or soul of the story. As a teenager, mia is at the crossroads of many major life decisions. Adam comes to see mia, puts headphones on her ears, and plays her the cello music of yoyo ma.
Taking place in nigeria, its the story of yejide and akina young married couple who are experiencing fertility issues. The conflict of making choices is a prominent theme in the book. If i stay is a short read, but there is so much detail and you can see so much of mias life without feeling overwhelmed by everything that is going on. 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. No matter how safe you think you are, something terrible can happen at any time, putting your life in danger. Gayle formans books are popular with teens due to their themes of love. 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 follows the story of seventeen year old mia hall who is extremely talented at playing the cello and has to make a huge decision. Thats what a colleague said to me about ayobami adebayos searing debut novel, stay with me and not sadistically.
If i stay themes from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. Producers often use a book as a springboard for a movie idea or to earn a specific rating. Music functions paradoxically in gayle formans if i stay, dividing the characters along lines of personal taste, personality, and worldview. With the first books having just arrived in his office, nadella today penned a. Examples of themes with information, tips for creative. 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. How different would the story have been if someone else had been telling it. The music brings up emotions and memories for mia, both from the past and the future. Seven years ago katie posed the question on the alsc blog and ive seen people discuss it on listserves, facebook groups, and twitter since then. The story of a female chimney sweep and her friendship with a monster named charlie, it addresses such issues as child labor and antisemitism. I never thought about the fact that little conflicts in the book can really affect the outcome of the story.
Seventeenyearold mia hall lives in a small town in oregon with her mom kat, dad denny, and eightyearold brother, teddy. If i stay is a young adult novel by gayle forman published in 2009. The novel also demonstrates how ones close friends such as mias boyfriend adam are indeed a. The themes of sacrifice and choice occur throughout the story and play out in several relationships. If i stay by gayle forman book club discussion questions. The family pile into their rusty buick, planning to go out for a day trip to visit. If i stay is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The family pile into their rusty buick, planning to go out for a.
I am really looking forward to reading where she went. Mia chloe grace moretz, a levelheaded high school senior, lives in portland with her former rockstar, guitar and drums pounding parents, who now live as a schoolteacher and stayathomemom. From reading this book, i believe that good versus bad is the theme to if i stay. On one snowy morning, school is cancelled, leaving mia and teddy, as well as their father, an english teacher, with the day off. Classical music classical music not only defines mias personality, but marks the major events of the novel while serving as the symbolic link between mias past, present and future. Through this coma, however, mia has an outofbody experience. Mia and her family get to enjoy a snow day at the beginning of if i stay. See more ideas about storybook theme, kids, hungry caterpillar party. Alienation the effects of, the loneliness of, to cure it. It is the meaning behind the story and is expressed through the plot and through the characters journeys. In 2009, a woman left unconscious after a heart attack was woken by a kiss from her. 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. 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.
See more ideas about book activities, book themes and preschool activities. Ayobami adebayos stay with me, like great works by chinua achebe and chimamanda ngozi adichie, explores the pull between tradition and modernity in nigeria. The primary theme of if i stay is the concept of choice. 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 entire crux of the novel hinges on mias decision about where she will. The moral is the lesson that the reader is supposed to learn from the plots conclusion. A books theme is not the same as its plot or its moral lesson, but these elements are related and necessary in building the larger story. The question of whether or not to do storytime themes is not new. I thought that stay sweet would be a story overflowing with fluff. You could be dragged into the woods by rabid beavers.
A theme is a universal concept that pervades and recurs throughout every piece of fiction. This all changes when her family gets into a car crash. If i stay begins with seventeenyearold cellist mia hall waking to a thin layer of snow on her lawn. Mias primary conflictwhether to stay alive or join her. A horrible car accident that kills almost the entire family instantly. Its a testimony to the beauty of family and friendship that moved me as a mother, as a daughter, and as friend. There are so many words i could use to describe this story. This novel will stay with me for a long, long time. The neapolitan novels are a 4part series by the italian author elena ferrante, translated by ann goldstein and published by europa editions new york. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in if i stay, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Mias brother teddy and her father, a middleschool english teacher, also have the day off, so her mother takes the day off of work.
If you are the publisher or author of this book and. Love can decide between life and death is a constant theme that occurs thoughout the entire story. The second theme is reflecting on the past can change the future. Instead, stay sweet was more downtoearth, more realistic. In exactly 20 days, hit refresh, microsoft ceo satya nadellas new book, hits the shelves.
When we refer to the theme of a book, we are talking about a universal idea, lesson, or message that stretches through the entire story. 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. Parrado and vizintin reached the top of the hillock of snow and there indeed, a hundred yards ahead of them, was the tail of the fairchild. Through the events and characters actions it shows a lot on how the theme could be good versus bad. For example, mias parents, her boyfriend adam, her best friend kim, and the vast majority of her familys close friends have an affinity. Sacrifice and choice if i stay is a novel that explores the kinds of sacrifices that inevitably accompany choices. This would entirely determine the rest of the story too. Starting just before the crash, the novel takes place over a twentyfourhour period, switching between mias present in the intensivecare unit. Although she is physically unconscious throughout the story, mia is faced with the most important decision. Just like any other novel, they have a theme throughout the story. Every book has a theme and we often see the same theme in many books. She summons the strength to decide to stay, and squeezes adams hand, indicating that she has woken up from her coma, and has decided to live. You might like to choose one of the following examples of themes that appeals to you and try writing a story about it.
In oregon, this small amount of snow is enough to cause school closures. Portrait of a nigerian marriage in a heartbreaking debut. The novel is broken into four parts with 42 chapters in total, but for this guide. Ambition getting what you want, stunted by, thwarted. The plot of a novel is the action that takes place within the course of the narrative. Although she is physically unconscious throughout the story, mia is faced with the most important decision she will ever have to make whether to succumb to her injuries or fight to stay alive. There are some violent scenes, including children burning in chimney fires or falling from roofs. Now, she is trapped between life and death, witnessing everything happening to the her in the coma. The catalyst of mias ambition, classical music defines not only her preference for timeless beauty and understated expressiona preference that she displays in her dress and. If i stay is a novel that explores the kinds of sacrifices that inevitably accompany choices. Theme the main theme of the story was love that will last through anything no matter what the circumstances are.
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