I JUST HAD TO READ THIS ONE

As Reviewer Co-ordinator for The Reading Stack I get to see (yay!) and pass on (Boo hoo!) the books that come in for review. I often opt for what no-one else has a preference for because I think this expands my horizons as a writer - it encourages me to read outside my own personal areas of interest.

But every now and then a book comes along that I just have to read. And so it was this morning with If I Stay by Gayle Forman. I haven't read anything else she's written so I had no prior knowledge of her work. First I fell in love with the cover.

And when I read the back page blurb I was so hooked I sat in the car for 30 mins getting started straight away.

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"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.

For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends, gorgeous boyfriend, decisions seem tough, even when they're all about a future full of music and love, a future that's brimming with hope.

But life can change in an instant.

A cold February morning ... a snowy road... and all of a sudden all of Mia's choices are gone. Except one. As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all.

Haunting, heart-rending and ultimately life-affirming, If I stay will make you appreciate all that you've lost - and all that might be.

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And... according to the Publicity Release sheet it's being made into a film by the same production company who made Twilight. And according to Amazon... if you liked Twilight or Wintergirls, you have to read this! And according to me, halfway through already... a terrific read. Its out in April in the UK, US and Australia.

I also have to admit one of the other reasons I love the cover - other than that it's a haunting image - is because it fits some words from the ms I'm currenlty working on. My ms isn't YA or about choosing life or death but to me that cover picture feels like these words:

"Help," she screamed, sliding down the deck. "Father!"

No one heard and no-one came. Isabel slipped between the rails and into the sea.

Water filled her ears and swam up her nose. When she opened her mouth to breathe, more water rushed in. Isabel fought for air. She coughed and spluttered. Then she stopped fighting.

Drowning was easy.

She spread her arms and flew through the water.