If I Stay

This adaptation of Gayle Forman's 2009 YA novel centers on Portland, OR, teenager Mia (Chloë Grace Moretz), a classical music nerd. Mia is passionate about playing the cello, idolizes Yo-Yo Ma and Beethoven, and has her heart set on attending Julliard. That choice stuns her free-spirited parents (Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard), former rock ‘n' rollers--and her younger brother (Jakob Davies). But Mia's super-cool rocker boyfriend, Adam (Jamie Blackley), understands. And then a horrific automobile accident in a snowstorm decimates Mia's family. Seriously injured herself, hovering between life and death, Mia must choose between returning to pick up the pieces of her shattered existence or simply letting it all go, slipping into the radiant light that beckons her. While Mia is in a state of limbo, we see her dilemma evolve through a series of flashbacks that reveal not only her deep abiding love for her family but also her anguished conflict between pursuing her musical ambition and following her desire be with the man she adores. Also featuring Stacy Keach as Mia's grandfather--who delivers a subtly haunting hospital-bedside speech—filmmaker R.J. Cutler's If I Stay is a poignant and sensitive tearjerker that should appeal to its targeted teen audience. Recommended. (S. Granger)