Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a cellist. Adam Wilde is a locally-known indie rocker and the new kid in school. He falls for Mia hard. Her best friend is Kim Schein (Liana Liberato). She's stressed about getting into Juilliard. Her parents (Mireille Enos, Joshua Leonard) are formerly alternative folks. They talk her into a family outing on a snow day and they get into an accident.

Chloë Grace Moretz puts her incalculable charms at work. She brings as much life as possible to the rather conventional young adult melodrama. The romance doesn't have the best chemistry. It would help if Jamie Blackley is a more compelling actor. The flashback structure doesn't have enough drama to offer. The movie slowly runs out of story rather than build to a climax. The only question is whether she lives or dies. Their relationship is never in question and it has no real mystery to reveal.

I'm pretty sure the novel worked better than the movie itself. Which is by no way a fault of its main star. Nor the way the story evolves (cannot comment if the structure is the same as the book it is based on, as I haven't read that). It will also be touching and I'm sure you will be moved by how the story is portrayed.

Still while we all can relate to many of the given themes here, the movie goes more on the romantic route than the dramatic one. Which is a shame because there are quite a few things that could've been played out better (imho). It's easy to keep up with the time frame, even if it might confuse a few people at first. What's important, is that you're always with the main character (no matter what your stance on religion, after Life and more things are, this is a story, nothing more nothing less). And Chloe takes another step (acting-wise) in the right direction

Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) has a wonderful family, in love with Adam (Jamie Blackley) who plays in a band, and she is a candidate for Julliard. The next thing you know, she is in a coma and we all have Puff moments as she examines her life and can see what is happening in the hospital as a soul or spirit. Mia must make the mental decision to recover or move on and follow the light. With much of her life destroyed, she asks the question of what will she have "If I Stay."

The film is filled with all the joyous melancholy of a teen girl's life (hint: target audience). For people who couldn't cry enough over "The Fault In Our Stars" this film is here to help wrangle that last bit of moisture from your tear duct. Mom (Mireille Enos) explains life to Mia while doing dishes and inspired the title for my review.

Actors gave a good performance for a script that was a bit formulaic. Newcomer Ali Milner did an excellent job as Liz, the friend.

Parental Guide: No F-bombs, or nudity. Implied sex.