Mia

Mia, the book's main character, is a seventeen-year-old high school senior. She lives with her parents and eight-year-old brother in a small town near Portland, Oregon. She is an avid music lover and accomplished cello player who is awaiting acceptance to the Julliard School of Music in New York. She is part of a close-knit family and has fallen in love with Adam, a fellow musician and guitarist in a punk rock band. She spends time with Kim, her closest friend.

Throughout most of the book, Mia's life hangs in the balance following a devastating car accident that killed her parents and her brother. As she lies in the Intensive Care Unit, she comes to the realization that whether she will live or die is her decision. She examines her life through reflections and out-of-body experiences in which she observes everything going on around her in a detached...