In anticipation of the IF I STAY movie, Penguin Teen is releasing a new movie tie-in cover which will hit bookshelves on July 8th!
In addition, Gayle Forman interviewed adaptation stars Chloe Grace Moretz and Jamie Blackley about how they prepared for the film.
GAYLE AND CHLOE
Forman: Very early on, you sent me a message in which you wrote: I can’t wait to actively start learning the cello. It’s such an integral part of Mia’s being, and a must in order to portray her. You did study cello. How did that connect you to the character?
Moretz: The cello really was an integral part of who Mia is. It’s her conscience, almost. When she plays it, everything that she wants to say and can’t, everything she is feeling deep inside and can’t let out, becomes apparent. When she’s mad at her parents, she plays better than ever. When she’s in the deepest part of her relationship with Adam, she plays better than she has in ages. It’s like how acting is for me.
GAYLE AND JAMIE
Forman: That’s the scene where you plead with Mia to stay, and then you completely lose it. How did you summon that level of emotional intensity, over and over?
Blackley: I wrote a letter. I won’t say who it was to. But I’d read it in between takes and that would help me out. And I’d listen to a song that reminded me of something close to my heart.
Forman: What song?
Blackley: “Me,” by The 1975. It just does something to me. I saw them in Vancouver when I was there, and then I saw them in London after and they played it live. At that point, it had become such a huge song to me.