What would you do if a car crash that killed your parents left you in a coma, yet you retained an awareness of the world around you and had to decide whether you wanted to re-enter a life full of grief? That’s the question asked by the author Gayle Forman in her bestselling young adult novel If I Stay, and it’s the question R.J. Cutler must ask in his feature directorial debut as he adapts the book to the big screen. Judging by the affecting trailer, which was released last night, he’s off to a good start. If I Stay stars Chloe Grace Moretz as Mia, the 17-year-old facing a dilemma that is very literally life or death. Shauna Cross, a YA author herself (Derby Girl), wrote the adapted screenplay, and the film co-stars Mireille Enos, Liana Liberato, Jakob Davies, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard and Aisha Hinds.
If I Stay opens in the U.S. on Aug. 22, and you can watch the trailer below.