Stay by Deb Caletti

Rating: 5.0/5.0
Release Date: April 5th, 2011
Age Level: Young Adult 14+
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Pages: 320

Recommend? Anyone interested in real life YA suspense novels would love Stay!

Synopsis:

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is--and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

My Thoughts:

Stay is not only a novel that dealt with how a girl deals with a stalker-ish ex, but also about a father daughter relationship and how they dealt with--together-- the death of Clara's mother and their different forms of grief.

Prior to Stay, I had not read a book by Deb Caletti before. It definitely surprised me and I have to say that I could not put it down! I also LOVED how Caletti did the footnotes throughout the book-- they were a cute and informative addition to the novel!

One of the main themes in Stay was the relationship between a father and a daughter and the grief of Clara's mother's death. Their relationship went through many obstacles, but was stronger for it in the end. Neither Clara or her father are perfect. They both have made mistakes in the past and this proves how human and real their characters are. The ups and downs of their relationship really added to the story and I felt that it was important to include.

I loved the message Caletti was sending by showing the stalker ex-boyfriend. I think it is important for girls to realize when they should get out of a relationship and the signs for when things aren't quite right. I personally feel that the over protectiveness and controlling characteristics of boyfriends in books (particularly a CERTAIN character from a CERTAIN series, which shall not be named) may seem harmless (and in said books, are) but in real life, this is not always the case. I feel that Caletti showed us the other side of the coin-- where these characteristics should have been a warning, but Clara failed to see just how dangerous some pretty boys can actually be. I think more girls should be aware of the warning signs for an abusive/obsessive relationship.

I loved Stay and will definitely be checking out some of Deb Caletti's other books in the future!

**Reviewed Copy was an ARC**

Details:

Cover: 5.0

Plot: 5.0

Characters: 5.0

Writing: 5.0

Source: Received from Publisher for Review.