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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Stay is the first novel I have read by YA author Deb Caletti, and it is told in chapters alternating between two times in Clara's life. In the past, Clara has just begun to fall in love with the intense and captivating Christian, but as the present story implies, things do not go exactly as planned and Clara is forced to leave her city behind to spend the summer by the ocean where nobody can find her. Especially Christian. Stay is a story of what happens when love stops being safe.
Clara's voice is both believable and beautiful, and I really enjoyed Caletti's writing and so Stay has definitely made me interested in picking up other books by her. It is the second young adult novel I have read which has footnotes, the first being An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and I did feel they worked well and helped add more dimension to her voice by letting the reader in on extra bits of information. However, at times I found Caletti got too caught up in using them, even when they were pointless, for example the one that a boat called Freebird is named after a Lynyrd Skynyrd song because its original owner liked the band, which really doesn't add anything to the story.
With so many current young adult novels making possessive, instalove, relationship seems desirable and realistic to teens, it was refreshing to read a book where the other side of the story is told. At first, Clara enjoys Christian's attention but eventually she realizes, "You take care of the people you love, but it’s true, too, that you take care of the things you own." Stay tells such an important story, and Caletti's way of explaining things, how a girl could let the situation get so bad, is authentic and powerful. At one point, Clara says:
"It’s strange isn’t it, how the idea of belonging to someone can sound so great? It can be comforting, the way it makes things decided. We like the thought of being held, until it’s too tight. We like that certainty, until it means there is no way out. And we like being his, until we realize we’re not ours anymore."
The only thing that made me uncomfortable about Stay was after getting out of such a horrible and serious relationship which was rushed both emotionally and physically, Clara seems to jump right into things with Finn, a new guy she meets during the summer, in a way that didn't seem healthy. After being so controlled by Christian, it would have been nice to see her confident on her own and not rushing into a new relationship, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if her relationship with Finn hadn't been rushed, but emotionally, I really felt like it was. It does provide a contrast between a healthy and an unhealthy relationship, but it also makes Clara come across as far to dependent in a way that isn't healthy either.
Overall, I found the premise of Stay to be both relevant, and well-executed. I loved the relationship Clara had with her father, and found that her voice was believable and lovely to read. Ultimately, Clara's struggle is heart-breaking, but provides such an important reminder about unhealthy relationships and Caletti's writing in Stay is beautiful and moving, I just wish the novel had provided a little more support for being happy and confident on your own before you move onto a new relationship.
Clara's voice is both believable and beautiful, and I really enjoyed Caletti's writing and so Stay has definitely made me interested in picking up other books by her. It is the second young adult novel I have read which has footnotes, the first being An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and I did feel they worked well and helped add more dimension to her voice by letting the reader in on extra bits of information. However, at times I found Caletti got too caught up in using them, even when they were pointless, for example the one that a boat called Freebird is named after a Lynyrd Skynyrd song because its original owner liked the band, which really doesn't add anything to the story.
With so many current young adult novels making possessive, instalove, relationship seems desirable and realistic to teens, it was refreshing to read a book where the other side of the story is told. At first, Clara enjoys Christian's attention but eventually she realizes, "You take care of the people you love, but it’s true, too, that you take care of the things you own." Stay tells such an important story, and Caletti's way of explaining things, how a girl could let the situation get so bad, is authentic and powerful. At one point, Clara says:
"It’s strange isn’t it, how the idea of belonging to someone can sound so great? It can be comforting, the way it makes things decided. We like the thought of being held, until it’s too tight. We like that certainty, until it means there is no way out. And we like being his, until we realize we’re not ours anymore."
The only thing that made me uncomfortable about Stay was after getting out of such a horrible and serious relationship which was rushed both emotionally and physically, Clara seems to jump right into things with Finn, a new guy she meets during the summer, in a way that didn't seem healthy. After being so controlled by Christian, it would have been nice to see her confident on her own and not rushing into a new relationship, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me so much if her relationship with Finn hadn't been rushed, but emotionally, I really felt like it was. It does provide a contrast between a healthy and an unhealthy relationship, but it also makes Clara come across as far to dependent in a way that isn't healthy either.
Overall, I found the premise of Stay to be both relevant, and well-executed. I loved the relationship Clara had with her father, and found that her voice was believable and lovely to read. Ultimately, Clara's struggle is heart-breaking, but provides such an important reminder about unhealthy relationships and Caletti's writing in Stay is beautiful and moving, I just wish the novel had provided a little more support for being happy and confident on your own before you move onto a new relationship.
I liked the main idea of the book, but I didn't really like how the story ends, maybe because I didn't expect that kind of end.
Stay by Deb Caletti is about a deep and sensible subject that can happens to everyone.
Stay by Deb Caletti is about a deep and sensible subject that can happens to everyone.
Abuse is not an easy topic to cover.
I think Deb Caletti does a more than fair job of depicting the complex emotions of someone in an unhealthy relationship in Stay.
Stay goes back and forth in time -- Clara now, with her father, in a little beach town where her history can't catch up with her, and Clara then, when she's beginning, and then in, a relationship with Christian.
The parts in the present show us how emotionally wrecked Clara is. But then the parts in the past show how she got to be in that position, how she justified staying in an unhealthy relationship, how all the tiny decisions led up to this monumental breaking point, how small acts in their relationship led to this huge, awful, scary monster of a relationship.
Though I've never been in an abusive relationship (thank god), I'd imagine that Stay gives a pretty good perspective on what it feels like to be swept away into a romance you think will be your perfect happily ever after and then end up scared, feeling at fault, and wondering how it got this bad.
Stay is not a light read, but I didn't think it was overly intense, either. Or, at least not as intense as the topic could be. There's definitely a lot of happy, particularly with the chapters in the present. Clara is recovering, and a new romance with a very cute, sweet boy begins, and there is a lot of light to balance the heavy.
Which, I think, is so like life.
I think Deb Caletti does a more than fair job of depicting the complex emotions of someone in an unhealthy relationship in Stay.
Stay goes back and forth in time -- Clara now, with her father, in a little beach town where her history can't catch up with her, and Clara then, when she's beginning, and then in, a relationship with Christian.
The parts in the present show us how emotionally wrecked Clara is. But then the parts in the past show how she got to be in that position, how she justified staying in an unhealthy relationship, how all the tiny decisions led up to this monumental breaking point, how small acts in their relationship led to this huge, awful, scary monster of a relationship.
Though I've never been in an abusive relationship (thank god), I'd imagine that Stay gives a pretty good perspective on what it feels like to be swept away into a romance you think will be your perfect happily ever after and then end up scared, feeling at fault, and wondering how it got this bad.
Stay is not a light read, but I didn't think it was overly intense, either. Or, at least not as intense as the topic could be. There's definitely a lot of happy, particularly with the chapters in the present. Clara is recovering, and a new romance with a very cute, sweet boy begins, and there is a lot of light to balance the heavy.
Which, I think, is so like life.
It took me a while to get into this book. While the main character had an interesting life, I feel that the way it was portrayed it the story went a bit slow. However, I kept reading and I'm glad that I did. It did pick up in the end, but I feel that it took a tad too long to get there, occasionally leaving the reader hanging in boredom. I will be reading another one of her books, titled 'The Story of Us', in hope that it will be a bit better than the last.
I was actually surprised by how much I liked this book. I read one Caletti book several years ago and it was ok, but I wasn't persuaded to read any more until I saw this one on Amazon. It reminded me a bit of Sarah Dessen's Dreamland - I feel both authors handled the issue of abusive relationships in a realistic manner. Caletti's writing was beautiful, and I liked the flashbacks to the past. Loved Clara and her relationships with her father and the people she meets in Deception Pass. I'll definitely check out some of Caletti's backlist now.
It took me several years to finish this one but I’m glad overall that I picked it up, especially since it’s not something I usually read. The pacing is constant: not too fast or slow and there’s a general plot point, the whole thing feels realistic and given the subject matter, that’s a terrifying thought.
I wasn’t sure how she’d end it but okay.
Favourite quotes
When you're a person whose life has mostly brought good things, you believe in goodness. You believe things will work out. Even the worst things will work out. You believe in a happy ending.
But you are naive. The mostly good in your life has made you that way. You've spent so much time seeing the bright side that you don't even believe the other side exists.
-----
We like the thought of being held, until it's too tight. We like that certainty, until it means there is no way out.
——-
I felt as desperate to make him stay close, to keep him close, as he did - love, of that’s what you could call it, was bound up with some bottomless, clutching need
——-
We had a daily routine. Routine is cement for one people, coziness made solid, certainty building more certainty. For others, routine cracks surfaces with its weight, creating a boredom that presses down and down until something breaks
——
Because a single word was just kindling on a fire, and contact like this was gasoline
I wasn’t sure how she’d end it but okay.
Favourite quotes
When you're a person whose life has mostly brought good things, you believe in goodness. You believe things will work out. Even the worst things will work out. You believe in a happy ending.
But you are naive. The mostly good in your life has made you that way. You've spent so much time seeing the bright side that you don't even believe the other side exists.
-----
We like the thought of being held, until it's too tight. We like that certainty, until it means there is no way out.
——-
I felt as desperate to make him stay close, to keep him close, as he did - love, of that’s what you could call it, was bound up with some bottomless, clutching need
——-
We had a daily routine. Routine is cement for one people, coziness made solid, certainty building more certainty. For others, routine cracks surfaces with its weight, creating a boredom that presses down and down until something breaks
——
Because a single word was just kindling on a fire, and contact like this was gasoline
you had to pay very close attention to it. because on chapter would talk about what was currently happening, and the next would talk about what happened between her and christian. it was kind of a hard read, but only because you had to know exactly what was going on. some chapters i liked but some i couldnt get into. overall it was an okay book.
Caletti is so good at packing an emotional punch. And speaking of punching, I have some choice
*MY THOUGHTS*
This book surprised me in both good and bad ways... Let's start with the good. I really liked the way Caletti went back and forth between the past & present. Clara's memories were my favorite part of the story. I think this was because this is where the danger of Christian was. I found myself swallowed up by those chapters, yelling at the book as if I were yelling at Clara herself. As for the bad, I was surprised that the only time I found myself wrapped up was when the fear of Christian was around. The chapters from the present weren't as engrossing as the others. But at the end, when Christian surfaced in the present, I was a goner. I also was torn between the "realistic-ness" of the situation. I felt after events like that there was no way anyone would move on as easily to Finn as she did. But, I did like the way Christian was portrayed and the realistic way she- a fool in love- kept letting him back in. This was definitely a nice way to come back to realistic fiction.
This book surprised me in both good and bad ways... Let's start with the good. I really liked the way Caletti went back and forth between the past & present. Clara's memories were my favorite part of the story. I think this was because this is where the danger of Christian was. I found myself swallowed up by those chapters, yelling at the book as if I were yelling at Clara herself. As for the bad, I was surprised that the only time I found myself wrapped up was when the fear of Christian was around. The chapters from the present weren't as engrossing as the others. But at the end, when Christian surfaced in the present, I was a goner. I also was torn between the "realistic-ness" of the situation. I felt after events like that there was no way anyone would move on as easily to Finn as she did. But, I did like the way Christian was portrayed and the realistic way she- a fool in love- kept letting him back in. This was definitely a nice way to come back to realistic fiction.
Beautifully written story about a girl in a controlling relationship.
“Look right at that fear. Fear is the biggest bullshitter,” Clara’s father said to her. He was talking about the bridge over Deception Pass that was bringing them to their summer hideaway in the Pacific Northwest, but it may as well have been about her ex-boyfriend Christian. Clara Oates and her writer/widower father were leaving their town behind because Christian was intent on winning her back and would not leave her alone and his actions were bordering on the frightening. In alternating chapters, Clara tells the story of how they met and fell in love and then how Christian’s love became controlling and obsessive. The slow reveal of the details intensifies the creep factor of the relationship. Of course there is a summer romance and the one unrealistic part of the book. How can Clara fall and trust so easily after such a frightening romance with Christian? All of the staple themes are here: love, family, relationships, trust, lies, fear and obsession. All of the characters are fully developed and there is a plot twist that shakes Clara’s trust in everyone. Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson, and of course Caletti fans will love this book.
“Look right at that fear. Fear is the biggest bullshitter,” Clara’s father said to her. He was talking about the bridge over Deception Pass that was bringing them to their summer hideaway in the Pacific Northwest, but it may as well have been about her ex-boyfriend Christian. Clara Oates and her writer/widower father were leaving their town behind because Christian was intent on winning her back and would not leave her alone and his actions were bordering on the frightening. In alternating chapters, Clara tells the story of how they met and fell in love and then how Christian’s love became controlling and obsessive. The slow reveal of the details intensifies the creep factor of the relationship. Of course there is a summer romance and the one unrealistic part of the book. How can Clara fall and trust so easily after such a frightening romance with Christian? All of the staple themes are here: love, family, relationships, trust, lies, fear and obsession. All of the characters are fully developed and there is a plot twist that shakes Clara’s trust in everyone. Sarah Dessen, Laurie Halse Anderson, and of course Caletti fans will love this book.