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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
This book was so brutally honest. I saw myself as the main character, Clara. I saw my ex boyfriend as Christian. This book was so eye opening and heart breaking but one of the best books that I have ever read.
This was one of those books where I found myself giving unsolicited advice to the MC. You know the same way you yell at the person in that stupid "horror" movie when they stop running and go back to take a look!
I feel like the characters were pretty true to life. There are lots of people in relationships with jealous, obsessive, crazy people. I'm sure we've all had a friend in this situation or have been in a similar situation ourselves.
From the outside it's pretty easy to look at the situation and go "Dude... that guy's NUTS! You should run now while you've still got time!" but your friend insists everything's all good. "He just loves me so much! It's fine!" and then one day your friend tells you she's going on a long trip with her family and won't be able to write or call for a while and whatever you do don't tell that guy anything about anything and you're left shaking your head and going "Didn't you watch that movie where this happened to that girl... sometimes movies are right you know!"
Anyway enough rambling. I liked it. I liked the characters, even Christian because man did he creep me right out! Finn was beyond lovable if not a bit too perfect. I wanted him to have some kind of fault but then that would have been predictable so... I guess I can't have everything I want eh! I loved Clara's father. In a movie he'd be played by Peter Gallagher NO DOUBT! The seagull that stalked Cleo was a nice touch and it added some humour to a slightly terrifying scenario. The setting was beautiful and definitely put me at ease even though every other page had me looking out for Mr. StalkerObsessivePants.
The back story that slowly unravels was interesting and added depth to the novel and I loved how Clara was the one telling it. Almost as if it's a warning to watch out for guys (or girls) like Christian and a message of hope that good things do happen even when it seems like an impossibility.
It was a book written in shades of pastels softly weaving across the page with the odd hard red line appearing out of nowhere. It made me want to fall in love, sail across a harbour surrounded by pine covered cliffs and obsessive seagulls. It made me want to eat salt water taffy while sitting beside a weathered lighthouse and cursing myself for buying salt water taffy just because it's what you're supposed to do in seaside towns even though it's gross and hurts my teeth. Awe books! I love when they leave me with a feeling other than "Dammit I shouldn't have bothered!"
"If love wasn't just yours first, it was like cutting up and handing out your birthday cake before blowing out the candles."
I feel like the characters were pretty true to life. There are lots of people in relationships with jealous, obsessive, crazy people. I'm sure we've all had a friend in this situation or have been in a similar situation ourselves.
From the outside it's pretty easy to look at the situation and go "Dude... that guy's NUTS! You should run now while you've still got time!" but your friend insists everything's all good. "He just loves me so much! It's fine!" and then one day your friend tells you she's going on a long trip with her family and won't be able to write or call for a while and whatever you do don't tell that guy anything about anything and you're left shaking your head and going "Didn't you watch that movie where this happened to that girl... sometimes movies are right you know!"
Anyway enough rambling. I liked it. I liked the characters, even Christian because man did he creep me right out! Finn was beyond lovable if not a bit too perfect. I wanted him to have some kind of fault but then that would have been predictable so... I guess I can't have everything I want eh! I loved Clara's father. In a movie he'd be played by Peter Gallagher NO DOUBT! The seagull that stalked Cleo was a nice touch and it added some humour to a slightly terrifying scenario. The setting was beautiful and definitely put me at ease even though every other page had me looking out for Mr. StalkerObsessivePants.
The back story that slowly unravels was interesting and added depth to the novel and I loved how Clara was the one telling it. Almost as if it's a warning to watch out for guys (or girls) like Christian and a message of hope that good things do happen even when it seems like an impossibility.
It was a book written in shades of pastels softly weaving across the page with the odd hard red line appearing out of nowhere. It made me want to fall in love, sail across a harbour surrounded by pine covered cliffs and obsessive seagulls. It made me want to eat salt water taffy while sitting beside a weathered lighthouse and cursing myself for buying salt water taffy just because it's what you're supposed to do in seaside towns even though it's gross and hurts my teeth. Awe books! I love when they leave me with a feeling other than "Dammit I shouldn't have bothered!"
"If love wasn't just yours first, it was like cutting up and handing out your birthday cake before blowing out the candles."
This is the first review I've written so I'm going to make it brief.
But as a disclaimer, this review won't be very objective (and may have general spoilers but no details.) I lived this. This book resonated so deeply with me because I had a boyfriend just like this. I wonder how I would have responded to this book had that not been the case. However, as it is, this book is SO important.
Sometimes, it's easy for us to judge people who stay in any type of abusive relationship, whether it be emotional, physical, or mental abuse. It's easy to say "That guy is a loser, she should've left him a long time ago. She's asking for it. How stupid can she be?" (Obviously these roles could apply to either gender, I'm just using the ones in the book as an example.) This book takes you inside her head though. It shows you just how easy it is to be trapped in a relationship and not even know it.
I hope people read this book and see its importance and have a better understanding of what it's really like.
That being said, I loved this book. It really is incredible. Deb's writing style is one of my favorites and Stay definitely didn't disappoint.
But as a disclaimer, this review won't be very objective (and may have general spoilers but no details.) I lived this. This book resonated so deeply with me because I had a boyfriend just like this. I wonder how I would have responded to this book had that not been the case. However, as it is, this book is SO important.
Sometimes, it's easy for us to judge people who stay in any type of abusive relationship, whether it be emotional, physical, or mental abuse. It's easy to say "That guy is a loser, she should've left him a long time ago. She's asking for it. How stupid can she be?" (Obviously these roles could apply to either gender, I'm just using the ones in the book as an example.) This book takes you inside her head though. It shows you just how easy it is to be trapped in a relationship and not even know it.
I hope people read this book and see its importance and have a better understanding of what it's really like.
That being said, I loved this book. It really is incredible. Deb's writing style is one of my favorites and Stay definitely didn't disappoint.
Read as part of ARC tour. I really loved this book, the voice of the main character, the plot... it made for a great page turner as I discovered how Clara and Christian got to the place they were in the opening of the book.
When Clara meets Christian her senior year of high school, their connection is immediate and their relationship is intense. She falls in love with him, and he with her, but it becomes clear that Christian’s devotion to her is different from how she feels for him. As he becomes more jealous and obsessed with making her stay, Clara realizes that her safety might be in danger. When Clara and her dad leave the city and don’t tell anyone where they’re going, Clara hopes that it’s the end of her contact with Christian, but she doubts that simple distance will keep him away from her.
Although I am a fan of several of Caletti’s other books for teenagers, I have to admit that I was apprehensive about the basic premise of this one. Creating a story about a girl whose boyfriend becomes an obsessive stalker can become fodder for a bad Lifetime Original Movie, and in a lesser author’s hands, this probably would have happened. Luckily for readers, Caletti is an extremely talented writer with a remarkable talent for writing authentic teenage voices.
Clara tells the reader her story by flipping back and forth between present and past. She lets the story of how she and Christian met unfold, and it’s clear that the attraction that the two felt was immediate and intense, as first loves often are. By allowing the reader to see why Clara fell for Christian and then also allow them to see how his behavior began to spiral out of control, Caletti has created a stronger narrative. It’s easy to say, “He’s crazy. Get out.” It’s a lot harder to actually act on those words. The struggle that Clara goes through feels real, and the reader is just as frustrated as she is by setbacks and mistakes.
Caletti has a great many strengths, and one of those is present in her clear, crisp writing. This is an author who truly loves words, and it shows. From the clever footnotes populated throughout the story (these might actually be my favorite part) to the weird quirks that Clara’s writer father has, readers can see that a love of words, of reading, and of writing is present both for the characters and for Caletti herself. There’s a richness to this story that is often missing from other novels in the YA world.
Although the ending unfolded a little too predictably and a little too conveniently for me, I chalk that up to my extremely jaded tendencies. Most readers will devour this book, and rightfully so: it’s really, really good. Suspenseful, beautiful, and full of real observations about life and love, this is a remarkable book.
Highly recommended.
Although I am a fan of several of Caletti’s other books for teenagers, I have to admit that I was apprehensive about the basic premise of this one. Creating a story about a girl whose boyfriend becomes an obsessive stalker can become fodder for a bad Lifetime Original Movie, and in a lesser author’s hands, this probably would have happened. Luckily for readers, Caletti is an extremely talented writer with a remarkable talent for writing authentic teenage voices.
Clara tells the reader her story by flipping back and forth between present and past. She lets the story of how she and Christian met unfold, and it’s clear that the attraction that the two felt was immediate and intense, as first loves often are. By allowing the reader to see why Clara fell for Christian and then also allow them to see how his behavior began to spiral out of control, Caletti has created a stronger narrative. It’s easy to say, “He’s crazy. Get out.” It’s a lot harder to actually act on those words. The struggle that Clara goes through feels real, and the reader is just as frustrated as she is by setbacks and mistakes.
Caletti has a great many strengths, and one of those is present in her clear, crisp writing. This is an author who truly loves words, and it shows. From the clever footnotes populated throughout the story (these might actually be my favorite part) to the weird quirks that Clara’s writer father has, readers can see that a love of words, of reading, and of writing is present both for the characters and for Caletti herself. There’s a richness to this story that is often missing from other novels in the YA world.
Although the ending unfolded a little too predictably and a little too conveniently for me, I chalk that up to my extremely jaded tendencies. Most readers will devour this book, and rightfully so: it’s really, really good. Suspenseful, beautiful, and full of real observations about life and love, this is a remarkable book.
Highly recommended.
I'm so glad this didn't end the way typical stalker novels end!
But really annoyed with the unnecessary footnotes. These weren't helpful just annoying and childish.
But really annoyed with the unnecessary footnotes. These weren't helpful just annoying and childish.
This was a really interesting read. I liked how this book was focused on Clara and her struggle with finding herself again, as well as her and her dad's relationship, and not all about boys. Christian and Clara's relationship was so toxic I felt so disgusted while reading some of the scenes between them. Finn was adorable, but I'm happy that his part in the story wasn't really about him, but all about Clara. I enjoyed some of the footnotes and the extras in the book, but some footnotes felt forced and didn't really seem to add to the story at all. Overall I would recommend this book!
4.5 stars. Just finished this in World History class. My only complaints are that I felt that every so often the writing tripped itself up. And some other side plots (Finn, the Ghosts...) didn't feel completely necessary which is not to say I didn't enjoy them, I did. The ending didn't wow me but I can deal with that since it felt very intentional. Overall an amazingly written depiction of abusive relationships.
This was surprisingly good for a book I'd never heard about. The story is really on point and deals with a topic that is always ignored or seen as romantic in YA novels -- obsession. In addition to that, the writing feels like we're listening to the narrator telling us a story, which I found lovely.
I did have some issues with it. I feel like Clara's relationship with Finn isn't necessary. It didn't add much and I think it was just an irrelevant extra. The ending, even though it was good, was a bit dumb in a certain point. Why did Clara move out if going to college was still her plan? Was it a temporary thing? And even if it was, what's the point?
All in all, a super interesting take on obsessive/stalkerish relationships, a topic that should ve more developed in YA fiction.
I did have some issues with it. I feel like Clara's relationship with Finn isn't necessary. It didn't add much and I think it was just an irrelevant extra. The ending, even though it was good, was a bit dumb in a certain point. Why did Clara move out if going to college was still her plan? Was it a temporary thing? And even if it was, what's the point?
All in all, a super interesting take on obsessive/stalkerish relationships, a topic that should ve more developed in YA fiction.