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A review by lumos_libros
Stay by Deb Caletti
5.0
This story just made so much sense. You know in that way how you feel somebody really understands the way you think? That's how I felt the whole time reading this. Not to say I've ever been through anything like this, not even close.
Clara sees herself as a normal girl. Nothing too spectacular but all that changes when she meets Christian. He's enigmatic and charismatic (gotta be careful of the matic's obviously) and makes her feel powerful and like a whole new person with countless possibilities for change. As time moves along though their relationship takes an ugly turn; Christian has become dangerously obsessed with Clara. She has to flee with her father to a seaside town where secrets will be revealed and hopefully some good changes can happen.
It's hard to read about how a character is slowly digging themselves into a hole they may never be able to escape, so with that in mind I thought I was going to be really uncomfortable reading this. The book is told in alternate chapters. One side of the story is where we see how Clara gets involved with Christian to the point where she leaves him and the other when she is in the seaside town with her father. The layout worked and was the only way it could have been told so it could leave a moving impression on the reader.
I loved almost everything about it. Clara is an introspective character, and is frank about how things went down, her feelings, and her part in things. She knows that she has to move past this and the place they chose for this is perfect. I could feel the pull of the ocean, its commanding beauty, the waves splashing, and the sharp smell of salt. And all of this is coming from a person who has been to a beach once in her life. The other characters are fully fleshed out and there isn't a flat one among the bunch. Clara's father was a real intriguing character and isn't MIA (but there is a dead mother I guess we can't have everything, but Clara makes an interesting comment about that) like in many other YA novels. He is in the story quite a lot actually and is a main player in Clara's recovery.
There is a stark contrast between Christian and Finn (the other love interest). You can tell one is just healthier for her. I'm glad Caletti wrote this story. She is clear about how wrong it is for someone to revolve their life around you and that real love is much more gentle and doesn't feel wrong ever.
The only qualm I had is that it could get a bit verbose and the little bit with her father's secret I thought was just a teensy eensy bit over the top, but I'm fully satisfied. Fully satisfied.
Just a note: Since it's summertime I'm listening to lots of music and one song kept inching into my brain while reading this. The link is here. The song's chorus has this one line that says, “for as much she stumbles she's running” and the words really struck me as true. Even though Clara is in trouble and is stumbling over how to get over this she keeps moving forward, she keeps running.
Clara sees herself as a normal girl. Nothing too spectacular but all that changes when she meets Christian. He's enigmatic and charismatic (gotta be careful of the matic's obviously) and makes her feel powerful and like a whole new person with countless possibilities for change. As time moves along though their relationship takes an ugly turn; Christian has become dangerously obsessed with Clara. She has to flee with her father to a seaside town where secrets will be revealed and hopefully some good changes can happen.
It's hard to read about how a character is slowly digging themselves into a hole they may never be able to escape, so with that in mind I thought I was going to be really uncomfortable reading this. The book is told in alternate chapters. One side of the story is where we see how Clara gets involved with Christian to the point where she leaves him and the other when she is in the seaside town with her father. The layout worked and was the only way it could have been told so it could leave a moving impression on the reader.
I loved almost everything about it. Clara is an introspective character, and is frank about how things went down, her feelings, and her part in things. She knows that she has to move past this and the place they chose for this is perfect. I could feel the pull of the ocean, its commanding beauty, the waves splashing, and the sharp smell of salt. And all of this is coming from a person who has been to a beach once in her life. The other characters are fully fleshed out and there isn't a flat one among the bunch. Clara's father was a real intriguing character and isn't MIA (but there is a dead mother I guess we can't have everything, but Clara makes an interesting comment about that) like in many other YA novels. He is in the story quite a lot actually and is a main player in Clara's recovery.
There is a stark contrast between Christian and Finn (the other love interest). You can tell one is just healthier for her. I'm glad Caletti wrote this story. She is clear about how wrong it is for someone to revolve their life around you and that real love is much more gentle and doesn't feel wrong ever.
The only qualm I had is that it could get a bit verbose and the little bit with her father's secret I thought was just a teensy eensy bit over the top, but I'm fully satisfied. Fully satisfied.
Just a note: Since it's summertime I'm listening to lots of music and one song kept inching into my brain while reading this. The link is here. The song's chorus has this one line that says, “for as much she stumbles she's running” and the words really struck me as true. Even though Clara is in trouble and is stumbling over how to get over this she keeps moving forward, she keeps running.