Summary:
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 Review:
I knew you
wouldn't disappoint me Caletti, I just knew it. This book...gosh I don't even
have the words to express how amazing this book was. Have you ever read a book
that just made so much sense and connected to you in such a way that it left
you thinking about it for days later? Because that's how I felt reading this
book.
“It wasn’t fair for a person to shove himself at you again
and again when you wanted them gone. We should have the right to have someone
leave when we want, to only allow those in who we want in. But the truth is, people
can force their way into your life whenever they choose. If they want to remind
you forevermore that they exist, they will. They can reappear in a card or a
call or a “chance” meeting, they can remember your birthday or the day you met
with some innocuous small note. No matter how little they matter in your new
life, they can insist on being seen and recognized and remembered.”
Clara the main character speaks to you in a way that no
other character can. She tells her story, and she really connect with the
reader. The thing that I loved most
about this book is how real everything was. When we read story about a couple
falling love it's always the same thing: girl likes boy, boy likes girl, they
fall in love, the end. But in this story we find out what happens when you fall
in love, and things don't turn out the way you hoped. Clara loved Christian and
a part of her always will but the big difference between her and all the other
girls in novels is that she knows when things have gone to far. She realizes
their relationship is not healthy and even though a big part of her wants to be
with him, she knows she needs to leave.
“You read all kinds of books and see all kinds of movies
about the man who is obsessed and devoted, whose focus is a single solid beam, same
as the lighthouse and that intense, too. It is Heathcliff with Catherine. It is
a vampire with a passionate love stronger than death. We crave that kind of
focus from someone else. We'd give anything to be that "loved." But
that focus is not some soul-deep pinnacle of perfect devotion - it's only
darkness and the tormented ghosts of darkness. It's strange, isn't it, to see a
person's gaping emotional wounds, their gnawing needs, as our romance? We long
for it, I don't know why, but when we have it, it is a knife at our throat on
the banks of Greenlake. It is an unwanted power you'd do anything to be rid of.
A power that becomes the ultimate powerlessness.”
Obsession is not something that should be taken lightly, and
I like how in this novel it truly opened my eyes to how serious it could get. I
don't know about you guys but I've read a lot of books where the guy falls in
love with the girl and it's almost like he's obsessed with her because "he
can't get enough"; I used to think it was so romantic how he would get incredibly
jealous and want her all to himself, but now I'm seriously questioning the
authors message. In Stay, Clara makes it clear from the beginning how scary and
not romantic it is when you can't even look at anyone without you're boyfriend
accusing you of cheating and verbally abusing you.
Deb Caletti really outdid herself in this book and it's
honestly got to be my favorite one from her so far! It's really a shame
that she doesn't get the attention she
deserves, but I know for a fact that she will keep writing amazing stories that
ultimately change peoples lives. Because this book definitely changed my life, and
I don't think I'll ever be the same. You have to give this book a chance, trust
me you will not be sorry. And not to keep ranting on but I have yet to read one
bad review about this book, and that's probably because this book is so close
to perfection it's almost impossible to not like it.
