Stay by Deb Caletti

Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon Pulse (a part of Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Edition: e-ARC
*Received through Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab program.

Summary from GoodReads:
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:

I'm currently a jumble of thoughts and the most prominent one is... wow. When Clara leaves her old life behind, it's to escape Christian--who is quite literally crazy about Clara. He calls her, texts her, and e-mails her too. Finally, her father decides that enough is enough and along with Clara they escape their old life and start anew at a seaside town. There, she meets Finn who is the opposite of Christian. He's confident and she doesn't have to worry about what not to say around him. Things take a turn when Christian contacts Clara again and she'll be forced to confront him one last time.

Where do I begin? Most of the time, I loved Clara's character and I felt like I could identify with her--not due to Christian, but due to her shy nature. However, there were times in which she annoyed me (namely when she gave in to Christian and tried not to "hurt his feelings"). Christian and Finn were as different as night and day and to be honest, I loved watching Clara and Finn's relationship evolve.

Then, on a minor note, there was Chloe (Finn's sister) whom I loved as well as her seagull stalker. Yes, you heard me right, she has a seagull that follows her to work and home again--whom she named Gulliver. Deb Caletti has done a wonderful job with Clara's voice and she's created a great cast of characters in Stay. If contemporary (YA) romance is your particular cup of tea--or if the plot has you intrigued--I'd definitely suggest picking up a copy of Stay to read.

I feel like I should mention that although my review focuses on the main plot, it is not the plot in its entirety--however, I feel that I shouldn't give too much away and so I shall say no more than that. With all of that, I'll leave you with a quote that I rather liked--well, the one I liked best, for there were many wonderful lines throughout Stay. 

"But if fate is a shape-shifter, then love is too. It can be, anyway, in its most dangerous form." 

(page 48 of the e-ARC)

Overall Rating:  ★★★★★