Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
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Clara needs to get away for awhile. After a tumultuous relationship with Christian, Clara’s dad decides that escaping to Bishop Rock, a nearby beach town, will be the best decision to help Clara feel a sense of freedom and relief.
After a few days of settling in, Clara finally begins to start feeling normal again. Far away from Christian, she is able to relax, spend time with her author dad, get a new job and even strikes up an unlikely romance. But that pit of dread and worry never leaves her stomach. Christian may be closer than she thinks.
This was the first book I’ve ever read by Deb Caletti, and it certainly won’t be the last. I was completely intrigued by this novel’s plot and I was impressed by Caletti’s storytelling ability. One of my favorite parts of this book was that each chapter alternated between the past and the present. I loved learning snippets of Clara’s past and details of her relationship with Christian, all while learning more about her current life. Alternating chapters urged me to keep reading to finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. I think this storytelling device is one that can either work really well, or fall really flat, and Caletti did an impeccable job at successfully using this tool.
I fell in love with Bishop Rock. What a beautiful, perfect place to set this story. Caletti’s description of the sleepy beach town was so extremely vivid that I could literally feel the sea breeze and smell the hamburger and french fries at the place where Finn’s sister worked. I’m a sucker for a beach town anyway, but choosing this location made STAY even more interesting to me.
While I understood from the beginning that Christian had issues, I would have liked to see more details and description around that particular character trait. I understand that the verbal and emotional abuse in this story could get very touchy, especially if Caletti pushed the envelope a little more, but I still would have liked to learn more about Christian. Especially towards the end, I felt like the book ended very abruptly, without delving into some of the messy emotions that I was expecting.
As a main character, I felt a range of emotions for Clara. I admired her strength and bravery. I shook my head in frustration at her moments of stupidity and wanted to stay with Christian, even when he was abusive. But most of all, I rooted for her. I rooted for her to get away from Christian and to find a life that made her happy. I had butterflies throughout the book when I put myself into Clara’s shoes. She was in a very tough situation that she handled with grace and dignity.
And then of course there’s *swoonworthy* Finn. Some other reviewers seemed to have an issue with how easily Clara fell into a new and safe relationship, but I really enjoyed this part of the story. Clara deserved a good relationship, and she found one in Finn. I loved how honest Finn was with Clara, and especially how protective he was of her.
While this book didn’t have many characters (something I’m not used to these days!) I absolutely appreciated the character building Caletti accomplished throughout the book. While I felt like I really knew Clara well, I really came to appreciate and love the relationship between Clara and her father. THIS is precisely the kind of father/daughter relationship I have been looking for in YA. Not only was her dad protective, he was also witty and kind. Clara and her dad’s interactions were so realistic; I absolutely loved it! I also loved that he was an author, and all of the fun references to writing and other authors.
4/5
Review copy provided by GalleyGrab.
I agree that the alternating past & present chapters worked really well in this book. And I loved the relationship between Clara and her dad also! It was refreshing. I don’t think that Finn and Clara’s relationship developed too quickly. She didn’t leave for the beach immediately after she left Christian, and she and Finn took things slowly. It is important in a book like this to include that character who is a stark contrast to the one who was so unhealthy for Clara in the first place, to reinforce the difference between normal and unstable.
I’m glad you liked it, too. Good review!
Oooh, I’m all over this one. Love that the story had a great sense of place, and it sounds like Caletti’s character development (with the exception of Christian) was well done. I own a few books by her but have yet to crack them open — must fix that soon!
Can someone tell if I can use this book for first year english class in college. I’m taking child & youth worker, and my professor told my class to pick a book to read over the next 9 weeks.I don’t know it belongs to relationship/dating violence, fitting in, etc… It can do with anything related to children or teens and how they faces challenges, like rape, relationships/dating violence, eating disorders, anything.