My Thoughts: Stay by Deb Caletti

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....

This was an e-ARC from Simon and Schuster.


In recent months I have read quite a few books dealing with fairly heavy/serious issues. Books dealing with abusive boyfriends among them so picking this one up was no biggie. Stay by Deb Caletti is about a boy who is so obsessed with his girlfriend that he becomes extremely abusive (although not physically abusive, but I am sure it could have gone there).  This was the first novel that I have read by Caletti and I wasn't a huge fan of this one. There were things that I loved about it, and some things that really bothered me.

The thing that I loved the most about this book was Clara's relationship with her father. I thought it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. Clara's mom had passed away when she was four, so it had just been her dad and her for many years, and they had this really special relationship. Clara's dad was supportive and encouraging and he really cared for his daughter. In most YA novels you don't often see the parents and you wonder where they are, in this one Clara's dad was around and he was dad. I really enjoyed that aspect of the novel.

Christian, to let the psycho ex-boyfriend cool off. They went to a small cottage town, and Clara got a job. That's all fine and dandy, what I thought was odd was the fact the Clara found herself becoming romantically involved with a boy, I found myself saying oh come on. I liked Finn, I really liked his character, and I think however that if he could have simply been her friend instead of her boyfriend the book would have been better for me. I also wasn't a fan of the end, I feel like Christian got off way to easily, and it was a little anti-climatic for me. It was a tad disappointing.

Christian was a creepy character, totally insane and that was something that was believable in Stay. He was totally obsessed and totally psycho. He was freaky. Clara was meh. I didn't love her, and I didn't hate her. She didn't do a whole lot for me.

I think that maybe I shouldn't have read Stay when I did, that maybe I wasn't in the mood for it, therefore am being a little to critical, but who knows. I am planning on reading a couple more books by Deb Caletti to give her a second chance. Wish me luck.

Happy Reading Everyone!