Review: Stay by Deb Caletti

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publishing Date: April 5th, 2011
ISBN: 9781442403734
Pages: 320 pgs

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....

Review:
I have never read anything by Deb Caletti but I have heard good things about this author. I was excited when I got this book from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab and started reading this book immediately. To be honest I didn't even know much about the book but I really liked the cover. What can I say? I'm a bit of a cover whore. Anyhow, I really liked the message in this book. I have only recently started reading YA and I have found that an alarming number of books center around love at first sight. I think this idea is dangerous for teens and this book shows you why that is the case. In this book Clara falls in insta-love with Christian after seeing him at a basketball game. The second time she sees him at the game she follows him outside, alone, and ends up kissing him right away. From this point, I started to get a bad vibe from this Christian character. I couldn't help but notice that throughout the book they never once have a real substantial conversation and their relationship slowly turns into something dangerous. Christian exhibits domineering character traits and often plays the victim. I couldn't stand this character and I suppose that is really Caletti's point. I liked that Clara had a good familial support system with her dad. I also really liked the writing style of this book. The author jumps from past to present and back again. It allows us to see snapshots of Clara's life now and this gives us insight into her life in her recent past. I think that while this book may be disturbing to some, it is important that teen girls read this book. It showcases just how dangerous certain relationships can be. Caletti does not make it seem easy to leave such relationships and that is the point. Once you are in something that dangerous it is difficult to leave. I also like the fact that Caletti doesn't make Christian's character to be over the top physically violent. This type of abuse is mostly psychological and in my opinion not many people take that as seriously as they should. Overall I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I believe that it sends an important message not just to teens but to any woman who reads this book.