Stay by Deb Caletti

4 stars

Relationships aren’t always what they seem.

Stay is told through the eyes of Clara Oates, an ambivalent girl who feels that she is the definition of average, and prefers to blend in with the crowd. However, her wallflower behaviour is altered after one fated basketball game, where she decides to step out of her comfort zone and approach a complete stranger to satisfy their frisson and instant attraction. With formalities aside, their affinity eventually blossoms into a passionate relationship.

As things progress, Clara soon discovers that her relationship with Christian is not the fairytale she thought it would be. She starts to his notice his controlling nature and his blind jealousy becomes evident when he starts to follow her to ensure that she is telling the truth about where she's going. When he begins to unreasonably accuse her of infidelity, Clara's bottled discontent finally bursts, forcing her to leave town on a soul-searching trip with her father.

Her summer on the island is filled with self-discovery and valuable lessons about coming to terms with her internal struggles, but no matter how much distance she has put between her and her hometown, Clara fears that Christian is not far behind.

Stay captures the essence of a verbally abusive relationship with great accuracy, allowing young females to relate to the trials in love and relationships that Clara experiences. Moreover, Caletti's beautifully crafted characters jump off the page making the story that much more enjoyable. The only flawis that the story develops slowly in the beginning, but other than that, this book is impossible to put down. Promising laughter as well as tears, Stay is definitely a book worth reading.