#112 Book Review: Stay With Me

Stay With Me
Release Date: October 3rd 2011
Author: Paul Griffin
Publisher: Text Publishing
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Amazon | The Book Depository
More Info: Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.

From award-winning writer Paul Griffin, Stay with Me is both heartbreaking and uplifting, filled with characters (both dog and human) that will forever change the way you look at the world.

Cover:
The cover totally represents the story! I like how the dog is in the middle, between the guy and the girl. It feels as if the dog is one of the main reasons how they both got together or connected to each other!

Story:

They come and go, but will you stay?

Stay With Me is a heart-breaking beautiful story of two different teenagers who find love unexpectedly. This book is more than just a love story. It's about understanding yourself, believing yourself, accepting your life and overcoming your weaknesses. Stay With Me is written from Mack and Cece's POVs. I really enjoyed reading from both POVs and understanding each of them more as the story goes. The book is well-written. Not only did I enjoy reading the story and the developing relationship, this book also explores the beauty of dogs. I have to admit, I am really scared of dogs, like Cece, but as I read the book, I find myself knowing more about dogs' behaviour and what it means. That perhaps dogs are not so scary after all and as the saying goes: dogs are a man's bestfriend! The ending pleased me although it is sad. I do understand how the book ends that way though!

Characters:
I adore the character. They are so realistic and they felt real to me. I connected with them, felt their pain and their sadness. Cece is somehow similar to me. She's a student, she studies hard for school but she's scared of dogs. She was attacked by a dog when she was young (not that I was ever attacked by a dog before) but that makes Cece scared of dogs. When she meets Mack, she finds herself starting to gather the courage to finally interact with dogs and it is Mack who helps her to understand dogs more.  I feel really sad for Mack. He's a gentle guy who loves dogs so much he's willing to fight those who dares hurt dogs. He's a high school drop out so he's not well-educated. The interesting thing is that he's also very passionate about dish-washing. He washes dishes so cleanly that the manager of the restaurant where he works at is very impressed! Cece and Mack truly belong together. Their bittersweet moments are simply beautiful.

Overall:
Stay With Me is a poignant novel about understanding yourself, believing yourself, accepting your life and overcoming your weaknesses. This book explores the love between two completely different people who bonded over their fear and love for dogs. If you love dogs or are even scared of dogs like me, you should try reading this book! Who knows it might change the way you see dogs after you finish the book?

4 Forget-Me-Not flowers for Stay With Me!

Thank you Text Publishing for the review copy!

Check out the book trailer!