Sunday 10 June 2012

#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!

11 comments:

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed this, Celine. Stay With Me just broke my heart. Couldn't stop crying! Great review :)

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  2. I haven't ever heard of this book, Celine, but the cover really caught my attention. It sounds like a sweet story! Did it help you with your fear of dogs?

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  3. Wow!! Great review Celine!! I LOVE books like this!! It sounds wonderfully sweet and heartbreaking... I'm SO going to give it a go. And, I LOVE dogs (umm... who doesn't!)!! So I guess I need to read this book even more now! LOL. I'm going to have a box of tissues handy though, cause this sounds like a real tear-jerker!! :P

    xx
    Riya (The Teen Book Guru)

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  4. Gorgeous review, Celine! I hadn't seen this one before but now I'll absolutely have to get my hands on it. I'm loving books like this at the moment so I'm happy to find another to add to the pile! :D

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  5. I've seen the cover for this around but I had no idea what it was about till now. It sounds great! I'm glad to hear the characters were a realistic bunch- that's always a plus. Amazing review, Celine! It's good to see you liked this. :)

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  6. I am so happy you enjoyed this! Oh my god, this book did a number on my heart. After Lisa told me how much she loved it and the number of tears she shed while reading, I practically ran to read my copy and god. I bawled by the end haha. Such a moving story <3 Fantastic review!

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  7. This book looks new to me, so thanks for bringing it to my attention, Celine! I'm so happy to hear that you liked this book. I'm not one for sad or emotional contemporaries, so I'm not sure if this book is for me, but it definitely looks fantastic. Awesome review, Celine!

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  8. This is one of those books I always pass in the bookstore but never picked up. And I love dogs! Well, I love MY dogs. Haha. I'll have to give this book a try after all. Nice review, Celine.

    Maggie

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  9. This sounds like it could be an emotional story. Now I am wondering what this horrible mistake is. I am going to go add it to my tbr list. Thanks for the review :D

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  10. Ohh! I love the sound of this one. I love my puppy, but I'm super scared of dogs in general, so that part makes me even more curious. Maybe it can change my view on them! It sounds like a fantastic story! Great review. :)

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  11. Will be adding this to my TBR. It looks really good. Awesome review, Celine! :)

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