Stay With Me
By: Paul Griffin
Dial (Imprint of Penguin Group, USA)
ISBN-13: 9780803734487
An urban romance that will capture your soul, break your heart, and restore your faith in the human spirit
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.
Review
Cece (pronounced Che-Che) is on the track to make something out of her life other than popping out babies and waitressing on the wrong side of town. Mack is a high-school dropout who has a talent with dogs, but can't look people in the eyes. Neither wanted to go out with the other - but when Cece's brother Tony goes into the Army they begin to connect like he said they would. It starts with Mack walking Cece home from work at Vic's Too, the diner they both work at. Then they work to rehabilitate a pitbull together. Slowly, they fall in love and plan their future. But when Mack does something unforgiveable it all begins to fade away. How will their story end? The best word to describe this book is bittersweet. I began this one with expectations of another book like Perfect Chemistry, and ended up with a book that left me sort of cold. I immediately felt like I was reading S.E. Hinton because of the way Mack talks and how REAL he felt to me - but I can't say the same for Cece. I was pretty disappointed with how distanced I was from her character's feelings and problems. I fell in love with Mack (but it fizzled near the end of the book) and I loved Carmella, Vic and Tony as well. But Cece was keeping herself apart from me, and that makes for no easy affair with a book where she's the main character. The way Mack interacted with the Pits and was like a dog whisperer was pure gold though! It made me miss my dog (who's been gone for 7 years) and made me want to finally get another one. You could tell Griffin really knew his way around animals! :) It was well-written and it kept me reading to the end, but it left me feeling numb.
VERDICT: 3/5 Stars
*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*
Great review! This book sounds just like my kind of thing. It's on my wish list. :) I'm sorry it wasn't better for you, though!
ReplyDeleteI know that a lot of people out there love this book and I'm glad. It's just personally not my thing! :)
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