When Clara first sees Christian at a basketball game, the connection is instant and electric. Clara's never felt so intense, so amazing, so in love before. Christian is smart, kind, gorgeous, and he's from Denmark - hellooooo awesome accent. Before long, they're inseparable, and everything is perfect. Too perfect.At first, Clara tells herself that Christian is just protecting her because he loves her. The jealousy, the overprotectiveness, the checking up on her, the weird comments about her clothes being too revealing, his terror that she'll leave him. Until Christian's intense jealousy and possessiveness becomes more than Clara can find excuses for and way more than she can handle. But Christian can't - won't - let go of Clara.
After one terrifying night, Clara's dad has had enough. He and Clara leave town to spend the summer on the beach - except they tell everyone they're going to Europe. Clara can't even tell her best friend, Shakti, where they are - it's too risky. The plan is for Clara and her dad to take the summer to relax, heal, and be normal in a place Christian can't reach them. Clara's dad spends his days working on his book, and Clara gets a job working at the lighthouse. She meets Anabelle Aurora, an eccentric old friend of her dad's who lives on the beach. And then there's cute sailor Finn Bishop, who takes tourists out on his sailboat with his brother. Clara's not sure if she's ready for a boyfriend after what happened with Christian, but she knows she likes spending time with Finn on and off the water.
But when Clara's phone rings and it's Christian's number on the screen, Clara knows he's found them. Just when her life is starting to feel normal again, she's plunged back into a nightmare of stalking and obsession she thought she left behind.
Stay unfolds in two storylines, one revealing Christian and Clara's obsessive relationship in the past and the other following Clara's summer at the beach with her awesome, fiercely protective dad. As Clara heals, forgives herself and makes new friends, she remembers how easy it was for her to fall crazy in love with Christian - and how hard it was for her to see how crazy in love isn't a good thing when there's more crazy than love. With Christian lurking invisibly in the background, the tension builds almost unbearably toward a final showdown. With moments of sweetness, light romance, fun, some really cool sailing, and a mystery about Clara's mom (who died when Clara was little) letting little bits of sunshine into Clara's life, Stay is for fans of books by Sarah Dessen, Jenny Han, and Jennifer Brown. Check it out @ the library!
Megan
(now reading Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton - it's creepy awesome!)