Stay

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing

Release Date: December 3, 2019

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

In true form, Catherine Ryan Hyde delivers another outstanding story about the power of friendship and how much a simple kindness can do for a person.

Lucas Painter has a bigger load to carry than most fourteen-year old boys he knows. His brother is off fighting in Vietnam and his best friend Connor is spiraling into a deep depression with family issues. All this combines with his own difficulties at home as his parents continue to fight relentlessly. Lucas needs a relief from the pressure of his life, so he takes off running through the woods. One day while running, he comes across two large dogs. At first, he is scared but then the dogs start running with him and it becomes just what he needs. After a while he meets the owner of the dogs, Zoe Dinsmore. She has kept herself isolated from the rest of the town after a tragic event that rocked her life and everyone in the town. Lucas finds the chance in meeting Zoe to do something to help those closest to him and hopefully save a life in the process.

Each time I pick up a Catherine Ryan Hyde book I think to myself it can’t possibly be better than the last, but she proves me wrong every single time. Stay is a perfectly crafted tale of what it means to care for someone and love them enough to want them to stay in this world. Lucas has so much going against him, but he still tries to help those around him. He is such a rich and vulnerable character that the reader can’t help but want to follow along in his journey. He isn’t the only perfect character in the book; his relationship with every other character is perfectly laid out. Zoe is the character that probably has the biggest arc throughout the story and I loved seeing her grow and the advice she gives out was just right. The thing that makes the characters so relatable is the flaws they have, not even one of them are written as perfect and having their life totally together. The flaws bring out the best and worst in them and help move the story along. Each chapter brought a new struggle that Lucas faced that helped him to grow and be able to help those around him. The story moves quickly with tension at the right spots and the characters showing growth with the turning of the pages. I recommend this book to anyone that has enjoyed a Catherine Ryan Hyde book before and is looking for another great read. If you haven’t read anything by Hyde yet this would be a perfect one to get you started with a phenomenal author.

I received a complimentary copy of this title from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.