Julie's Review: Stay

Author: Allie Larkin
Series: None
Publication Date: July 26, 2011

Publisher: Plume
Pages: 308
Obtained: purchased
Genre:  Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Rating: 4/5
Bottom Line: Joe, the dog, steals your heart and the novel
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab!

Summary: Savannah "Van" Leone has been in love with Peter Clarke since their first day of college. Six years later, Peter is marrying Van's best friend, Janie. Loyal to a fault, Van dons her pumpkin-orange, maid-of- honor gown and stands up for the couple, struggling to hide her true feelings even when she couldn't be more conspicuous. After the wedding, nursing her broken heart with a Rin Tin Tin marathon plus a vodka chaser, Van accidentally orders a German Shepherd puppy over the Internet. When "Joe" turns out to be a hundred-pound beast who only responds to commands in Slovak, Van is at the end of her rope-until she realizes that sometimes life needs to get more complicated before it can get better. ~powells.com

Review: If a book cover were to ever make me want to get a dog, then the cover for Stay accomplishes that. Problem: Kids are allergic to dogs and well Joe is a German Shepard one of my favorite breeds. So, for now, I will live through Van's experience and just stare at the cute puppy on the cover.

Van, short for Savannah, is at the wedding of her two best friends as the book opens up. Except shes' secretly been in love with the groom since meeting him in college. The problem is, she never expressed feelings to Peter. So, while nursing her broken heart she orders a puppy over the Internet, which you already know isn't going to be exactly what she expects. Fortunately for Van, he's exactly what she needs. 

While the book might seem like it's about Van getting over Peter, but it's about the relationship with her mom and her mom's best friend. It's about figuring out what makes her happy. Is it really Peter that will make her happy? As she and Joe settle into a routine, she learns to move on, which might just include a handsome veterinarian.

Ms. Larkin writes Van so that no matter where you are in your life, you can relate to her. She could be your best friend, you, your sister, etc. The point is, she's an accessible heroine.  You want her to find happiness and to learn sometimes letting go is getting happy.  There are times when I laughed out loud, especially when it came to some of Joe's antics. There were also a couple times when my eyes got teary because of what Van had to deal with at the time. The secondary characters in Stay are a hoot. Not only do they provide some comic relief but some life lessons as well.

If you like dogs or even if you don't, you really should check out Stay. It's a quick and delightful read. 

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