Catherine Ryan Hyde STAY Beautifully written! Friendships and Dogs


Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a beautifully written story which broke my heart in some scenes and then made me smile! It is the summer of 1969 and Lucas Painter is fourteen with many worries and questions. He doesn't understand why his parents argue each evening, or why he hasn't heard from his brother Roy who is serving in Vietnam. The last letter he received from his nineteen year old brother raised more questions than answers. Most of the letter had been blocked out or redacted which lets Lucas know his brother has seen something terrible. Lucas also has a best friend Connor who seems very depressed. He refuses to go out and stays in his room. One day as Lucas walks through the woods close to his home, he sees a small cabin and then there are two huge dogs approaching him. His impulse is to run and surprisingly, the dogs join him, not in aggression, but just for the joy of running! Lucas returns to the cabin for a run each morning or evening and the dogs love him. One day as he reaches the cabin he sees the dogs are pawing the door and seem to be upset. He looks through a window and sees an older woman in her bed and she is unresponsive to his knocks on the window.. This begins an unlikely friendship with a woman who has become an outcast in his community. As Lucas shares his problems with the strange Zoe Dinsmore, he learns valuable life lessons and he goes beyond all that is expected of him to help Connor, Roy, and also, Zoe. As I read the book. the word "Stay" became so haunting and real as I was hoping the fractured characters in this story could be convinced to face their biggest problems and "Stay".
Publication Date December 3, 2019
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Photograph by Diane Lochala
"Booker: A very cool dog!"

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