Rating: 
Summary: glad, sad, true, and absolutely stunning
Review: this perfectly balanced novel is like the best dinner you ever had with a fascinating companion who excites you and listens to you and intrigues you all at the same time. it will make you listen intently; it will exhilarate you; it will make you nod and say "yes, yes, that's it _exactly!_" you will finish, and walk away satisfied, but long for more. you will lie awake in your bed and replay moments in your head, and you will dream differently.the physical world is the first thing you notice: the trees, the wind, the birds, the scents of dirt and leaves and mossy water. then the interior world of aud. then the story, which is aud's story of pain and love and joy and loss, of learning and hope and risk and reward and mistakes, and, at last, of pure and intensely satisfying action. you will pump your arm in victory, shout "yes!" loud enough to startle your honey, then startle him again when you reach the end and weep but smile. i was struck, over and over, by how absolutely true it all feels; the grief, the joy, the fight, the friendship, the lust, the blood, the child, the change. the story is a marvel of zest and rightness and realness: things go wrong, things evolve organically, things go according to plan but then end up meaning something different. and always, everywhere, infusing everything, is aud. you will be reminded of yourself. you will be glad sometimes that it's not you suffering and you will be sad sometimes that it's not you triumphing. your honey will read the book and be glad, and sad, and angry, and intrigued (and a little bit jealous I think). you will want to read _stay_ over and over and over again, and wish you'd read the first book first, and meantime gush uncharacteristically like this to anyone who will listen. savor this book because you can only read it for the first time once.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: Wow! It's been worth the wait for this one. Aud is a fierce, complex character who is growing and changing--a complicated process that Griffith handles beautifully and believably at every turn. STAY is a remarkable story of grief, reconstruction, love, and the joy in being alive that even the greatest loss cannot smother entirely. I wasn't expecting this book after THE BLUE PLACE, but now that I've read it I can't imagine Aud doing anything differently. Emotion, quiet moments, excitement, violence and its consequences, hard choices--it's all here in STAY. A brilliant book.
Rating: 
Summary: Deep and Powerful!
Review: WOW! This novel hit me on a number of levels. Griffith knows how to draw the reader in and then POW! deliver the 'ol one/two sucker punch. Aud is a delightful character--multifaceted and real. Girffith develops the book in such a way that I can see the cabin surrounded by trees, feel the breeze, and smell the dirt while in the next instance I can feel the grit of New York City, hear the blaring noise, and feel the sun glaring off the asphalt--all within the space of a page. Although the premise of a hip know-it-all type like Tammy being sucked into a mindless slave may be hard for some to believe, it struck a real nerve with me. I faltered a little on the way Aud disabled the dirty rotten scoundrel, as details were sketchy, but for such a minor oversight, who cares.... The rest was brilliant! This book, on so many levels, is extemely well written and absorbing. It touches so many feelings from grief to brutality, yet expounds on each so that you won't feel cheated by any of the characters or emotions that will roil through you as you suck this novel down. Now, I guess I'll have to go back and read some of Giffith's earlier works. This is one talented lady!
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