Stay

It's strange, isn't it, how that idea of belonging to someone can sound so great? It can be comforting, the way it makes things decided. We like the thought of being held, until it's too tight. We like that certainty, until it means there is no way out. And we like being his, until we realize we're not ours anymore.

Ehhh. The side stories weren't really interesting to me. I wish this book just focused more on its central theme of toxic/obsessive relationships and emotional manipulation, because its strength was in those bits. And that ending was a disappointment too. It felt like the protagonist's problems were all just magically washed away.

This is the first review I've written so I'm going to make it brief.
But as a disclaimer, this review won't be very objective (and may have general spoilers but no details.) I lived this. This book resonated so deeply with me because I had a boyfriend just like this. I wonder how I would have responded to this book had that not been the case. However, as it is, this book is SO important.
Sometimes, it's easy for us to judge people who stay in any type of abusive relationship, whether it be emotional, physical, or mental abuse. It's easy to say “That guy is a loser, she should've left him a long time ago. She's asking for it. How stupid can she be?” (Obviously these roles could apply to either gender, I'm just using the ones in the book as an example.) This book takes you inside her head though. It shows you just how easy it is to be trapped in a relationship and not even know it.
I hope people read this book and see its importance and have a better understanding of what it's really like.
That being said, I loved this book. It really is incredible. Deb's writing style is one of my favorites and Stay definitely didn't disappoint.