This is my first novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde and I absolutely adored it. I will definitely be reading more of her novels in the future. This book was set in 1969 during the Vietnam War, and I love historical fiction books that are set outside of WWII (even though I love those as well). The author did a great job developing the characters and the story, making you feel as if you were actually there listening to Zoe and Lucas's talks, or on a run with Lucas. It was a very emotional and heartful story that makes you realize that sometimes people come into your life for a reason, and you shouldn't question why. Great read, recommend to everyone!

Hyde’s stories always tug at the heartstrings. Her characters are complex and are seldom people that you would ever think to put together, but they end up being the missing pieces in each other’s lives. A coming of age story set mostly in 1969, this book, while heartbreaking at times, was a life affirming story of healing the painful parts of life. A beautifully written story of friendship, family and forgiveness.

Stay is an amazing story. I loved the characters. The writing style took me into the story and didn't turn me loose until the last word. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Ms Hyde. Thanks to netgalley for the complementary arc, the opinions are my own.

A great book. A great story. That’s all that was. And that last sentence? A quote from the book. “That’s all that was.” Simple. Yet said exactly when, where and how it should be. In life, sometimes it’s the human connections that make us. Or break us. You don’t always know in the moment. But you also will never know if you don’t try. This book felt like a gift to me. An outside view of the small moments. And how you never know when they are big moments. I loved this story. I loved it like I haven’t loved a book in a very long time. And I thank the author for writing it.

I really like this author. I enjoyed this book and how it came full circle. Our library will be getting it and I will be recommending it.

I will leave a review on Amazon or B&N on Dec 3, 2019

This was only my second book read by Catherine Ryan Hyde, but Wow was it a great one! The story was so well written, I felt like I was there in the book with the characters. It touched me in so many ways, as the saying goes people come into your life for many reasons, some only a short time to teach you something or others for a lifetime. At only 14 Lucas already is such a caring human being, and always striving to help others. We watch him grow in this book, and learn many of life's lessons. I would highly recommend this book to others.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the pleasure of reading this jewel of a book, this is my own personal opinion of the book.

Catherine Ryan Hyde has written another wonderful, heartfelt, emotional book. I enjoyed every minute of it. This one is set in 1969 during the Vietnam War. It is told from the point of view of a fourteen year boy. lucas is struggling with his own issues, particularly his family life, but somehow manages to help his best friend, his brother, and an older woman. Of course, he has no idea how central he is to bringing these people together and helping all four of them in the process. Heavy subjects are handled with a light touch. Lucas is a wonderful character. I highly recommend this book!

I've heard great things about this author and have read a couple of her books before. This is written from the perspective of a 14-year-old boy, so I wansn't sure I'd be able to relate, but I really loved this story and the characters.

Luke Painter is fourteen-years-old when he awakens to his teenage consciousness and tells everyone that he now wants to be called Lucas. It is time to shake off his childhood persona and take on his birth name; a more grown up version of Luke. He lives with his volatile and argumentative mother and father on the outskirts of a small town called Ashby. His older brother is in the military and is serving in Vietnam. Lucas prays his brother will return uninjured as he writes a letter telling Roy that he loves him and is missing him. Unknown to Lucas his loving letter is the catalyst to what happens further on in this heart-warming story about family, friendship and support.
Meanwhile Lucas’s lifelong best friend Connor has struggles of his own. He is almost a recluse and this worries Lucas to the core. Worse still he cannot bring Connor out of his latest low mood, even though the long summer holiday has started. He just doesn’t know what to do with Connor going downhill so fast.
Lucas starts going for long ‘thinking time’ walks and stumbles across a humble cabin deep inside the forest. Two large dogs scurry out of their kennel and Lucas runs for his life, scared to death. The dogs run after him, relishing the exercise. They seem grateful and Lucas soon befriends them. This initial contact starts a routine of Lucas taking the dogs running alongside him early each morning. He comes to love them. Their owner is called Zoe Dinsmore. Lucas and Zoe chat and gradually form a connection that is mutually supportive. Zoe reveals her humbling secret and this becomes the cornerstone of this fabulous story.
I am a massive fan of Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novels. She has been one of my favourite authors for more than a couple of decades now. She always delivers absolutely gorgeous novels. Her character development is second to none. She is a prolific writer whose words spill from her heart gifting her characters with wisdom, empathy and kindness. This novel sits there alongside my all-time favourites. She knows her subject matter back to front and inside out and writes from each angle with simple perfection, compassion and understanding. I was so excited when I was offered the chance to read for review her new novel.
I received this book through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Lake Union Press in return for an honest review. Thank you so much for my copy. These are my own thoughts and I have read no other reviews before writing my own. I have no hesitation at all; in fact I’m excited and proud to highly recommend this novel for you to read. It is full of warmth, superbly and intelligently written with great attention to detail. It honestly is a little gem of a book. It is a standalone novel and I can guarantee that after reading this novel you will search the vast and varied back catalogue and reach out to read another of Catherine’s magical novels.

What a fantastic, emotionally-driven read! This is the first book I’ve read by Catherine Ryan Hyde and now I want to read everything she’s ever written!

With this book, she took on a very difficult subject and made it so relatable. At fourteen-years-old, Lucas feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and the only refuge he finds from his troubles is running. But one day he stumbles upon a cabin in the woods with two large dogs, and while frightened at first, he soon finds peace in running with the dogs. But he didn’t expect to find Zoe Dinsmore and save her life. But is saving what she really wants?

The friendships built throughout this story are what really drew me in. Lucas has a big heart, yet seems to feel clueless as to how he can help others. But just by taking the time to be there for them, talk to talk them, and show them that he cares, he brings together people who otherwise would have never met. Ultimately, they help one another see that there is more to life and though it might not seem like there’s much to live for now, it does get better, and you have to keep on living to see that.

I HIGHLY recommend this book!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3035885470

Another great book by Catherine Ryan Hyde. This author is one of my favorites. She writes original stories that touch your heart and emotions while the characters work through problems that are seen in the news everyday. Set in the Vietnam war era, you'll be familiar with the back story but Ms Hyde also added a young man suffering from severe depression. As the main character struggles to make decisions he finds an unlikely friend that he learns to lean on. I always enjoy books by this author since I know she will give me a reading experience that lifts me out of my routine for the day. STAY is another winner in a long line of excellent books by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

STAY by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a beautifully-written and emotional story of friendship, connection and kindness found in the most unexpected places. Told with honesty and compassion, it is a coming-of-age story for 14-year old Lucas Painter, who is weighed down by the endless arguing of his parents, fear for his brother who is fighting in Vietnam and worry about the mental health of his best friend, Connor, who seems to be slipping away into severe depression before his eyes. While out walking in the woods one day, Lucas comes across a rustic hidden cabin and two large dogs that become his running companions each day. But who lives in the cabin? Eventually Lucas meets Zoe Dinsmore, an older woman with a tragic past that has been shunned by the small community where they all live. Lucas saves Zoe from nearly dying and as time goes on, the two begin to share the painful details of their lives. Their unexpected bond leads to valuable life lessons learned by both of them and a relationship that lasts for many decades to come. STAY is a powerful and compelling story of flawed families, healing friendships and showing kindness to others in their most difficult times. This is a book that will stay on my mind for a long time and I highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

Stay by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a book that makes you confront yourself about how you treat people in your life, and how you treat yourself. Man this book hit me really hard. My favorite quote from the book was “ “Sometimes when a kids got nobody really running things in his life, he’ll decide to take over and take charge of everything. Otherwise the world just seems to be spinning out of control”. That resonates with me because that WAS me as a teen.

Read this book. You won’t regret it. I read it in about 2.5 hours.

The book started off good, but then it drifted. Disappointed because i was really looking forward in this one being good.

I really enjoyed this coming of age story. I felt the characters were real and I was engaged the whole time. I have ordered this book for the library and I am sure that many patrons will enjoy it.

Catherine Ryan Hyde does it again, writing an emotional, uplifting book about difficult topics. Stay touches on thoughts of suicide, the Vietnam War, family dynamics, addiction and life in a small town. The consequences of things you do in your life will follow you throughout your life, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. While reading the book you will wish you could personally be in the story so you could have sweet Lucas, Conner and Zoe in your life. Hopefully we all have people like them in our lives to keep us going when we are down. My favorite quote from the book is “If you think having and losing is so bad, try never having.” I totally believe that it is always better to have loved and lost than never to have loved. I want to thank NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing and Catherine Ryan Hyde for an ARC of Stay in exchange for an honest review. Honestly you don’t want to miss this well written, uplifting book filled with characters you will remember long after your done reading. It will be out December 3, 2019.

A beautiful story written with heart and depth about 14 year old Lucas Painter’s coming of age during the summer of 1969.
While his parents fight loudly everyday, his dad coming home later and later at night, Lucas’ last letter from his brother in Vietnam has him seriously worried, thanks to it’s mostly being blacked out by censors. What was his brother trying to tell him?
Out in the woods walking one day to clear his mind, Lucas sees two dogs, they spot him and begin chasing him. He’s relieved that they’re not actually chasing him but are enjoying running with him (they belong to Zoe Dinsmore, a woman he soon rescues and befriends.) Lucas finds running with the two dogs, now daily, offers wonderful peace from his troubles. It tugged at my heartstrings reading of the heavy burdens Lucas carries. Family life is lonely with his parents arguing daily, his brother Roy finally returns home safe from Vietnam but different and with afflictions, his friend Connor is depressed and withdrawn, and he worries about his new older friend Zoe. A loner and an outcast in their community, she lives in the middle of the woods still mourning over an accident twenty years earlier she’s never forgiven herself for, feeling she’s to blame. After Zoe returns home from the hospital Lucas checks on her welfare during his daily runs. He eventually begins sharing his troubles with her and learns valuable life lessons through Zoe that helps his brother, friend, and even Zoe herself.
“Stay” is a powerful story of family, friendship, helping others, forgiveness and healing. Another compelling, thoughtful novel from author Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

"When somebody holds a view that seems to make no sense, know that it makes sense to them, but for reasons you don’t know anything about yet. And I guess in a lot of cases, you never will."
What an important lesson to learn and keep in mind!
It's hard to believe that a book taking on such heavy subjects as death & loss, addiction, war, depression, and family dysfunction would be such a feel good story but it is! These families are so real & the characters are so easy to become attached to.
I can't say if Lucas was right or wrong for the choices he made when he was 18 but his honesty and the way he held himself accountable was admirable. I loved every page from beginning to end & was so happy with the way it ended.

Like her previous offerings, Catherine Hyde White once again delivers a tale that is both heartwarming and touching without resorting to maudlin sentimentality.

STAY manages to charm readers with its tale of uncertain adolescence, family dysfunction and unusual friendships as it reveals the inner lives and struggles of Lucas Painter, his best friend Conner and local recluse Zoe Dinsmore.

This is an extraordinary and carefully layered portrait that gives readers something that only the best novels can offer…..a glimpse into what it means to be human, to overcome adversity and, finally, the effect each of our lives has upon those around us.

Told from Lucas’s perspective some fifty years after a fateful meeting that would change his life,this is a work of myriad magic and appeal by a writer of immeasurable talent who never fails to provide an unforgettable reading experience that transforms narrator and reader alike.

Recommended for those who loved William Kent Krueger’s Ordinary Grace.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!