Stay

I have been a horrible blogger as of late and I promise I will catch you all up on all the amazing things that have been going on as of late. However I have to take a short break and talk about this perfect summer read I was lucky enough to come across. Stay is a book by a local Rochester writer name Allie Larkin. It is such an amazing book. In focuses around Savannah “Van” Leone who finds herself a maid of honor in her best friend Janie’s wedding, but instead of celebrating, Van is mourning because Janie’s new husband is the man who Van has been secretly in love with for years, ever since they meet on the first day of college classes at U of R. After the wedding, Van retreats to her condo and gets steadily drunk on vodka and cool-aid drinks while watching re-runs of Rin Tin Tin. In her alcohol haze, she has a sudden insight into what she needs in her life.

So she does what any 20 something women would do… she sends her credit card number out into cyberspace and purchases a German Shepherd puppy from a breeder in Slovakia. When her Slovakian canine arrives, looking more like a full grown dog than a puppy, Van names him Joe. Van takes Joe to his first veterinarian appointment, and discovers that not only does her new dog have a really nice temperament, but so does the veterinarian named Alex. What follows is a hilarious and heart-warming story about the power of animals to heal emotional wounds and help us move forward after loss. In the book she demonstrates how animals, especially dogs, can heal our deepest wounds.

I loved the character of Van – a young woman who has recently lost her mother to cancer and is trying to find her place in the world. Van is smart, funny, and seems to find herself embroiled in outrageous situations on a daily basis. Her immediate love for Joe reminds me of my own love of animals and how important they have been during my healing processes of losing my mom. My cat, Follow, yes Follow. Was my best friend and gave me so much comfort during the healing process. Somehow animals just know when you are upset and them just being there to hold makes you feel better.

In Stay, Larkin explores women’s friendships (with all the drama, ambivalence, and support they bring), along with love, loss and identity. Her characters are real and genuine, and Larkin writes with an honesty which is refreshing. This is the success of the book how amazing the characters are depicted. Larkin is as authentic as her characters, and clearly knows how to spin a plot to pull the reader in. I loved watching Van work through her emotions with Joe at her side. I also loved the fact the book was set in Rochester and has at points reminds me of things I do every day, at one point Peter is on the phone and is talking about the University Ave Wegmans…aka my Wegmans!!!

Stay is an enjoyable and well written debut novel which will appeal to those readers who love women’s fiction, and also a great and perfect book for all of us 20 somethings in the world. I am soo looking forward to what Larkin will write about in the future. I am highly recommended this book to anyone!!!!!.

PS as a side note she will be signing books in Batavia, NY at Present Tense Bookstore on Wednesday, August 31^st at 6 PM.