February Genreflecting: Giveaway & Stay With Me by Paul Griffin review

An urban romance that will capture your soul, break your heart, and restore your faith in the human spirit

Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.

From award-winning writer Paul Griffin, Stay with Me is both heartbreaking and uplifting, filled with characters (both dog and human) that will forever change the way you look at the world.

From Goodreads

That summary does this book more justice than I ever could. Stay With Me was powerful beyond words. Incredibly well-written and perfectly paced, this book had me hooked from beginning to end. Mack is a sensitive and misunderstood teen. Despite his personal difficulties he is determined to make something of himself if only to be able to enjoy a nice, quiet life. A life he decides he wants to share with Cece, the personable and brilliant waitress at Mack's job. 

While Mack is initially "assigned" to take care of and look after Cece in her brother's absence at boot camp, the two come to mean more to one another than either one of them ever hoped. You find yourself imagining just how great and easy life could be for them if everything worked out. But since this is kind of like a typical romance in reverse, all the great stuff happens before the difficult thing that rips them apart.

The language and imagery used in this book are done in such a way that you hardly notice that not a lot is necessarily going on. Taking place over just 102 days, time means nothing and everything. There are so many characters and layers to their stories that you still don't quite see the whole picture until the very end. And what an ending! Truly a must read!

With respect to it's genre, Stay With Me has all the classic elements. The whole story revolves around this young couple's love, not only for one another, but also for the people and animals in their lives. Tracking their romance is how the story moves forward and progresses. There is a myriad of emotions ranging from vitriolic hatred to unquenchable adoration experienced by our young lovers as they grow and evolve together. And this book definitely follows the pattern of truth in love. This isn't a fairytale ending because this book is about real love. That's not how it's always supposed to work, but sometimes it's better this way.

I really enjoyed reading a romantic book. In comparison to a realistic fiction book, this one just gives me so much more to look forward to! The emphasis isn't on the experiences that these teens have, but on their love. While that may sound contradictory, it's really not. Being based around the teens' emotions provides a different avenue of interacting with readers. I find it can be a deeper connection for me most of the time because I am attracted to love. While not always easier to relate to, I find it much more enjoyable.

Now onto, the fun part! As part of the Genreflecting feature, each month I will be giving away a book in the genre I explored. As this month is Romance I have chosen to give away Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway! The giveaway is open from now until midnight on Thursday, February 28th to US residents over the age of 13. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nostalgic Friday: Charlotte's Web

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

And we're back! It's becoming harder & harder to find books for me to talk about on this feature because they are becoming harder to locate. I don't remember everything I have ever read, so I'm starting to run out. If you would like to contribute a "Nostalgic Friday" post, just email me at tattooedbooks AT gmail DOT com. I would be more than happy to feature a guest post. On to this week's book.

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White has got to be one of the most iconic chapter books from my childhood. This 1952 story is rich with humor, positive character traits, & a unique story. I remember reading this book out loud to my grandmother when it was her nap time. You read that right, my grandmother would take afternoon naps & I'd read her a nap time story like she read me a bed time story. I never made it more than a few pages before I fell asleep too, so I'm not sure how much she ever really heard of the story. :)

Fern is a born & raised farm girl. She holds no false pretenses about where her meat or eggs come from, but when she finds out that her father intends to kill the runt of the new pig litter, she feels compelled to act. After promising to take care of the little piglet, she names him Wilbur & places him in the barn with some of the other farm animals.

This is where to story diverges from the normal human path & the animals take over. Wilbur isn't the brightest piglet in the world, getting into some trouble with some of the other barnyard animals, but he does find a friend in a verbose spider. Charlotte manages to capture everyone's attention with her message of "Some Pig" adding a mysterious quality to Wilbur. The little pig grows up & is eventually featured at the local state fair, but he learns a hard lesson as Charlotte informs him that she will one day leave him.

As a child I read this story & just thought that it was a really cute talking animal story. I didn't really put it together that I was learning things about friendships, humanity, & the ability of everyone to overcome obstacles. No matter what was put in this little pig's way, he managed to overcome it all & come out on top. It may not have been easy & he may have needed some help, but he never gave up & that's all that mattered.

I love watching children discover this story for the first time because they really get into it. The language, the action & the relationships draw the kids in & they seem to get lost in this magical world. I especially love hearing parents explain Charlotte's language. Not many people use some of her words anymore & I think it makes it all the more special to see them in a children's book.

Nostalgic Friday: The Story of Babar: the little elephant

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

As I'm sure many other children did, I remember watching early morning cartoons on the weekends. One of my favorites was Babar which came on very early on HBO. Words do not properly convey how much the stories resonated with me. There was always a moral lesson to be learned and despite the preposterous basis (a walking, talking, gentleman elephant) I was enraptured! Imagine my delight when one morning my mother happened to catch the tale end of the program & informed me that it was actually a book. Several in fact. I demanded that we find these books so I could devour them! Along the same line as Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans, the Babar book series by Jean de Brunhoff consisted of several shorter books all with a moral attached. Below are some of my personal favorites.

The Story of Babar the little elephant
This book was the first book written and it tells the story about how Babar came to be in Paris among the educated & elite. After the tragic murder of his mother by a hunter, a kind elderly woman became his patron by dressing him, educating him, & ensuring his place in the world. But dissatisfied, Babar returns to his rightful place in the forest & is promptly crowned king.

The Travels of Babar
In this story, Babar met a lady elephant & they fell in love. He is in need a queen & Celeste fills that role quite nicely so the two are married. The Travels of Babar follow the two lovebirds as they embark on their honeymoon. Naturally it can't go without a hitch & the young couple soon finds themselves in a terrible storm, leaving them to fend of hunters.

Babar and His Children
As in many love stories, there comes a time when the happy couple wants to multiply their love by having children. In Babar & Celeste's case they are fortunate enough to have three at once. Flora, Pom, and Alexander are just like their parents & seem to have a knack of getting in to trouble only to be rescued by their parents or other animals in the forest.

One of the most important things to keep in mind when reading these classic French tales is that they were told/written in the early 1930's. Context & societal norms are something that must be taken into consideration when enjoying them. There are depictions & events that aren't "politically correct" or that may seem "strange," but as with any historical piece, the context clues are a vital part of what makes the story. Just keep that in mind; not just for these books, but for any older book. J'espère que vous les aimez! (I hope you like them!)

Nostalgic Friday: The Incredible Journey

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

I was reminded of this little treasure when a patron asked me to help identify a movie that she had seen a child. Since she was a little younger than me, I was the most likely candidate to solve the mystery. The movie turned out to be "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey." It turns out that this cute movie was actually based on the book The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnsford which was originally written in 1960. The book was based on a true story.

Three household pets - a young Labrador named Luath, a Siamese Cat named Tao, and a senior Bull Terrier named Bodger - misunderstand their family's intentions when they are left behind with a friend during a vacation. So they set out together to find their family, crossing 200 miles of Canadian wilderness.*

While this may sound like a boring story, the interactions that accompany the story, and the journey the animals take, are the key. Who could possibly expect that a Bull Terrier and a Siamese Cat could be the best of friends because they share the same loathing of other cats? I can imagine these three sticking together, through the best and worst of their journey, to make their way home to their family. Even though I doubt it could ever happen again, I think Burnsford would be the best to write about it. Her descriptions of the surroundings and the animals' mannerisms are so vibrant that I could actually imagine watching it play out before me even before I saw the film.

If you like feel-good, happy books, this is your ticket. I truly enjoyed the very relaxed nature of the book and like to re-read it when I need a pick-me-up. I hope you decide to revisit it or give it more than a passing glance.

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