What a cute book for Allie Larkin's debut novel. The main character, Van (Savannah) is lonely and has a bit of a messy life. Enter Joe, her new dog from Slovakia. This endearing story will put a smile on your face and have you cheering Van on as she grows into her own.

Read this because it was on my book club list, and didn't look to see what it was about before starting to read. When I got started I thought it was a dumb romance and that it would be boring, boring, boring. I was wrong. It's about letting go attachments that aren't good for you, letting in attachments that are, listening to your inner voice and following what it says, and loving the flaws in yourself and others. Good book.

P.S. Not sure why GoodReads is showing the wrong cover. The cover shown on Amazon and on the Kindle is of a puppy in a packing box (green background). That's a much better cover than the big dog with the blue background that's showing on GoodReads.

Most of the books I pick up are things that look interesting at the library or a friend recommends. I'm never one to read bestseller lists or New York Times reviews, but I started hearing some pre-release buzz about Allie Larkin's Stay, and added it to my Amazon wishlist to track it. When I realized she was from the same city I am and an alum of my college, it bumped up to a must-read, and I ordered it right after it was released.

::: The Plot :::

Savanannah Leone has lost everything. Her father took off when she was a toddler. Her mother died of breast cancer right before Van graduated from college. And now her best friend from back home in Westchester has married the guy Van was in love with through four years of college and beyond. Life sucks.

Then right after the wedding, Savannah gets drunk and orders a dog online from a Web site in Slovakia. This far-fetched Internet purchase leads Van to a whole new group of people, and a realization that what she wanted may not be what she needs.

::: Just a Brilliant Debut :::

I'll be honest; I wanted to hate this book. I really did. The author is younger than me. She's published. And the book has so much great buzz you hope that it's another Twilight, a book that's okay, but just not as great as the hype. I'm happily disappointed to tell you that Stay is even better than the buzz.

So many stories that involve the best friend being left behind when the guy marries a girl who's prettier or more accomplished fall into the realm of cliche, but Stay surpasses it. Larkin has made Savannah a sympathetic character that the reader will be rooting for. The sections about Van's mother are enough to get you teary without being maudlin, and there were actually times I found myself shouting at the characters, something I rarely do with a book. The funny sections will make you laugh without veering into the dreaded "zany" territory, and the characters have enough dimension to keep you turning pages well after bedtime.

If I had a single complaint, it's that the beginning of the novel was a little bit of a struggle for me. While I loved the Rochester references (I often found myself trying to guess what parts of the city the characters lived in and looking up names of places to see what might be imagined versus real) right away, the beginning had me a bit worried that Stay was going to be too formulaic, bringing to mind movies like My Best Friend's Wedding and Must Love Dogs. Instead, Larkin has done what every writer dreams of doing successfully: teaching an old dog a new trick, and she does it brilliantly. Stay is a must-read.

This review was originally published on Epinions: http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_Stay_Allie_Larkin/content_515206712964

Really cute book! For all my friends who love their dogs this is a great little book to read - easy read but fun

Great story, a bit of chic lit but I totally enjoyed this debut novel!

I loved it. It sucked me at the beginning and didn't let go.

I loved it. It sucked me at the beginning and didn't let go.

Cute audiobook.

I LOVED this book. Just loved. I initially saw it on chicklitisnotdead.com and was immediately drawn to the idea of the story. It was all parts hilarious, touching, sweet, romantic and again, hilarious. The initial purchase of the dog is one of the best written scenes of a book I've read in a long time. I was laying in bed at midnight, laughing hysterically. You couldn't go wrong with this book!

I LOVED this book. I absolutely loved it. I looked forward to reading it and enjoyed every minute of it. I didn't devour it. I just enjoyed it. The characters are wonderful. Somebody mentioned in another review that they are not good or bad characters. They just are. They are themselves and they are living life and getting through the issues that they have to get through. I love that. People are people. We all have our things that we have to deal with. There was a line that Van says that I loved and I don't have the book in front of me to quote exactly but it was something like "Life is complicated. Relationships are complicated. They aren't easy. you have to work at them. And some people are worth the work." I probably butchered that quote but the idea is there.

Allie really does a good job of pulling the reader into the story. I really felt like I was there with Van, experiencing what she was experiencing. I love a story that I can get lost in like this.

Highly recommended reading for people who just want to read a good book about life. Great characters and a good, solid story.