Now, this is slowly becoming a tradition here at i swim for oceans. I am in a healthy, loving relationship, kiddos, but it doesn't hurt to tell you that I hate this so-called "holiday." Frankly, I think you should tell people you love them all year long...not on a day that's dominated by greeting cards and fake love. I'm jussayin'. So, in honour of my supreme dislike of this holiday, I decided I would do my very own UnValentine’s Day post for you all. This time, we're going to talk about love gone wrong. So romantic, right? WRONG!

Dark Song by Gail Giles – Yes, I love this book. I have never once made that a secret, but let me just tell you how horribly love-gone-wrong this book is. We’ve got a vulnerable main character, Ames, who is desperate to rebel because of everything complicated and messy happening in her life. We’ve got a so-called love interest, Marc, who manipulates, violates and demeans. Oh yeah, and he threatens her whole family.

Breathing Underwater – This one has schools in an uproar, trying to ban it because of the oh-so-sensitive materials for the even more sensitive eyes of the youth. Ok, first of all, dating violence exists. It does, so this book clearly reaches to those victims. Futhermore, it displays in full force the effects of a boy trying to escape the darkness in him and the girl trapped by his spell. That’s a love story gone wrong, if I’ve ever heard of one.

Stay by Deb Caletti – This is the classic story of misogynistic manipulation and the vulnerability of a YA character desperate to find herself. There was so much hurt, and danger, and unspeakable cruelty in this book that you’re left wondering if the good guys really do exist (they do). Consider this your classic (albeit amazingly written) tale of twisted and wrong YA love.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown – You know how you always want your man to shower you with love and affection? Well, there’s a fine line between loving and possessing, and this book wholly grabs you and shakes you into a painful, bitter reality. Cole manipulates and possesses Alexandra throughout, never allowing her to see a shred of hope and leaving her to believe that A) not only is it her fault, but B) it will never happen again. Needless to say…we know that those lines never really mean anything.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick – Okay, this one’s got the trifecta. First, we’ve got the heroine who is easily swayed by the bad boy’s charm. We’ve got the “bad boy”/badass angel who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about Nora’s feelings, and THEN we’ve got the scenes where he quite clearly takes advantage of her. Oh yeah, and she’s often crying and alone. I’m gonna call bad romance because, clearly, it doesn’t just stick to YA contemps.

What YA stories can you think of that feature bad love stories or love gone wrong?

Title: Stay
Author: Deb Caletti
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: April 5, 2011
Genre: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 320
Source: Galley Grab

Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

Now Clara has left the city—and Christian—behind. No one back home has any idea where she is, but she still struggles to shake off her fear. She knows Christian won’t let her go that easily, and that no matter how far she runs, it may not be far enough....

Clara knows all too well what it means for someone to be dangerously co-dependent. It started as love, and a love far greater than she had ever known, at that, but it quickly grew into something deeper and more serious. Christian loved Clara, but he loved her to the point of possessiveness, and Clara's world became constricting and pained, despite the supposed "love" that was bestowed upon her. While he put her on a pedestal far above others, the dark lining simply meant she had farther to fall when her world crumbled beneath her. Clara needs to learn that loving herself is far greater than being the true object of one's eye.

Stay is my first stab at work by author Deb Caletti. I've heard wonderful things about her work, and I was eager to try it based on the premise. There's something haunting and more powerful about stories involving love gone wrong, but they can easily become cliche and overbearing. I can happily say that Stay defies the odds and exudes far more emotion than I could have hoped. It made me cringe, it made my cry and above all else, it made me think about self-worth. If a book can make me reflect upon my own life and my own choices, then the author has made the story ring true.

Clara was a twisty character in Stay...but this is not to be confused with twisted. She felt a sense of power in the love Christian felt for her, and it was understandable. To have that sort of love must truly build one up. She had a unique and unusual voice that completely separated her from the author's voice, which was utterly refreshing. Clara spoke in a way that was upfront, open and honest, but reading the meaning in her words was much like peeling and onion. The hidden layers beneath the words themselves took her story and character to the next level. I was also completely refreshed by her father, a secondary character with a true and defined personality. He clearly respected his daughter, but he gave her the freedom to make her own mind. Christian's character was the counterpart - eerie, dark and more haunting because of Clara's upfront approach to her situation.

I'm on a roll with contemps, it seems, and I'm so happy to have read Stay. Raw and powerful, Stay is fast-paced read but exudes both depth and feeling. I give it a firm 5 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy contemporary fiction.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

In My Mailbox is an amazing weekly meme hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren that features the books we have received during the week. It's so much fun because we get to see what our fellow bloggers stumbled upon this week and add even more to our piles of books! Without further ado, this week I received the following books:

FOR REVIEW:

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury - (eARC - Thank you, Simon & Schuster Galley Grab) - Agnes Wilkins dreams of adventures that reach beyond the garden walls, but reality for a seventeen-year-old debutante in 1815 London does not allow for camels—or dust, even. No, Agnes can only see a mummy when she is wearing a new silk gown and standing on the verdant lawns of Lord Showalter’s estate, with chaperones fussing about and strolling sitar players straining to create an exotic “atmosphere” for the first party of the season. An unwrapping.

Boyfriends With Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez - (eARC - Thank you, Simon & Schuster Galley Grab) - Lance has always known he was gay, but he's never had a real boyfriend. Sergio is bisexual, but his only real relationship was with a girl. When the two of them meet, they have an instant connection--but will it be enough to overcome their differences? Allie's been in a relationship with a guy for the last two years--but when she meets Kimiko, she can't get her out of her mind. Does this mean she's lesbian? Does it mean she's bi?

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott - (eARC - Thank you, Simon & Schuster Galley Grab) - Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible. Until the accident. Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

FOR REVIEW

Stay by Deb Caletti - (eARC - Thank you, Simon & Schuster Galley Grab) - Clara’s relationship with Christian is intense from the start, and like nothing she’s ever experienced before. But what starts as devotion quickly becomes obsession, and it’s almost too late before Clara realizes how far gone Christian is—and what he’s willing to do to make her stay.

BOUGHT

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen - Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And she'll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's recent unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother's open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen - Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.

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Remember, I have two international giveaways going on now! Enter to be one of three winners for a choice of 6 ARCs in my Birthday Bash Giveaway (ends 3/30) and, while you're at it, enter to win an ARC of Awaken (ends 4/15)!