And We Stay review by Marianna
And We Stay
by Jenny Hubbard
Age Range - Mature Young Adult
Genre - Fiction
Five Star Award

LitPick Review

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Age at time of review - 17
Reviewer's Location - Tonawanda, NY, United States
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And We Stay by: Jenny Hubbard 

Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his high school library with a stolen gun, threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. In the wake of the trauma, an angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts. Two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickson offer helping hands, but it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self. This inventive story, told in verse and in prose, paints the aftermath of tragedy as a landscape where there is good behind the bad, hope inside the despair and springtime under the snow. 

 

Opinion: 

Best book I have ever read, I loved how fast pace the story was and how it was always evolving. There was loads of foreshadowing that almost made it impossible to put the book down. The story was so descriptive and well written, you could see the characters come to life one page at a time. The protagonist, Emily Beam was forced to cope with her boyfriends loss and the abortion of their child alone, until she started attending Amherst School for Girls. It was not until Emily arrived that her cuts could be slowly stitched together by her best friend and roommate  K.T, her crazy friend Amber, and her wonderful French teacher Madame Cloche. I enjoyed the different bonds they each shared with Emily. However, I think Emily Beam held the strongest understanding and also the purest bond with Emily Dickson's spirit. I also appreciated the fact that Emily's horrific tragedies were able to be made into beautifully captivating poems. It was an inspirational read  that  took your emotions for a roller coaster. I cherished the end because  Emily was finally able to gain closure.

Although transitions from Emily's  past to her present were sometimes unclear. 

I would recommend this to any young adult reader who likes a fast paced book with tons of drama!

Rating:
5
Content Rating:

Content rating - mature content

Explain your content rating: 

It went into the physical aspect of Emily and Pauls relationship and also about abortion.

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