A Michael L. Printz Honor Award Winner
“A gentle, lyrical story of incomprehensible sorrow faced with quiet courage.”—ELIZABETH WEIN, New York Times bestselling author
“Hubbard treats tragedy and new beginnings with a skilled, delicate hand.”—JOHN COREY WHALEY, author of Where Things Come Back, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award
Senior Paul Wagoner walks into his school with a stolen gun, threatens his girlfriend, Emily Beam, and then takes his own life. Soon after, angry and guilt-ridden Emily is sent to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, where two quirky fellow students and the spirit of Emily Dickinson offer helping hands. But it is up to Emily Beam to heal her own damaged self, to find the good behind the bad, hope inside the despair, and springtime under the snow.
A Boston Globe Best YA Novel of the Year
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Tayshas High School Reading List Selection
A North Carolina Young Adult book Award Nominee
* "As graceful as a feather drifting down, this lyrical story delivers a deep journey of healing on a tragic theme.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred
* "And We Stay is a little gem of a book. . . . there is certainly something for anyone looking for a good read with a strong, believable female lead who is working her hardest to overcome tragedy.”—School Library Journal, Starred
“Hubbard’s writing is elegant and emotional.”—Publisher’s Weekly
“This novel is accomplished, polished, and mixes prose and poetry to stunning effect.”—Booklist
“Hubbard . . . captures perfectly the turbulence of young love, the bonds of friendship, and the push-and-pull dynamic between teens and adults.”—VOYA
From the Hardcover edition.
Download and start listening now!
"Shelf Awareness, February 21, 2014:"Most poetry comes from a place of deep emotion. That's certainly true for Emily Beam, Jennifer Hubbard's (Paper Covers Rock) sympathetic protagonist in And We Stay... Hubbard convincingly integrates Emily Beam's poems alongside her recollections of Paul and her life before boarding school.""
—
Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2013:"Teasing out strands of the past and the present, Hubbard masterfully twines together a story of one girl’s journey to self-identity...As graceful as a feather drifting down, this lyrical story delivers a deep journey of healing on a tragic theme."
Starred Review, Booklist, November 15, 2013:"This novel is accomplished, polished, and mixes prose and and poetry to stunning effect...Hubbard’s narrative tone will only make readers want to lean in closer."
Starred Review, School Library Journal, January 2014:
A little gem of a book...Despite the heavy topics, the book feels sweet and poetic and never gratuitous. Budding poets may particularly appreciate Emily’s story, but there is certainly something for anyone looking for a good read with a strong, believable female lead who is working her hardest to overcome tragedy."
Publishers Weekly, October 21, 2013:
Hubbard’s writing is elegant and emotional...Mature readers who enjoy a bit of melancholy and might spark to Dickinson will be in good company on Emily’s journey."
BookPage, February 2014:"Hubbard is an accomplished poet as well as a novelist, and Emily Beam’s poems are remarkably good. Writing these poems leads Emily out of the darkness of a New England winter and into a fragile spring—out of tragedy and into something resembling hope."
VOYA, December 2013:
[Hubbard] captures perfectly the turbulence of young love, the bonds of friendship, and the push-and-pull dynamic between teens and adults...Definitely recommend this book to your introspective patrons who relish romantic tragedy, poetry, and intricate relationships among girls and their boyfriends, friends, and teachers."
TeenReads.com, January 22, 2014:"This book is truly beautiful both inside and out. Within the story, Hubbard elegantly navigates the prose of Emily’s life combined with the many poems Emily writes to cope with the misfortunes that have befallen her...The way Hubbard writes AND WE STAY is both attractive and exquisite."
“This novel is accomplished, polished, and mixes prose and and poetry to stunning effect…Hubbard’s narrative tone will only make readers want to lean in closer.”
— Booklist (starred review)“A little gem of a book…Despite the heavy topics, the book feels sweet and poetic and never gratuitous. Budding poets may particularly appreciate Emily’s story, but there is certainly something for anyone looking for a good read with a strong, believable female lead who is working her hardest to overcome tragedy.”
— School Library Journal (starred review)“Teasing out strands of the past and the present, Hubbard masterfully twines together a story of one girl’s journey to self-identity…As graceful as a feather drifting down, this lyrical story delivers a deep journey of healing on a tragic theme.”
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Hubbard’s writing is elegant and emotional…Mature readers who enjoy a bit of melancholy and might spark to Dickinson will be in good company on Emily’s journey.”
— Publishers Weekly“[Hubbard] captures perfectly the turbulence of young love, the bonds of friendship, and the push-and-pull dynamic between teens and adults…Definitely recommend this book to your introspective patrons who relish romantic tragedy, poetry, and intricate relationships among girls and their boyfriends, friends, and teachers.”
— VOYABe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Jenny Hubbard, author of Paper Covers Rock, is also a poet and playwright. She taught English for more than fifteen years at the high school and college levels. Now, in addition to writing full time, Jenny volunteers as a literary tutor with her local public library and manages a summer theater company. She lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, with her husband.
Erin Spencer is an Audie Award nominated narrator. She has numerous films, TV shows, and voice work to her credit, including appearances on True Detective, 9-1-1, Rizzoli & Isles, and Code Black. Besides reading, she loves dining out, hip-hop dance classes, and DIY projects.