And We Stay

by Jenny Hubbard

Sent to an Amherst, Massachusetts, boarding school after her ex-boyfriend shoots himself, seventeen-year-old Emily expresses herself through poetry as she relives their relationship, copes with her guilt, and begins to heal.

Sent to a boarding school after her ex-boyfriend shoots himself, 17-year-old Emily expresses herself through poetry as she relives their relationship, copes with her guilt, and begins to heal. The plot contains profanity and sexual references.

• ISBN10: 0385740573
• ISBN13: 9780385740579
• Publish Date: 28 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 11 October 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Delacorte Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 224
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Once upon a time, there was Emily and Paul. One day, Paul decides to bring a gun to school and confront Emily. He ends up killing himself. This is where the story begins, but this is not the whole story. "And We Stay", tells the story of healing and coming to terms with decisions made. It chronicles Emily's struggle with what had happened, her feelings about Paul, and her feelings about herself.

One of the things I liked about this book, was the writing. It is beautifully written. I like how it alternates POVs, and the real insight into Emily's psyche is through her poetry, which is scattered throughout the book. I appreciated the way the Emily-after related the story of the Emily-before. She would be in a current situation and it would remind her of past events, which would then be related to the reader, and it was done quite seamlessly.

This book also hosts some great characters. Emily does not heal on her own, she has the help of two quirky friends (K.T. and Amber) and her French teacher. Hubbard did a good job giving these characters life and I really appreciated the way she treated Paul, the insight the reader was allowed to have into who he was. In addition, I got to learn a lot about Emily Dickinson, whose poems also play a large role in Emily's road to recovery.

[Nicole Lynn]

Original review posted on PopCrunchBoom


I was provided a free e-book ARC of this novel via NetGalley and Random House Children’s Delacorte Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are mine and not affected by any outside sources.

The Review

Emily Beam’s boyfriend Paul walked into the high school library not intending to die. He threatens his girlfriend and then takes his own life. Emily is thrown into grief, confusion, and numbness. Her parents insist on Emily transferring to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts so she can “heal.” While here, Emily encounters Emily Dickinson–the past poet whose hometown now includes the boarding school. With the help of some interesting friends and caring teachers, Emily learns about herself, how to make friends, and how to fix her damaged self. Hubbard takes readers on a journey through verse and prose as we witness the before, during, and after of Paul’s death.

With this novel it is clear to say that some will hate it and others will really like it. It’s hard to say if there will be much middle ground when it comes to this novel. It’s told in third person point of view and Hubbard doesn’t take us inside the minds of the other characters and barely into Emily’s mind. Some find it hard to connect with Emily and without that connection it’s hard to like the novel. Personally I think the mix reviews on this novel is because of different readers’ life experiences. The novel overall deals with loss and grief. I connected to this immediately. I connected with Emily. I understood her pain as I’ve personally gone through loosing someone close. I don’t think it’s an age issue as some have said the older you are the more you’d might like it. I think age wouldn’t matter, just your experiences in life and then the ability to connect those with this story and with Emily.

When I was only a few pages in, I knew this would be one of the best books I’ve read in awhile, if not for this year. Hubbard’s writing style is beautiful. The way she interwoven poetry and prose is wonderfully done and a hard skill to possess. The poems are “written” by Emily which is another great feat that Hubbard has accomplished. The writing style is definitely what I really fell in love with in this novel. Hubbard also seamlessly shifted from past into present–taking readers through the events before, during and after Paul’s suicide. It was gracefully done.

Emily as a character I can see being hard to connect to unless you were able to insert your own feeling and experiences into her character. Being able to bring yourself into the novel helps bring the connection between you and Emily. I understood Emily and that let me connect with her. I do know that this will be a struggle for most and will turn some away.

Another struggle some might come upon is the pacing in the novel. Where I found the pacing to be fine others might find it slow. This isn’t an action novel or a novel with any subplots. It’s focused on Emily’s character development in the wake of tragedy. It’s Emily reflecting on the moments leading up to Paul’s suicide, the day of Paul’s suicide, and the present she’s living through now. Without any connect with Emily as a character, this novel might even turn unbearably slow for some.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed reading Emily (and Paul’s) story. I loved Hubbard’s writing skill and her ability to take me on this journey. I connected with Emily’s story and loved the interwoven poetry that appeared throughout the novel. Some might disagree with my rating, but this is honestly how I feel about this book. I really connected with it and thought it was a fresh, emotional, and beautiful read.

[ellieroth]

El Extraño Gato del Cuento

2.5

No sé como sentirme con el libro.

Me tomé mi tiempo para pensar en qué poner sobre este libro. ¿No les ha pasado que a veces no están seguros como sentirse con cierto libro? Ya me pasó antes y cometí el error de no detenerme un rato y pensar en serio sobre lo que siento. Un poco dramático lo que intento decir, espero se haya entendido. (Si se preguntan con qué libro es que tuve ese desacuerdo emocional, fue con The Duff, no me arrepiento de lo que puse en la reseña porque en ese momento lo creía, pero después de meditarlo un poco más, la cosa cambió)

Entonces, un mes después más o menos de leer el libro y después de mucha investigación, creo que ya logré poner en orden mis ideas (un tip por si les pasa en algún momento lo mismo que a mí es leer reseñas, muchas de ellas, tanto negativas como positivas, a veces ese algo que no nos deja tranquilo es una pequeña cosa que no le logramos poner nombre pero otro sí). Lo primero que podría decir de And We Stay es que es un libro interesante, una de esas novelas donde la escritora nos lleva de la mano a través de muchas emocionas, digo de la mano porque es de a muy poquito que nos vamos enterando que pasó esa mañana y los días previos, además que las emociones tan ambivalentes que pueden generar los personajes.

En lo negativo, puedo decir que si bien tenemos la historia de Emily Beam, And We Stay me pareció más la historia de su tocaya, Emily Dickinson, la verdad es que estaba mucho más intrigada por la historia central y la historia con esta poetiza me cansaba bastante.

Si te gusta la poesía, este libro va a gustarte, entre cada capítulo hay al menos un poema, del cuál entendía un 2% de todos los qué hay. Lo mío no es el simbolismo, obviamente. Lo que sí, me hizo recordar mis clases de literatura (cuatro cinco cuatro cinco)

Me ha gustado, pero no me ha encanta'o, como se dice

Reseña completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento