Stay with Me - by Paul Griffin (Paperback)

About the Book

Fifteen-year-olds Mack, a high school drop-out but a genius with dogs, and Cece, who hopes to use her intelligence to avoid a life like her mother's, meet and fall in love at the restaurant where they both work. When Mack lands in prison he pushes Cece away and only a one-eared pit-bull can keep them together.

Book Synopsis

A heartbreaking urban romance from award-winning author Paul Griffin

Fifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until Mack makes a horrible mistake, and suddenly the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.

Review Quotes

"Griffin gracefully answers questions and solves mysteries, leaving us with hope and a smile without making things falsely shiny and bright." -- The New York Times

* "A haunting story of love and heartbreak. Bittersweet, stellar, with genuine dialogue and drama, this book will appeal greatly to teens, especially dog lovers." -- School Library Journal, starred review

* "Unique and genuine. This is romance but also true tragedy. Heart-wrenching." -- Horn Book, starred review

* "Heartbreaking . . . extraordinary . . . vividly depicted through affecting prose and believable dialogue. Remarkable characters abound. Achingly, authentically emotionally resonant, this sad, never-saccharine tale will have absorbed readers reaching for the Kleenex. An outstanding love story." -- Kirkus, starred review

* "Sweet, sensual, utterly engrossing, drawing readers in with engagingly authentic dialogue and fully realized characters." -- The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review

"Exquisite, unforgettable, an intense portrait of first love, family ties and the bond between man and dog." -- The Sunday Herald Sun

"Realistic underlined. Will find its way to the 'favorites' shelf right next to S.E. Hinton's classic The Outsiders." -- VOYA

"Authentic, painful, heartfelt. Griffin's gift shines in this moving novel of loss, acceptance, and the possibility of redemption." -- Publishers Weekly

" . . . a strong title in the competitive teen romance genre. With tragic Romeo-and-Juliet elements, this is a fast, paced, refreshingly honest, and surprisingly realistic urban love story." -- Booklist

Official selection -- Junior Library Guild

About the Author

Paul Griffin lives, writes, and trains dogs in New York City. His novel, The Orange Houses was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults Top Ten, an International Reading Association 2010 Notable Book for a Global Society, a Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Book of 2009, and an Amelia Bloomer Project Award Winner.