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When a nuclear reactor blows up in Vermont's Northeastern Kingdom (NEK), killing wildlife, destroying forests, poisoning rivers, and polluting the air, 16-year-old Emily Shepard is just as horrified as everyone else.  Maybe more so, since both her parents are presumed to be among the human casualties of the tragic explosion.  With the entire area under emergency evacuation, the shell-shocked teenager should be fleeing, following orders from the social workers whose job it is to figure out what happens to her now.  Emily's as confused about the future as the other NEK-ers, but she knows one thing: she's not going into foster care.

Alone, Emily heads toward Burlington, where she hopes to blend in with other "Walkers" who have been displaced by the catastrophic event.  No one can know the truth—she's the daughter of the reactor's chief engineer, the man responsible for the devastation of the NEK.  As Emily does whatever it takes to survive on the mean city streets, keeping her secret identity intact, she becomes more and more despondent.  What really happened at the nuclear reactor?  Was her father drinking on the job or did he just make an honest—albeit fatal—mistake?  And, the most important question of all:  Could her parents possibly be alive?   

Torn between protecting a young homeless boy in Burlington and sneaking back into the toxic NEK to search for her parents, Emily must decide what really matters in a world forever changed by the actions of the people she loves most.  

Chris Bohjalian writes about a variety of intriguing issues, which leads to novels that are both absorbing and affecting.  I've enjoyed the few that I've read.  The former holds true with his newest, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands (available July 8, 2014), the title of which is taken from the advice Connecticut police gave to the terrified children after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary.  It's a gritty, depressing survival story, but one that pulls the reader in and doesn't let go.  Emily's tough, haunted voice is spot-on, making her tale compelling, if not uplifting.  Did I enjoy it?  That's the real question.  And the answer is no, not really.  The book held my interest, for sure, but I kept asking myself, "Why am I still reading this?  It's so bleak."  Overall, then, the read engaged me—it just didn't satisfy.

(Readalikes:  Even though this isn't technically a post-apocalyptic novel [the NEK is uninhabitable, but the rest of the world hums along as usual], it still reads like one.  It reminded me a little of Safekeeping by Karen Hesse)

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When Paul Wagoner walks into his high school with a loaded gun, Emily Beam is as shocked as everyone else.  She didn't know he'd take their break-up so hard, didn't know he'd end his own life, didn't know the tragedy would shatter them both.  Still reeling from it all, 17-year-old Emily is sent to Amherst, Massachusetts for a fresh start.  Her new boarding school might as well be on another planet, it's so different than what she's used to, but at least no one knows her there.  In this new world, she drifts through her classes like a ghost, writing poetry in an effort to come to terms with all that's happened to her over the past few months.

With the spirit of Emily Dickinson wafting through the town of Amherst—where the famous poet lived her entire life—it's no wonder the grieving teenager is drawn to her.  The writer's ethereal presence seems to hijack Emily Beam's brain, her presence a comfort as Emily works through her grief.  Between her obsession with the poet and her new friends in Massachusetts, a tentative hope starts to fill Emily.  Is it possible to move on after all that's happened?  Can she really start over, putting the past behind her and looking toward the future with eagerness?  Maybe.  Just maybe.

As you can probably tell, And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard is a little short on plot.  Because of that, it seems unfocused and a bit anticlimactic.  Still, its taut, haunting prose (and poetry) pulls the reader in, making us care about what happens to Emily Beam.  Although the story as a whole is kind of bleak and depressing, it ends on a triumphant, hopeful note.  Overall, then, it's a decent book, just not one that really moved or amazed me.  

(Readalikes:  Reminded me a little of Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian)

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