And we stay

Name: And we stay
Author: Jenny Hubbard
ISBN: 9780385740579

Age Rating, Reading Level & Content Guide

by Jenny Hubbard

Reading Level 5-6 IE · Intense · Emotional Ages 13+ Heads Up

The text is written at a 5th grade reading level, the subject matter is intended for teens (ages 13+), and the content is intense and may include graphic or distressing scenes. Its HootRating code, IE, means intense content, mostly emotional.

Find on Amazon Listen on Audible

We may earn a commission from these links.

About This Book

What happens when a single moment changes everything? Emily faces a world shadowed by loss and confusion, but then, in a quiet boarding school, a mysterious visitor from the past appears. Can Emily find light in the darkness, or will the shadows hold her forever?

Themes

Interpersonal RelationsSuicideBoarding SchoolsHigh SchoolsPoetryMental HealthFriendshipHealing

Quick Assessment

Emily's world shatters when her boyfriend, Paul, brings a stolen gun to school, threatens her, and takes his own life, and the story follows her grief, anger, and guilt as she starts over at a boarding school. Paul's suicide and the gun threat are central, though they are handled with restraint and not described graphically, and the book focuses on healing and support. Parents should know it also includes emotional depiction of grief and mental health struggles, along with light romantic content, and the mix of verse and prose and a ghostly presence may suit readers who enjoy literary, reflective fiction.

Why we rated And we stay IE (Intense)

And we stay is written at a Level 5-6 reading level across 224 pages. Upper Grades (Ages 13+) is the typical interest range for this book — readers in that age band have the maturity and attention span suited to the story, separate from whether they can decode the words.

We rate And we stay as IE (Intense, mostly emotional) because the content sits in the "Intense" range — intense conflict including peril, frightening scenes, or emotionally heavy themes. The strongest signals come from emotional weight, physical peril, thematic difficulty — these are the dimensions parents should evaluate against their reader's tolerance.

Specific content flags noted by reviewers: Suicide, Grief.

Thematically, And we stay explores interpersonal relations, suicide, boarding schools, high schools, and poetry — these threads give the book room to mean different things to different readers.

Good fit for

✓ Children in the Ages 13+ range — the maturity and attention span match the story's pacing.
✓ Kids drawn to stories about interpersonal relations, suicide, boarding schools.

Maybe not for

! Sensitive readers who get overwhelmed by intense conflict or scary scenes.
! Children younger than 13 — the content intensity is above what most younger kids can process comfortably.
! Children currently coping with grief — the themes may hit close to home.

For Parents

Content Intensity

IE · Intense · Emotional

Emotional

Intense ←

Physical

Moderate

Social

Mild

Thematic

Moderate

Reading the HootRating code: the first letter is the content intensity (C = Gentle · L = Mild · M = Moderate · I = Intense · V = Very Intense); the second, when there is one, is the kind of content that drives it (E = Emotional · P = Physical · S = Social · T = Thematic). Reading level and age range are rated separately. How we rate

Heavy themes explored in depth. War, death, abuse addressed directly.