Stay With Me (228 pages)

Paul Griffin, the author of this book may be familiar to you as the author of Ten Mile River. Once again, he writes about kids that are on the fringes of society; all facing some problem, often lack of money, lack of parenting, etc. In this book he tells us the story of two adolescents who fall in love, as adolescents are wont to do. Cece is a young girl, a little over-weight, who works as a waitress in a local restaurant. Mack, is a young man who has already had a run in with the law and has spent time in jail We learn that Mack has a learning disability- possibly A.D.D, and definitely has anger management issues. However, he is the original "dog whisperer." Mack is able to tame any dog making the animal comply with his commands. Mack has secured a job as dish washer in the same restaurant where Cece works. As their relationship develops Cece goes from not trusting Mack to believing that he'd never do anything to hurt her or the people she cares about. Then her brother goes off to training for combat in the army. He has done his best to get Cece to accept Mack because he believes Mack is a good guy. Cece idolizes her brother, so she allows herself to fall for Mack. Mack's dad is an alcoholic, and often not home, or when he is there, he's out of it. A man who lives in their building has threatened Mack's dog on several occasions. What he does to the dog, and Mack's reaction to this action reverses the road the book was taking. It is an amazing ending that will open up many opportunities for discussion or response with your students. It would make a GREAT book for a Book Club read.