Stay A Little Longer

LoveReading4Kids Says

October 2018 Book of the Month | Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8 | One of our 2018 Books of the Year

A heartfelt, hard-hitting, super-readable novella about the life-affirming, life-saving friendship that blossoms between a young teenager and her 59 year-old neighbour.

All sweet-hearted Aman wanted was for her dad to stay a little longer, but he died before she had chance to read her special letter to him. While grappling with grief, she’s bullied by a bunch of older kids, but thankfully new neighbour Gurnam intervenes to scare them off. While Aman sees Gurnam as her “personal superhero”, she notices a sadness about him, but he won’t reveal the cause of his pain.

The truth is revealed with poignant, page-turning urgency, leading to a shocking finale that sees Aman grasp a second vital chance to read her love-filled letter.

There’s so much humanity and soul in this short gem of a story. While the content is YA, this is written for those with a reading age of 8+, in a lucid, gripping style that tells it like it is and gets to the core of the characters’ hearts. I relished every word.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About Stay A Little Longer

From the award-winning author Bali Rai comes a powerful and immensely moving story of friendship, family and happiness. Well-known for his gritty realism for teens, Stay A Little Longer is a hard-hitting story that shows sometimes the strongest friendships can come from the least expected places.

Read the full description

Find This Book In