Millie is eleven going on twelve when her life is upended by her parents’ decision to separate. Her mother gets a new boyfriend, and her father moves into a new place: an apartment with a big sign on the door that says NO DOGS ALLOWED. Since there’s nothing Millie wants more than a dog of her own, that seems like the biggest blow of all.

Hoping to get her parents back together-not just for her sake, but for the sake of her future dog-Millie is elated when her father moves back in after a short while. She can’t understand why her parents aren’t happy at the reconciliation until she learns the truth: her father is back because he has been diagnosed with cancer.

Told in verse by acclaimed Canadian poet Katherine Lawrence, Stay is a moving, touching, and yet often humorous portrait of a family in a time of crisis, whose pain is filtered through the thoughts and actions of an eleven-year-old girl. Stay captures the essence of what it means to grow up, confront your fears, support your family, and share in the wild optimism that only youth can harbour.