christymaurer 's review for:

Stay and Fight by Madeline ffitch
5.0

6 stars! Wow.

I’ve now re-read this for the 4th time (listened to the audiobook). And it won’t be the last time. It’s become a bit of a comfort book. What sets this apart, the characters are pretty unlikeable, mostly dislike each other, and each is pretty self involved. Perley forces their hand. They all, including Perley, have to step up, face their flaws, and make things right. I absolutely loved watching them evolve as people and relative to one another.

The audiobook narration is so good, especially the Perley chapters. Now as a teacher we often see kids who come in with a different background or experience and how they don’t fit in the school mold. Watching him pick up knowledge and mannerisms from everyone around him, not just “his women” but the principal, the kids, Rudy, yet emerge as his smart, wise little self, resolute and excellent. I just adore him. I don’t want to give away any of his phrases or statements that made me laugh every time.

The other thing I loved about it was that many of the villains could have been horrible, really emphasizing the drama, but they weren’t. They were just reacting to the situation in a fairly normal way, but their outsider status caused misunderstandings that led to trouble. Much more interesting than because it forced the main characters to deal with their own flaws.

Sweet, heartwarming, interesting. Love.