Stay with my Heart

STAY WITH MY HEART is a moving YA contemporary about found family, fixing your mistakes, and complicated relationships. Liana is always cautious around new people as her father has warned her that they might want to use her to get to him, as he famously works for a record label. She and her father have been distant since they lost her mother three years prior, and Liana wants a way for him to really notice her. Since he's all about work, she thinks she has the right solution when she helps a boy she likes to get in front of her father.

Only, it turns out he was all lies, and now she wants to make it up to the people he hurt, without confessing to her father and potentially losing the last bits of his love. As she works with the band, Third Eye, she finds herself drawn into their lives and love. They become a found family for her - but if they know the truth, will they care about her anymore?

What I loved: This was such a strong and consuming read that I read it within a day. The story is told from Liana's perspective, and the reader is immersed in her life, passions, and fears. She is a compelling character, who is really seeking love (not romantic). Since her mother's death, she has felt set adrift with a father who barely cares for her and seems to only care about work. She does have a great best friend, but they are soon to be on opposite coasts for college. There is a void, and she is eager to find what she has been missing, particularly from her father, but when it comes in the form of found family, it is something she is afraid to lose.

The band is just lovely. It was great to get to know them as they rehearse and work with Liana on their publicity. Liana is planning to go into music marketing, inspired by her father, and she spends a lot of time with the band helping them to improve their social media and appearance, leading towards a contest at the end of summer. The bandmates each have their own things they are working on as well, but they are a true family for each other - and possibly for Liana as she gets taken into their fold. In addition to the deep friendships she forms, there is also a possibly romantic relationship forming with one of them that was built slowly and strongly throughout the story.

Bhuiyan always does a fantastic job writing complex parent-child relationships, and this one was no different. Liana is struggling with her father and the relationship she wants to have with him as compared to what she does have. Her mother's death complicates it all. Her journey in the story is a personal one as she explores from her side how she will handle it. Her arc over the summer is supported by the new relationships she has formed and which shapes what she will do about her father. While this relationship was not perfect, the resolution was more about Liana, and the ending status reflects this.

Other themes around honesty/lies, grief/loss, connection, friendship/found family, mental health (in the context of Liana's anxiety and desire to see a therapist), forgiveness, fixing your mistakes, and change were also really strong. The ending was ultimately satisfying even though not everything worked out perfectly.

Final verdict: STAY WITH MY HEART is a lovely YA contemporary about mistakes, family, and personal growth that I highly recommend.