Stay with My Heart

by Tashie Bhuiyan

Overview

From the author of Counting Down with You and A Show for Two comes a new YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band and falls for the guitarist while secretly trying to make up for her mistake.

Liana Sarkar lives and breathes music, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her A&R coordinator father. Maybe if she succeeds, he’ll finally give her the time of day instead of drowning himself in work to distract from the grief of her mother’s passing.

When Liana accidentally sabotages an up-and-coming local band, Third Eye, she makes it her mission to steer them towards success—without them discovering her role in their setback. But as she gets closer to Third Eye, especially their enigmatic leader Skyler Moon, it becomes harder to hide the truth.

With both her heart and their futures on the line, will Liana be able to undo the damage she’s caused?

Praise for A Show for Two
“You’ll fall head-over-heels in love with these characters while they fall in love with each other.” —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
“Tender and bittersweet.” —Tahereh Mafi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shatter Me

Praise for Counting Down with You
“I. Love. This. Book.” —Mark Oshiro, award-winning author of Anger Is a Gift
“Steals your heart from start to finish.” —Emma Lord, New York Times bestselling author of You Have a Match
“Hand to fans of Netflix hit Never Have I Ever.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335010032
Publisher:	Inkyard Press
Publication date:	01/02/2024
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	59,851
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tashie Bhuiyan is the author of Counting Down with You and A Show for Two. She’s a New Yorker through and through, and hopes to change the world, one book at a time. She loves writing stories about girls with wild hearts, boys who wear rings, and gaining agency through growth. When she's not doing that, she can be found in a Chipotle or bookstore, insisting 2010 is the best year in cinematic history (read: Tangled and Inception).

Editorial Reviews

"I’m completely heart-eyed over this book. With a voice that blends pitch-perfect humor and tremendous compassion, Counting Down With You is an ode to anyone who’s dreamed of a path different from the one carved out for them. A lovely, romantic debut that shimmers with hope." —Rachel Lynn Solomon, author of Today Tonight Tomorrow

"A witty, romantic, deeply insightful debut that steals your heart from start to finish. Only read this in public if you're prepared to laugh out loud, blush, and occasionally cry in front of strangers." —Emma Lord, author of Tweet Cute

"A love song in book form, with all the beautiful aches and shining triumphs that come with finding your way. Tashie Bhuiyan writes with a mirror to your soul." — Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of These Violent Delights


"A beautiful illustration of grief, connection through music, finding your family…and a swoony love interest to top it all off!" — Rachael Lippincott, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl


“Deftly exploring grief, parental tension, and burgeoning romance, this book shines with love—for music, for friendship, for perseverance, and for yourself.” — Racquel Marie, author of Ophelia After All


"A touching and heartfelt romance about first love, grief, family, and following our dreams. Bhuiyan will have you laughing and crying all at once." — Dustin Thao, New York Times-bestselling author of You've Reached Sam


“An empathetic and tender story, Stay with My Heart feels like a long and healing hug.” — Christina Li, author of Ruby Lost and Found


Praise for A Show for Two

"Wholly heartwarming and enchanting. A Show for Two pulls you on an absolutely breathless journey through New York City. You’ll fall head-over-heels in love with these characters while they fall in love with each other. Tashie Bhuiyan is a force to be reckoned with." —Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends

Praise for Counting Down with You

From the Publisher

03/01/2024

Gr 9 Up—It's the summer before college and 17-year-old Liana, who is Bangladeshi American, is splitting her time between working at her uncle's LA record store and interning at the label where her father is an executive. She meets Thomas, a member of local band Third Eye, at a party and shares his music with her father, who has buried himself in work since the death of her mother. But when Thomas ghosts her, she learns he stole the band's songs and used her to get to her father. Liana wants to help the group reclaim their music but can't bring herself to tell them (or her father) what happened, so she takes on a management-style role and helps them prepare for a battle of the bands. Though wary of her input at first, the group soon adopts her as one of their own. The more time she spends with them, the more she finds that Skyler, who is Korean American and incredibly charming, makes her swoon. But her lies weigh on her, and things soon threaten to fall apart. Raw explorations of grief (Skyler also lost his mother), family expectations, and the neglect Liana feels from her father give depth and tension to the novel, which has a cute will-they-or-won't-they romance full of rehearsal room hangouts and late-night drives set to themed playlists. The conclusion is realistic and hopeful, showing Liana, who lives with anxiety and depression, enrolled in therapy. Characters are well-drawn and diverse in racial and LGBTQIA+ identity. VERDICT A sweet read with depth. Hand to readers who enjoy contemporary YA, boy bands, and books about girls who like music.—Amanda Mastrull

School Library Journal

2024-02-03
A music-filled offering that tackles mental illness and parental loss with heart and hope.

Bangladeshi American Liana Sarkar, a brand-new high school graduate, has a lot to grapple with over the summer before she starts studying music management and marketing at UCLA. She’s waiting to get help for her anxiety and depression until she’s at college, so that her dad—who’s mostly been absent since her mom died—won’t see the treatment on his health insurance and find out. Adding to her stress, Liana’s best friend has left Los Angeles for a summer program at Columbia, and in an attempt to help a cute boy in a local band, Liana majorly messes up. She not only accidentally sabotages the band’s chances for success, but the complications spill over into her working relationship with her music exec dad and her internship at the record company where he recruits new acts. As Liana tries to fix the mess, she gets closer to the band members, including handsome Korean American Skyler Moon. Bhuiyan’s multidimensional characters express heartfelt intensity, and Liana’s struggles to deal with her grief and mental illness are well drawn and sympathetic. The supporting cast of characters and their relationships—particularly those among the lovable boy band members—provide the story with depth and feeling, making it sing. Song titles open each chapter, and, along with the exploration of Liana’s love of the industry, they provide music lovers with much to enjoy.

An emotional, lyrical read. (Fiction. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews

“A beautiful illustration of grief, connection through music, finding your family…and a swoony love interest to top it all off!”

#1 New York Times bestselling author Rachael Lippincott