Hold Still by Nina LaCour

Hold Still by Nina LaCour

Have you ever read a book that you found so profound and mesmerizing, that the thought of explaining it to people caused you to fear not giving the story what it truly deserved? That is how I feel about Nina LaCour’s debut novel, HOLD STILL (Dutton, October 2009). When I read the description of the book and discovered that it was about teenage suicide and how a best friend deals with the tragic loss, I was very reluctant to give it a chance. But from the very first chapter, when you learn that Caitlin has discovered a journal kept by her best friend Ingrid, a journal that will hopefully provide some answers to what led Ingrid to do the unspeakable, I was hooked. Both Caitlin’s story and Ingrid’s interior journey provides one of the most emotional and thought-provoking novels about adolescence. It is a story, that although it deals with a truly devastating event, is filled with such hope and faith in the power of healing and the resilience of the human spirit.

This book is written in the most beautiful, fluid writing that captures the heart and soul of the main character, Caitlin. The connection Caitlin builds with readers is authentic and honest and real. I literally could not put it down. I was going to wait until October to run the review but I couldn’t wait. Don’t worry, I will be mentioning the release when October rolls around to remind everyone to check it out!

Here is the description:

HOLD STILL by Nina LaCour (Dutton, October 2009)

An arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, froma breakthrough new voice in YA fiction

dear caitlin, there are so many things that i want so badly to tell you but i just can’t.

Devastating, hopeful, hopeless, playful . . . in words and illustrations, Ingrid left behind a painful farewell in her journal for Caitlin. Now Caitlin is left alone, by loss and by choice, struggling to find renewed hope in the wake of her best friend’s suicide. With the help of family and newfound friends, Caitlin will encounter first love, broaden her horizons, and start to realize that true friendship didn’t die with Ingrid. And the journal which once seemed only to chronicle Ingrid’s descent into depression, becomes the tool by which Caitlin once again reaches out to all those who loved Ingrid—and Caitlin herself.