Hold Still ~ Nina LaCour

Title: Hold Still
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Copyright: 2009
Format: Audiobook
Hold Still Book Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XYJQa4u2jQ


School Library Journal Review: 
Grade 10 Up—After losing her best friend, Ingrid, to suicide, Caitlin is completely immobilized. Unable to function, and refusing to visit a therapist, she begins the long journey to wellness alone. During this year of heart-wrenching, raw emotion, Caitlin finds Ingrid's journal, which not only reveals her descent into irreversible depression, but also serves as Caitlin's vehicle for renewed hope in the future. The book is written with honesty, revealing one's pain after the loss of a loved one. Caitlin learns, with the help of new friends and her parents, that there is life after Ingrid.—Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK 

Review: 
Hold Still  is a quiet, but noteworthy book. It tells the story of Caitlin, whose best friend Ingrid commits suicide. The only thing she leaves behind for Caitlin is her last journal, with drawings and entries that speak of depression, loneliness and finally the loss of hope. 
This novel follows teen Caitlin's difficult year back at school after the loss from suicide of her best friend, Ingrid. Caitlin's interactions with peers and teachers are often painful, such as the strange withdrawal of her previously adoring photography teacher and acquaintances either insensitively asking how Ingrid killed herself to over-gushing and treating Caitlin better than they ever have before. I feel like LaCour skillfully captured pretty much every awkward reaction, to an extent, that could happen in the wake of such a tragedy. 


Hold Still mostly takes place in the fictional inland East Bay suburb of Los Cerros, but the most important aspect of the setting is not geography, but the shaky terrain of adolescence. There may be a fortunate few readers who can't identify with feeling insecure around the popular kids, wondering how to approach a new potential friendship, and what to do about a crush, but for the rest of us, these matters will be all too familiar. I'm thankful that I never had a friend commit suicide, but the swirling mix of despair, rage, guilt, loss, antisociability felt painfully realistic. 


This is, of course, a novel of slow and hard-earned recovery, and it really feels genuine. Caitlin's recent solitude makes her understand what makes the new outsider girl at school tick (Dylan, an artsy lesbian from the city) and they slowly and awkwardly become friends. Caitlin discovers one of Ingrid's journals and finds that her friend was experiencing a lot of pain she never knew about, and may not have been able to help with. However, she also experiences Ingrid's catharsis through art, and her longing for a genuine relationship. Despite the fact that Ingrid is dead, I really felt her presence in this book. She is in the photos Caitlin takes, in her memory and in her journal entries. She is portrayed in so many facets: The talented artist, the friend and daughter, the reckless teen. Some of these thoughts spur Ingrid on toward her own propensity for building things and realizing her crush on a classmate. A nice pacing of ups and downs that seems to do a realistic job of capturing the sorrow and unexpected joy in the year after a major loss.

What this story shows off more than anything is Nina's keen ear for powerful truths, and just as good acting draws attention not to itself but to the story being told, Nina's gracefully unadorned style provides a clear window into the human heart--and in that way, it's the best style of all.  Hold Still was executed brilliantly. There was enough hope in the novel to keep me reading but still enough pain to break my heart. This was such a realistic depiction of someone going through an unexpected loss. I grieved with Caitlin and I went with her in her journey of figuring out how to live without someone you love. It was so fresh and new to see Caitlin find solace in her creativeness. She was creating new things out of the wreck around her. The writing was beautiful and the flow of the plot was smooth (as much as it can be concerning suicide). 

Thirteen Reasons Why ~ Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Publisher: Razorbill, 304 pages
Copyright: 2007


Summary: 
Plot: Hannah Baker sends thirteen audiotapes to thirteen people before she dies. Who are they? What did Hannah say? 
Major Characters: Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen
Major Subjects: Suicide, Suspense, Relationships, Romance, Realistic Fiction


VOYA Review:
Listening to the audio cassettes found propped against his front door, Clay is shocked to hear the voice of Hannah, who killed herself two weeks earlier. On the tapes, Hannah explains why she committed suicide and how the thirteen people named in the tapes contributed to her decision to end her life. Clay learns that he is among those named. High school senior Clay is the novel's main narrator, but the story belongs to Hannah. She describes in an authentic, if overly self-aware, voice how slights and misunderstandings snowballed until she could no longer cope. Hannah's reputation is questioned, her parents are distracted by financial problems, her friends use her, and when she reaches out for help, no one steps forward. Readers will immediately identify with Hannah's experiences in high school society. From Hannah, readers realize the impact of thoughtless actions and comments. As Clay finishes Hannah's story, he becomes more perceptive and sensitive to others. Teens will embrace Asher's debut novel because it is not condescending or preachy. Sex and drugs are plot elements but are not graphically described. Short sentences make it a quick, smooth read, yet there is depth to the novel. This provocative tale touches on universal topics of interest, is genuine in its message, and would be a good choice for high school book discussions and booktalks. The attractive cover art is aimed at female readers. But because the content appeals to both genders, more readers would be drawn to the book if it featured Clay on the cover. Reviewer: Judy Sasges


Review: 
Engrossing, suspenseful, and chilling, Jay Asher does an amazing job with his first book. Hannah Baker commits suicide and sends thirteen audiotapes to people who she blamed for her death. The story is so well-written that even though Hannah's motives in making the tapes is unclear and that the belief that her self-pity is unwarranted, Asher proves that he is capable of executing a plot well. 
The book begins with Hannah's friend, Clay. He receives a package in the mail with audiotapes narrated by Hannah because, evidently, he is one of the thirteen reasons she committed suicide. As he wanders through town visiting the monumental spots in Hannah's life, he listens to the tapes waiting for the one that accuses him. 

I didn't sympathize with Hannah. From the get go, I wanted to pity the wrongs done her. But, she started off the tapes laughing, taking her impending suicide as a joke, which came off as spite. I know Asher did this to show a character arc of someone who was fun and outgoing until the stupid cruelties of teenagers destroyed her, but where she started these tapes after she decided to kill herself, the humor is jarring. We only get depressed Hannah on the tapes and the outgoing Hannah through Clay's memories. And we don't even see the transition from happy to ruined, only the word of Clay that she changed. I wanted to see it in Hannah's story. 
However, I think that a lot of teens will be drawn in by Hannah's story, and will relate to the way that the types of misunderstanding and the wanton, petty cruelty of high school can pile up on people. The voices -- both Clay's and Hannah's -- are authentic and painfully believable. The book carries a familiar message that "you never know how you affect the people around you, so pay attention!" , but presents it in a unique, convincing, and direct way. 
I understand that the point is that we never know how our deeds affect those around us--even the smallest cruelty can destroy someone--but where Hannah had the chance to show us how these thirteen faults add up to something, I expected more connecting the dots. In the end, I think that it is a plus that Hannah isn't portrayed as a victim but fleshed out to both good and bad, similar to the character Valerie in Hate List. It doesn't make suicide the natural answer. After all was said and done, the message of the novel was positive and the novel itself, well-written. Pick up the audiobook if you have a choice. 


Reading Level: Intermediate
Notes about Audience: Mature readers, ages 15 and up. 

Thirteen Reasons Why is Jay Asher's first book. Visit his website at:

http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/

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