Review: Nina LaCour – Hold Still

Hold Still
Nina LaCour

Caitlin is trying to recover from the unpredictable suicide of her best friend. Something that they had always shared was photography, but now even that is soured for Caitlin. Caitlin is left without real friends to face the nasty high school world.

hold stillCaitlin is so sad. You really feel with her. I loved the inclusion of her relationships with the other students, and the holiday at the beginning of the book that couldn’t do anything for her. The guilt she feels is something that can only fade with time, and so it makes sense that the book is separated into the seasons.This book made me cry. It was so well written that Ingrid became a real person to me, even though she was dead. At some points I wanted to hold Caitlin and explain to her that it wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t believe she rationed the journal to herself so well.Caitlin had so many things going for her with building with the wood and taking photographs, and I was happy that she didn’t throw it all away. There were so many negative things that we saw could have happened to her, but she stayed strong and pushed through them.In the discussion questions and comments from the author at the back, LaCour says that she didn’t really purposefully research about suicide and depression. It was apparent to me that Ingrid didn’t display too many signs openly, and eventually she gave up on finding help. I could understand where she was coming from.

This book was everything I wanted 13 Reasons Why to be. Heartbreaking with real reasons behind the suicide, subtly revealed by Ingrid’s journal. The parcelling out of the journal entries, and the final end were so appropriate, and I felt that Cailin had done the right thing.

The only thing that could have made this novel more perfect for me would have been if Caitlin was really a lesbian, but I had to settle for her new best friend being a lesbian which was almost as good! It was nice to see that included and not glossed over as gays being a complete minority (which they tend to be, but recognition is always good).
For once I was satisfied by the conclusion of the novel. I didn’t feel like I was left hanging – Caitlin had moved to a better place with her life, and the friends she had had helped her reach a conclusion. Fantastic!

I recommend this book for teenagers. If you liked Scars, there’s an even better chance you will like this book!

Find it on:
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Personally I buy all my books from The Book Depository because shipping is cheaper to Australia.5star

3 thoughts on “Review: Nina LaCour – Hold Still

  1. Pingback: Nina LaCour – Watch Over Me | The Cosy Dragon

  2. Pingback: Review: Nina LaCour – Watch Over Me | The Cosy Dragon

  3. Pingback: Review: Nina LaCour – The Disenchantments | The Cosy Dragon

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