Hold Still
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...
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In the wake of her best friend Ingrid's suicide, Caitlin is left alone, struggling to find hope and answers. When she finds the journal Ingrid left behind for her, she begins a journey of understanding and broadening her horizons that leads her to new friendships and first love. Nina LaCour brings the changing seasons of Caitlin's first year without Ingrid to life with emotion, honesty, and captivating writing.Publishers WeeklyLaCour makes an impressive debut with an emotionally charged young adult novel about friendship and loss. Caitlin begins her junior year in high school bitter and stunned over the recent suicide of her best friend Ingrid, a talented photographer and artist. Afraid to risk new friendships and unable to continue her own artistic endeavors, Caitlin finds herself in a state of paralysis, wrestling with questions that may remain unanswered. Then she discovers Ingrid’s journal, a record of her thoughts during her final days, and reasons for her tragic, perhaps inevitable fate begin to come to light. What is most remarkable about LaCour’s tale is her ability to make the presence of an absent character so deeply felt. The entries and pictures in Ingrid’s journal vibrate with feeling and provide insight into the pain of chronic depression (“the sun stopped shining for me is all. the whole story is: i am sad. i am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that I can’t get away from it”). Ingrid’s secrets are excruciating to discover, but the ample evidence of her creative force makes it clear that her life had meaning. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)
\ Publishers WeeklyLaCour makes an impressive debut with an emotionally charged young adult novel about friendship and loss. Caitlin begins her junior year in high school bitter and stunned over the recent suicide of her best friend Ingrid, a talented photographer and artist. Afraid to risk new friendships and unable to continue her own artistic endeavors, Caitlin finds herself in a state of paralysis, wrestling with questions that may remain unanswered. Then she discovers Ingrid’s journal, a record of her thoughts during her final days, and reasons for her tragic, perhaps inevitable fate begin to come to light. What is most remarkable about LaCour’s tale is her ability to make the presence of an absent character so deeply felt. The entries and pictures in Ingrid’s journal vibrate with feeling and provide insight into the pain of chronic depression (“the sun stopped shining for me is all. the whole story is: i am sad. i am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that I can’t get away from it”). Ingrid’s secrets are excruciating to discover, but the ample evidence of her creative force makes it clear that her life had meaning. Ages 14–up. (Oct.)\ \ \ \ \ VOYA\ - Susan Hampe\ Caitlin is frozen, unable to cope with the suicide of her best friend Ingrid. She drifts through life in a numb, almost catatonic-like state that deeply concerns her parents, who try desperately to bring her out of her depression. As the school year begins, she finds herself alienated by most of her classmates, who pretend to mean well, and seemingly ignored by her teachers, which only deepens her malaise. When she discovers Ingrid's journal under her bed, she starts down the path of learning to cope with her grief. As she begins to hang out with the new girl Dylan, and starts to open up to Taylor, a classmate who reaches out to her, she continues the healing process, eventually overcoming the loss. This novel is a poignant and beautifully crafted depiction about the grief that a person goes through after a profound loss, whether through suicide or illness. Caitlin is an incredibly real character who seems to step out of the book to sit beside the reader as they move through her first year without Ingrid. A fresh voice to the world of young adult literature, LaCour offers a style of mixed diary entries that blends flawlessly with the sections of Caitlin's interactions with the world around her, creating a moving novel that speaks to the hope that can come from such a devastating grief. Reviewer: Susan Hampe\ \ \ VOYA\ - Kaitlyn Silver\ I loved the book. Caitlin holds everything close to her as she tries to move past her friend's suicide. As the story progresses, she learns that there are others who were affected by Ingrid's death as well. I gobbled the book up and never wanted to put it down. Reviewer: Kaitlyn Silver, Teen Reviewer\ \ \ \ \ Children's Literature\ - Michele C. Hughes\ Sixteen year-old Caitlin turns emotionally inward after her best friend, Ingrid, commits suicide. Her parents tiptoe around her, worriedly observing her social withdrawal, and friends at school avoid her because they do not know what to say. Even Caitlin and Ingrid's favorite teacher, Ms. Delani, keeps Caitlin at an arm's length at the time when Caitlin needs her attention the most. Caitlin responds by purposely bungling her photography assignments to express her anger and also to gain Ms. Delani's attention. Failing her school subjects, moody, and lonely, Caitlin drifts through her days trying to make sense of what has happened. Slowly, and with the expected stops and starts of someone confused by the suicide of a friend, Caitlin lets in a new friend, Dylan. She, too, is an outsider because she is a new student, and rumors of her being a lesbian make her even more of an outsider. Caitlin also begins a relationship with Taylor, a popular boy who had not previously paid much attention to her. Caitlin's reticence to commit to relationships ensures that when she finally does return to her life, the transition is true and enduring, but with guarded hope. Although the story is told in Caitlin's first person perspective, there are disturbing glimpses into Ingrid's secret pain as Caitlin reads the journal Ingrid purposely left for her to find. Ingrid chronicles her depression and hopelessness in her journal entries, culminating in the narration of her sexual acting out to express her self-loathing. The plot of this book is advanced largely by dialogue, which is realistic and portrays distinct voices for the characters. The parents talk like parents, and not caricatures of parents, and theteens talk like teens, including occasional strong language. Caitlin's journey to a better understanding of the events leading up to her friend's death may bring hope and healing to readers with depressed or suicidal friends. Reviewer: Michele C. Hughes\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalGr 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\ \ \ \ \ Kirkus ReviewsStill reeling from the recent death of her best friend, Caitlin returns to school hoping to find some peace but instead finds only confusion, loneliness and pain. Her photography class was once her safe haven, but now she can barely stand to look at the photos that stare at her from the walls. Desperate to find a reason for Ingrid's suicide, Caitlin turns to her friend's journal, which she finds under her bed. As she reads, she has to confront not only her friend's memories but her own demons as well. Interspersed with drawings and journal entries, the story of Caitlin's journey through her grief is both heart-wrenching and realistic. A smart voice, an engrossing story and genuine emotion are only occasionally marred by missteps in characterization. LaCour strikes a new path through a familiar story, leading readers with her confident writing and savvy sense of prose. (Fiction. 14 & up)\ \
