Review: Hold Still by Nina LaCour

Title: Hold Still
Author: Nina LaCour
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Pages: 304
Rating: 5/5

"An arresting story about starting over after a friend’s suicide, from a 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."

My thoughts:

Hold Still is a heartbreaking, raw book about dealing with the loss of someone who meant so much to you.

This novel is so much more than dealing with your close friend's suicide. The author made it that you feel what everyone in the Ingrid's life felt about her taking her lfie. It definitely showed that everyone is different when it comes to that subject. In the way they mourn.

The writing was amazing and I felt that how they were separated - by the seasons - showed each stage of grieving that Caitlin went through. It shows her from silently grieving then she finds her diary and slowly she doesn't forget necessarily, but she allows herself to get over the fact and understand the reason behind why Ingrid did that.

The photography aspect of this novel will catch you by surprise, but it shows you what Ingrid loved to do best. And that made her seem alive throughout the book. Like you really knew her. You will have tears in your eyes through some parts; I know that I did.

Overall, this is unlike any 'losing someone over suicide' book that I've ever read. It's so much into Caitlin's head that you'd think it really happened. I really, really liked this and following through with the stages of the main character's grief and recovery is fascinating and heartbreaking. Go get a copy if you haven't read it (:

FTC: This was borrowed from my local library.