Hold Still
“Finally, she said, I’ll go wherever you go.” What if you and your best friend planned your futures, and by daybreak the next day, hers was gone? In this novel, Caitlin, the protagonist, is lost and confused in a world where the person who knew her best, no longer exists. Ingrid was Caitlin’s best friend; a person she could talk to, and just hang out with. Caitlin, though, never knew about Ingrid’s depression and suicidal thoughts. When Ingrid takes her own life, she leaves Caitlin behind, confused, angry, and miserable, with nowhere to go and no one who understands her. Now Caitlin must face the most daunting task she has ever met; learning to live without the beauty, laughter, art, and happiness she and Ingrid shared.
When fall rolls around again, Caitlin is terrified to go back to school. She receives little sympathy, and is mostly avoided, leaving her with no choice but to roam the halls alone. Making new friends seems like an impossible feat for Caitlin, though she desperately needs new friendships to help her get through this difficult time. When a new friend, Dylan, a new girl at school, comes into her life, the friendship seems promising, but can she handle the responsibilities of maintaining a friendship when she can barely control her grief?
Things take a crazy turn when Caitlin discovers Ingrid’s private journal under her bed. The journal Ingrid took with her everywhere; the journal that contained all the secrets Ingrid could never tell anyone. Not even Caitlin. In these entries she learns about another side of the friend she thought she knew everything about. With the insight of these entries, Caitlin finds a way to laugh, smile and hope again.
Books for young adults that have on-the-edge topics like suicide are hard to find. Nina LaCour showed no fear while writing this hard-hitting novel about grief after suicide and delivered a delicate, yet impacting book. I recommend this book for mostly teenage girls, but I think it can be equally enjoyable for boys too. This book, will take your breath away as Caitlin find the path to a life without Ingrid
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