Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti
Hardcover Release Date: May 31, 2012
Publisher: Viking Juvenile (Imprint of Penguin)
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0670012251
Source: Hardcover from BEA 2012
Noelle’s life is all about survival. Even her best friend doesn’t know how much she gets bullied, or the ways her mom neglects her. Noelle’s kept so much about her life a secret for so long that when her longtime crush Julian Porter starts paying attention to her, she’s terrified. Surely it’s safer to stay hidden than to risk the pain of a broken heart. But when the torment of a friend takes a dramatic turn, Noelle realizes it’s time to stand up for herself—and for the hope that makes her keep holding on.
If you’re going into Keep Holding On thinking that the only message here is an anti-bullying message, you are in for so much more. Sure, that’s what it is selling as but in that we are following Noelle on her journey to finding the strength and hope that she was to afraid to tap into until a certain event takes place in the middle of the book which acts as a catalyst to Noelle allowing herself to love herself and let people love her.
If you’re going into Keep Holding On thinking that this is a teen romance because you’ve seen the cover, you are in for a disappointment. Her love interest, Julian is a minor character and the romance doesn’t even fully bloom until the end of the story. While this is refreshing and the characters and relationships were well crafted, Julian wasn’t explored enough to truly believe that he was the best thing for Noelle. We kind of had to take Susane’s word for it, give or take a kind act or two.
While I understand that Julian was giving Noelle space to find herself, he could have stepped in at times and he didn’t which was very disappointing. I was especially disappointed when Noelle stressed in the end how much Julian saved her. He didn’t save her, she saved herself. It was as if she went back to square one as soon as those words came out since in the beginning of the book, Noelle said, “If Matt doesn’t want me, no one will.” Because of being neglected, she clings onto whoever comes into her life and has a big co-dependency issue. So while Noelle does grow in the story, she has plenty more growing to do. Even if Susane tied up the conclusion with a nice little bow (a bit too quickly if you ask me).
This was the first book that I’ve read of Susane’s and I happy to say that I am looking forward to reading her other works. There are a few things worth pointing out here. The jumpy transition between scenes did catch me off guard but it kept me on my toes and soon enough, the transitions smoothed over which I was hoping for. I also want to note that Susane has quite the sense of humor. I love it. Most importantly, she has written such a realistic portrayal of the teenage voice and the high school experience. Well done! So while I would have really liked to have gotten to know a few characters more and wish the ending showed more at a steady pace instead of told more at rapid speed, I would still recommend this book since you can read it in one sitting. So be sure to pick up Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti today.
Read Keep Holding On by Susane Colasanti today.