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allyshenanigan's review against another edition
5.0
I recommend this book to everyone. I don't really read books about what happens today, but this book hit at home for me. I realize more how bad bullying is. We all suffer from it, some more than others. This book really changed my life.
hmelliott's review against another edition
3.0
Noelle's life sucks. Her mother neglects her to the point where she doesn't even buy her tampons or have food in the fridge. They basically eat off the McDonald's dollar menu ever night. Noelle is tortured at school by a girl named Carly, who sets out to make her life a living hell. Carly does a pretty good job at it to. When her long time crush Julian starts to notice her, she freaks out not knowing what to do. Noelle's life is all about survival. After an incident at school Noelle realizes it's time to start holding on and stand up for herself.
Took me forever to read this novel, not because it wasn't good, but because I never had the time to read it. If you enjoyed Susane Colasanti novels you will enjoy this one as well, although this one is not my favorite by far. Susane does a good job at writing a novel were teens today can relate to being bullied, neglected, having boyfriend issues, suicide, and everyday high school crap.
Took me forever to read this novel, not because it wasn't good, but because I never had the time to read it. If you enjoyed Susane Colasanti novels you will enjoy this one as well, although this one is not my favorite by far. Susane does a good job at writing a novel were teens today can relate to being bullied, neglected, having boyfriend issues, suicide, and everyday high school crap.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
3.0
This was such a difficult read; the constant bullying was hard to take. Noelle's story overwhelmed me in such a way that as much as I want to symphatize with her, I was angry at her for not standing up for herself. I was also furious with the way other kids and teachers alike did not do anything as they bear witness to the cruelties that she'd had to endure. But most of all, as a mother, this book terrified me. I'm thinking that home-schooling is sounding better and better if this is the kind of things that happen in schools nowadays.
Noelle's suffering doesn't begin and end in school. She has a mother who couldn't care less about her. They're dirt poor and she rarely has anything to eat at home. But I think the cruelest of all is the fact that her mother wouldn't even look at her. And it wasn't because she was guilt-ridden; it's like she pretends her daughter doesn't exist. Her mother was a bully of a different kind. She doesn't set out to hurt Noelle physically but hers was a mind game of the painful kind.
The heartbreaking thing is how Noelle yearns for simple things that most of us takes for granted: a scrap of meat on her sandwich, a blouse that fits, a hug, a smile and really, she just wanted to be. Her existence is so sad that she'll take having a relationship with a boy who's ashamed to be seen with her rather than be alone. And when a kind, nice boy actually paid her any attention, she runs for the hills because she's so crippled by insecurites that she doesn't think she's worth it.
What makes this book just a three star for me is that I can't, for the life of me, symphatize with a character who refuses to do anything to better her situation.
1. She whined about the lack of food and basic necessities at home. She's working, she's got the money. Go to the store and buy them yourself. Why wait for the irresponsible mother to do these things for you?
2. She's constantly hungry but apparently, pride is more important because she refused to use the "free meal" card that would avail her of proper lunch at school. And this is what I don't understand: If you've got that much pride, then (see number 3)
3. Why the heck would you give that boy another chance when he stood you up because he wasn't ready to declare the both of you are in a relationship? Where's that pride of yours when you most need it?
I will not pretend to understand how a young girl, inundated by such merciless unkindness and bullying thinks. And I don't think of her wrong to act and feel the way she did. Ultimately though, I think I understand Noelle but I can't say I symphatize with her.
VERDICT: This is such a powerful book with a powerful message. For the sake of my peace of mind I'd like to pretend this kind of things doesn't happen. But ignorance isn't always bliss. Noelle's story made me angry at the world who ignores the cruelties she'd had to suffer. Right at this moment, I am overcome with powerlessness to protect my kids from the realities of life. Life, though, is a constant education and I hope that I can teach them enough to be brave, to speak up, to learn from their mistakes and fight for themselves and those who are oppressed.
Noelle's suffering doesn't begin and end in school. She has a mother who couldn't care less about her. They're dirt poor and she rarely has anything to eat at home. But I think the cruelest of all is the fact that her mother wouldn't even look at her. And it wasn't because she was guilt-ridden; it's like she pretends her daughter doesn't exist. Her mother was a bully of a different kind. She doesn't set out to hurt Noelle physically but hers was a mind game of the painful kind.
The heartbreaking thing is how Noelle yearns for simple things that most of us takes for granted: a scrap of meat on her sandwich, a blouse that fits, a hug, a smile and really, she just wanted to be. Her existence is so sad that she'll take having a relationship with a boy who's ashamed to be seen with her rather than be alone. And when a kind, nice boy actually paid her any attention, she runs for the hills because she's so crippled by insecurites that she doesn't think she's worth it.
What makes this book just a three star for me is that I can't, for the life of me, symphatize with a character who refuses to do anything to better her situation.
1. She whined about the lack of food and basic necessities at home. She's working, she's got the money. Go to the store and buy them yourself. Why wait for the irresponsible mother to do these things for you?
2. She's constantly hungry but apparently, pride is more important because she refused to use the "free meal" card that would avail her of proper lunch at school. And this is what I don't understand: If you've got that much pride, then (see number 3)
3. Why the heck would you give that boy another chance when he stood you up because he wasn't ready to declare the both of you are in a relationship? Where's that pride of yours when you most need it?
I will not pretend to understand how a young girl, inundated by such merciless unkindness and bullying thinks. And I don't think of her wrong to act and feel the way she did. Ultimately though, I think I understand Noelle but I can't say I symphatize with her.
VERDICT: This is such a powerful book with a powerful message. For the sake of my peace of mind I'd like to pretend this kind of things doesn't happen. But ignorance isn't always bliss. Noelle's story made me angry at the world who ignores the cruelties she'd had to suffer. Right at this moment, I am overcome with powerlessness to protect my kids from the realities of life. Life, though, is a constant education and I hope that I can teach them enough to be brave, to speak up, to learn from their mistakes and fight for themselves and those who are oppressed.
ebralz's review against another edition
1.0
One of the worst represenations of being bullied I've ever read!
cjyu's review against another edition
5.0
So I won't deny it.
I cried really hard at the end. Like legitimate crying, not just emotional brokenhearted crying, but full out tears flowing out at alarming rate crying.
Susane Colasanti has been one of my favourite contemporary authors ever since the day I read So Much Closer, the first book by Susane, then Waiting For You completely knocked out half of my favourite contemporary books on my shelf and became one of my most beloved contemporary books.
The thing with Susane books(and why I prefer them over other contemporaries like by Sarah Dessen and possibly Deb Caletti), is that all of her characters are so realistic and put into very realistic circumstances, making the book extremely relatable. Her characters have their flaws and troubles, and amazing depth.
Keep Holding On is undeniably the deepest book I've read by Susane Colasanti so far. Noelle is a character who I sympathized with, who I felt despair and joy at the happy and sad moments of her life.
Some may think that Julian is a really big part of this book due the the blurb- he surprisingly isn't. This book is really more about Noelle's struggle to find her place in life, to stand up for herself and what she has to deal with along the way. This book isn't boring at all- in fact, I zipped through this book REALLY quickly, and I could not put it down. I was hooked to see what would happen next, how things would progress.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters- Sherae who has been dealing with issues of her own, then another good friend Simon, and of course Julian. Her mom and the other bullies really made a good point in what Noelle struggled with in life, and they all came together with a good plot and an amazing book.
Keep Holding On is a powerful and inspiring book about bullying, and I look forward to keep reading Ms. Colasanti's work.
I cried really hard at the end. Like legitimate crying, not just emotional brokenhearted crying, but full out tears flowing out at alarming rate crying.
Susane Colasanti has been one of my favourite contemporary authors ever since the day I read So Much Closer, the first book by Susane, then Waiting For You completely knocked out half of my favourite contemporary books on my shelf and became one of my most beloved contemporary books.
The thing with Susane books(and why I prefer them over other contemporaries like by Sarah Dessen and possibly Deb Caletti), is that all of her characters are so realistic and put into very realistic circumstances, making the book extremely relatable. Her characters have their flaws and troubles, and amazing depth.
Keep Holding On is undeniably the deepest book I've read by Susane Colasanti so far. Noelle is a character who I sympathized with, who I felt despair and joy at the happy and sad moments of her life.
Some may think that Julian is a really big part of this book due the the blurb- he surprisingly isn't. This book is really more about Noelle's struggle to find her place in life, to stand up for herself and what she has to deal with along the way. This book isn't boring at all- in fact, I zipped through this book REALLY quickly, and I could not put it down. I was hooked to see what would happen next, how things would progress.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters- Sherae who has been dealing with issues of her own, then another good friend Simon, and of course Julian. Her mom and the other bullies really made a good point in what Noelle struggled with in life, and they all came together with a good plot and an amazing book.
Keep Holding On is a powerful and inspiring book about bullying, and I look forward to keep reading Ms. Colasanti's work.
trisha_thomas's review against another edition
4.0
First, I have to start this with Thank you, [a:Susan Colasanti|6563928|Susan Colasanti|http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66-251a730d696018971ef4a443cdeaae05.jpg], for putting your personal letter at the end of this book. It's touching and just perfect. And then followed it up with resources and information!! You are wonderful! thank you!
the first 150 pages of this book are a sheer act of willpower to read. it's so painful to read about the bullying, the lack of food, sleep or a normal loving parent. The lack of support at school or anyone to hear her cry out - if she did, if she could.
FINALLY, at about 150 pages, she switches from being victimized and starts living - starts taking the reins of her life back and running the show.
it was so nice that the book switched. If it hadn't, I don't think I could have finished it. I know good doesn't prevail all the time, but a book where the bad people get to win over and over - jeez, even the bad guys lose sometimes.
and it's always nice to see when they do! I loved Julian :)
the first 150 pages of this book are a sheer act of willpower to read. it's so painful to read about the bullying, the lack of food, sleep or a normal loving parent. The lack of support at school or anyone to hear her cry out - if she did, if she could.
FINALLY, at about 150 pages, she switches from being victimized and starts living - starts taking the reins of her life back and running the show.
it was so nice that the book switched. If it hadn't, I don't think I could have finished it. I know good doesn't prevail all the time, but a book where the bad people get to win over and over - jeez, even the bad guys lose sometimes.
and it's always nice to see when they do! I loved Julian :)
black0star's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty decent read that I'll give to my future kids/friends' kids for the difficult time of high school. I was never bullied but I was very depressed in high school and seriously considered suicide a couple of times.
Noelle was a weird character for me. She made a few stupid mistakes that led to her bullying in high school. To be honest, I don't consider her bullying to be that heart-wrenching. It's sad, sure, but besides the random bathroom graffiti or conversations in the hall, the only people who really "bullied" Noelle were Carly/Audrey and that one guy (his name must be unmemorable for me to forget). Not to say that I don't consider what they did to Noelle was bullying, but I just didn't really feel for her that much.
Also, I felt Noelle's characteristics were randomly thrown together to make her up. One sentence proclaimed that she loved to escape in a book. But the book focuses on her love of art, which is fine. But I don't feel that the "love of reading" was a necessary character characteristic.
Another complaint I have about the book is Julian. He turned way too intense near the end of the book. He proclaims that he'd do anything for her and he hated seeing her bullied.
...
Sorry buddy but if you hated seeing her being bullied in the cafeteria, why didn't you lift your ass to sit with her?
It just made no sense to me.
Ali Walsh. Another issue for me. Well, more of another reason why I didn't like Noelle very much. Ali is a fellow loner and is also bullied by Carly and the guy. She was "school friends" with Noelle and was trying to be friends outside of school too. I just couldn't understand Noelle's logic. She moans about how she can't be with Ali cause she'd end up being bullied more. So what would happen to her, based on Carly's and the guy's bullying methods?
1) Be pelted with more food maybe?
2) Lose some hair? What does it matter when you made yourself undergo a stupid haircut because it looks soooo horrible?
3) Or maybe Carly will break your fingers!
I don't know much about bullying but from what I gathered from spokespeople that visited my high school, it gets better when the victim gains a friend; usually the bully would stop. So why does Noelle still have to be bullied? It would've been a better story for me if people stood up for her when she was truly alone and became her friends.
What saved the book from being on my "dislike and give away" pile was near the end. I liked how Noelle became inspired by Ali's death to DO something to help others. Only issue I have about that part is her desire to help other kids stuck in small towns. That made me mad because it's not just kids in small towns. EVERYONE from ANYWHERE could be feeling alone and bullied.
Overall, a decent read worth reading again, but I wish it was executed a little better.
Noelle was a weird character for me. She made a few stupid mistakes that led to her bullying in high school. To be honest, I don't consider her bullying to be that heart-wrenching. It's sad, sure, but besides the random bathroom graffiti or conversations in the hall, the only people who really "bullied" Noelle were Carly/Audrey and that one guy (his name must be unmemorable for me to forget). Not to say that I don't consider what they did to Noelle was bullying, but I just didn't really feel for her that much.
Also, I felt Noelle's characteristics were randomly thrown together to make her up. One sentence proclaimed that she loved to escape in a book. But the book focuses on her love of art, which is fine. But I don't feel that the "love of reading" was a necessary character characteristic.
Another complaint I have about the book is Julian. He turned way too intense near the end of the book. He proclaims that he'd do anything for her and he hated seeing her bullied.
...
Sorry buddy but if you hated seeing her being bullied in the cafeteria, why didn't you lift your ass to sit with her?
It just made no sense to me.
Ali Walsh. Another issue for me. Well, more of another reason why I didn't like Noelle very much. Ali is a fellow loner and is also bullied by Carly and the guy. She was "school friends" with Noelle and was trying to be friends outside of school too. I just couldn't understand Noelle's logic. She moans about how she can't be with Ali cause she'd end up being bullied more. So what would happen to her, based on Carly's and the guy's bullying methods?
1) Be pelted with more food maybe?
2) Lose some hair? What does it matter when you made yourself undergo a stupid haircut because it looks soooo horrible?
3) Or maybe Carly will break your fingers!
I don't know much about bullying but from what I gathered from spokespeople that visited my high school, it gets better when the victim gains a friend; usually the bully would stop. So why does Noelle still have to be bullied? It would've been a better story for me if people stood up for her when she was truly alone and became her friends.
What saved the book from being on my "dislike and give away" pile was near the end. I liked how Noelle became inspired by Ali's death to DO something to help others. Only issue I have about that part is her desire to help other kids stuck in small towns. That made me mad because it's not just kids in small towns. EVERYONE from ANYWHERE could be feeling alone and bullied.
Overall, a decent read worth reading again, but I wish it was executed a little better.
becs_l's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
Also found at: www.areadersdevotion.blogspot.co.uk
I know what it is like to be on your own. I had a spell when I was at school. Fortunately things do get better and now I am happy. I could relate to Noelle and some of what she was going through. It is what drew me to the book in the first place.
‘I want to help make the world a better place when I am far away from here. Because if we’re not improving the world in some way then what’s the point? Things will get better after this. They have to.’
Sherae and Simon are the heroes of this little tale. They discover Noelle’s situation and move to put a stop to it. Sherae is always there for Noelle; she doesn’t give up when she discovers the truth, she does everything she can to improve Noelle’s life. She is just the sort of friend Noelle needs. Simon is also there for her; giving her companionship at lunch as well as food. He makes her feel important. He doesn’t give a dog’s bucket what anyone else thinks and teaches that to Noelle. He wants to actively help people and he succeeds. These two are the best characters in the book and we need more people like that in the real world, I think.
Julian on the other hand, he just wasn’t there. Going in I assumed that Julian is going to be the hero of the story. He isn’t. I barely know him at all. He plays a small part but doesn’t seem to make a whole load of difference. He was just another thing that turned out good in Noelle’s life. He says he wanted to protect her from the bullies but doesn’t do a lot to actively stop them. We also see very little of him and he turns up at random times. This was disappointing as far as the romance goes. I think Noelle should have gone out with Simon. But he is probably gay. Typical.
Not only has Noelle got to deal with all the problems at school but her home life is also being affected by a neglecting mother. Noelle has had to grow up to take care of herself where her mother has not. In essence, Noelle never asked for anything that happened to her. Nobody asks for someone to bully them but Noelle didn’t do anything to provoke them either. I didn’t entirely believe the bullies motives but then again we didn’t really get to know them as people.
I would have liked to have seen more of a change in Noelle’s character as the book progressed. I was enjoying the book up until half way but, when nothing seemed to develop or change, it slipped a half star. Things only started to change near the end.
The first part of the book and the characters of Sherae and Simon were what I enjoyed the most. I really connected with Noelle as well. Even though this is a short book, I felt it took to long for the story to start making progress. I would have liked a bit more of a journey.
Also found at: www.areadersdevotion.blogspot.co.uk
I know what it is like to be on your own. I had a spell when I was at school. Fortunately things do get better and now I am happy. I could relate to Noelle and some of what she was going through. It is what drew me to the book in the first place.
‘I want to help make the world a better place when I am far away from here. Because if we’re not improving the world in some way then what’s the point? Things will get better after this. They have to.’
Sherae and Simon are the heroes of this little tale. They discover Noelle’s situation and move to put a stop to it. Sherae is always there for Noelle; she doesn’t give up when she discovers the truth, she does everything she can to improve Noelle’s life. She is just the sort of friend Noelle needs. Simon is also there for her; giving her companionship at lunch as well as food. He makes her feel important. He doesn’t give a dog’s bucket what anyone else thinks and teaches that to Noelle. He wants to actively help people and he succeeds. These two are the best characters in the book and we need more people like that in the real world, I think.
Julian on the other hand, he just wasn’t there. Going in I assumed that Julian is going to be the hero of the story. He isn’t. I barely know him at all. He plays a small part but doesn’t seem to make a whole load of difference. He was just another thing that turned out good in Noelle’s life. He says he wanted to protect her from the bullies but doesn’t do a lot to actively stop them. We also see very little of him and he turns up at random times. This was disappointing as far as the romance goes. I think Noelle should have gone out with Simon. But he is probably gay. Typical.
Not only has Noelle got to deal with all the problems at school but her home life is also being affected by a neglecting mother. Noelle has had to grow up to take care of herself where her mother has not. In essence, Noelle never asked for anything that happened to her. Nobody asks for someone to bully them but Noelle didn’t do anything to provoke them either. I didn’t entirely believe the bullies motives but then again we didn’t really get to know them as people.
I would have liked to have seen more of a change in Noelle’s character as the book progressed. I was enjoying the book up until half way but, when nothing seemed to develop or change, it slipped a half star. Things only started to change near the end.
The first part of the book and the characters of Sherae and Simon were what I enjoyed the most. I really connected with Noelle as well. Even though this is a short book, I felt it took to long for the story to start making progress. I would have liked a bit more of a journey.
ashleyziegler's review against another edition
5.0
Wow... just wow... I'm completely in awe... This book is downright amazing. It was NOTHING I expected to be... There are so many different point of views in this book. It's about bullying. It's about depression. It's about suicide. It's about kids feeling like they don't matter. It's about bullying getting away when it should be stopped. It's about strength. It's about standing up for yourself. I'm completely inspired, and this author nailed it. This has become one of my favorite books.
It really breaks my heart what happens in the book, just because it hits a little close to home, but other than that... it has truly inspired me. I would give this book 10 stars if I could.
It really breaks my heart what happens in the book, just because it hits a little close to home, but other than that... it has truly inspired me. I would give this book 10 stars if I could.